Unreleased Marvin Gaye songs unearthed in Belgium over forty years after they were recorded

2 April 2024, 14:55

He was one of soul music's greatest voices.

It's been forty years since Marvin Gaye left us, but there might be a chance to hear his incredible voice once again.

The former Motown icon spent the final few years of his life in the quaint, coastal town of Ostend in Belgium, to avoid the trappings of city life.

Struggling financially, emotionally, spiritually, and in the throes of drug addiction, Marvin moved to Belgium to revive his career after several flops.

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It proved to be a decisive move - his newfound creativity was poured into his final album, Midnight Love, which spawned one of his most enduring singles, 'Sexual Healing'.

As it happens, his time spent in Ostend was more fruitful than was first realised. It's been heard through the grapevine that unreleased music of his has been unearthed.

When Marvin departed Belgium, he left a batch of tapes with costumes and notes to musician Charles Dumolin who he lived with at the time.

Dumolin died in 2019, and his family have made knowledge of the tapes public, which includes – according to their lawyer – a series of 66 unreleased demos.

"Marvin gave it to them and said, 'Do whatever you want with it,' and he never came back," Alex Trappeniers told the BBC.

According to the lawyer, the demos include a number of completed songs, with some reportedly "as good as 'Sexual Healing'."

Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing (Official HD Video)

Gaye's family want to release the tapes, but due to Belgian law Dumolin's family legally own them having been in their possession for over thirty years.

The law in question doesn't include intellectual property, so Marvin's estate could still claim ownership of the music on the physical tapes. It's complicated.

Gaye's family have been made aware of the tapes, but refused to comment in the BBC feature.

Trappeniers said he and the Dumolin family are willing to work alongside the Gaye estate to release and finish the demos, however.

"If we put our hands together and find the right people in the world, the Mark Ronson's or the Bruno Mars … I'm not here to make suggestions but to say okay, let's listen to this and let’s make the next album," he said.