Guggi
Musical artist
Derek Rowen, better known as Guggi, is an Irish artist and musician who was once a member of the post-punk band Virgin Prunes.
01Early life
02Career
The Virgin Prunes were founded in 1977 by vocalists Guggi, Gavin Friday (né Fionan Hanvey), and Dave-iD Busaras; guitarist Dik Evans (brother of U2's The Edge); bassist Strongman (Trevor Rowen, brother of Guggi); and drummer Pod (Anthony Murphy). Known for their outrageous and controversial stage performances, the band began playing small shows in Dublin and gained a cult audience. The band released a single, "Moments and Mine (Despite Straight Lines)", on 27 June 1981. In November 1982, the Virgin Prunes released their debut studio album, ...If I Die, I Die (produced by Colin Newman of Wire), as well as the double 10" EP Hérésie, a French box set. In 1984, Guggi left the band.
Guggi left the Virgin Prunes to dedicate himself to painting.
03Personal life
Guggi has five sons, the eldest with his first partner and four with his ex-wife Sybille. He lives in Killiney with his partner Gabriella Janni.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Guggi”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Guggi at DIFF 2026.jpg by Dublin International Film Festival, CC BY 3.0
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