Biography

A Flanders-born blues musician, Roland Van Campenhout was more well known in Belgium as Roland, one of the masters of the genre, as well as a versatile performer who was able to explore other styles such as folk, country, and such with amazing ease for more than 35 years. Originally part of the William & Roland Skiffle Group in the early '60s, Van Campenhout shifted over to folk, backing up the duo of Miek & Roel before going off on his own in 1969. Signed to CBS, Roland issued his first full-length album, A Tune for You, in 1971. While three more albums would follow that decade (One Step at a Time in 1972, 1974's Live, and Movin' On in 1975), it would be his stint as a member of Rory Gallagher's band that would take him all over the world, in addition to offering a platform for the bluesman to hone his skills. He returned to his own career in 1981, releasing the album Snowblind, and in 1985 had his first real commercial hit with the album 76 Centimeters Per Second. He explored rock music in a collaboration with Arno called Charles et les Lulus in the early '90s. An anthology entitled Day by Day, Blow by Blow was released in 1994, and in 1998 Van Campenhout was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at that year's ZAMU Awards ceremony. In addition to working with the aforementioned bands and musicians, Van Campenhout also worked on collaborations with artists such as Marie Leure Béraud, Pieter-Jan de Smet, and the tribute act Spelers & Drinkers. In 2008 Van Campenhout released album number 20, Never Enough, and continued to play shows to highly receptive audiences. ~ Chris True, Rovi