All posts by Roy van der Merwe

GIRL GROUPS FROM THE NETHERLANDS PART 6

Mrs Einstein is a Dutch vocal group. Since 1989 they perform in Dutch theaters. The group was founded by Saskia van Zutphen and Paulette Willems. Other members: Joke van der Hoek (1998-1999, 2006-2010), Suzanne Venneker (1988-1991, 1995-2006), Carolina Mout (1988-1990), Ellen van Harmelen (1991-1995), Ellen Pieters (1992-1993), Melline Mollerus (1993-1994), Marjolein Spijkers (1995-1999) and Linda Snoeij (1995-1999). In 1997 they were asked to represent the Netherlands at the ESC, During the Dutch national final they sang six songs of which Niemand Heeft Nog Tijd won, At the ESC Mrs. Einstein came 22nd. Ed Hooijmans composed the song. he did not attend Eurovision personally as he does not like flying. Mrs Einstein recorded the song in English and German as well and covered several other Euro songs, like Love games (United Kingdom), Hallelujah (Israel), Puppet on a string (United Kingdom), Power to all our friends (United Kingdom), Non ho l’eta (Italy), Waterloo (Sweden) and an interesting Dutch cover of Russia 1994 – Vetsjnyk strannik).

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GIRL GROUPS FROM THE NETHERLANDS PART 5

The group started in 1995 when Caroline Hoffman (born 7 March 1975) and sisters Niña (born 24 April 1985) and Djem van Dijk (born 23 January 1987) met during a party, where Caroline was performing with a friend. The parents of the van Dijk sisters asked Caroline to become the music teacher of the two girls. A close-knit group was born, starting with street concerts where they accompanied themselves with acoustic guitar and djembe. Their harmonised and contagious African rhythm soon attracted a lot of attention. Treble is unique for its use of a fictitious language, called “Treble”. As they put it, “In order to be able to get emotions across, music does not always require understandable language.” The van Dijk sisters were in their early teens when the collaboration with Caroline started, and were therefore better able to pick up foreign languages. Although the girls have been singing in English and occasionally in French, the Treble language still is an integral and important part of their songwriting and performances. After performing in the Netherlands and traveling abroad, the girls recorded their debut single “Ramaganana” at the end of 2003, which turned out to be the major breakthrough for the trio, reaching the number one slot on the Dutch singles Hit List. To promote the single, Treble hit the streets again. Performing with a placard requesting the listeners purchase their single and bring it to first place, they succeeded. In June 2004, their first album, No Trouble, made its debut. The girls, by then, had a record deal with CNR Music. Backed up by a group of session musicians they show the many different styles Treble has mastered, ranging from ballads to uptempo rock songs. The album is supported by a full theater tour and several festival appearances. Their second album Free came out in April 2006. By then, the group has teamed up with World Sound Management from the USA. The American management firm became interested in Treble when the group performed in France during Midem. In true Treble style, the girls weren’t invited. They went to France and just hit the streets of Cannes without any planned gigs. The album was recorded in Hawaii and Los Angeles, under the guidance of Keith Olsen. His involvement lead to a much more coherent sound and the inclusion of the Fleetwood Mac song Crystal, which also was produced by Keith Olson in its original form. Treble competed in the National Song Festival, which is the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. On 12 March 2006, an overwhelming victory at the National Song Festival in Amsterdam made Treble the Dutch representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens. During a live television show on the Dutch channel NOS, their song “Amambanda” was chosen as the best by 72% of the viewers. After this, Treble went on tour, planning to visit every country that was to send a contestant to Athens. They succeeded in doing so, but did not qualify for the Semi-Final. Lordi, the Finnish heavy metal band, won the semis and the final. During their European tour, Treble met Lordi and they became good friends. The schedule for Treble after the Eurovision Song Contest was relatively unfruitful. A single “Fly” off the Free album was scheduled as a CD-single, but was later rescheduled to appear only as a download. Yet another single “Leave Me Alone” was scheduled for 2006 but later postponed to early 2007. Djem and Niña van Dijk have both enrolled in the Amsterdam Conservatorium to sharpen their musical skills reducing their participation in Treble. The band eventually split up in March 2010. Each of the girls have decided to make their own solo career in music. Niña van Dijk took part in season 3 of the Voice of Holland in 2012 and was part of Team Marco Borsato but was eliminated after the first live show round. Taste is very individual and it differs from person to person but for me, this is one of the worst entries ever from the Netherlands at Eurovision and I just could not get myself paying for any other song by them, so for that reason AMAMBANDA is featured.

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GIRL GROUPS FROM THE NETHERLANDS PART 4

Frizzle Sizzle were a Dutch teenage girl group of the 1980s. The four members of the group were Karin Vlasblom (born August 10, 1967), Laura Vlasblom (born October 8, 1968), Mandy Huydts (born April 9, 1969) and Marjon Keller (born June 1, 1970). The girls debuted in 1981 on the second album of Kinderen voor Kinderen, a children’s choir whose ongoing television-shows are broadcast by VARA each November. All four of them were given a lead vocal. In 1984 the girls appeared on the fifth show to tell that they formed a girl group and sang about their days with the choir as a bridge between the interviews with the departures and the new batch of songs. Naming themselves as Frizzle Sizzle, they were selected to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with Alles heeft een ritme (English: Everything has rhythm), a tropical-tinged song in the classic Kinderen voor Kinderen-mould. At the end of the night, they ranked 13th out of 20, receiving 40 points. In the Dutch charts, the song went to #21. Soon afterwards Frizzle Sizzle released songs in English (Never Give Up being the first). In early 1987 they had a #14 hit with Talk it Over, which drew comparisons with established girl group Dolly Dots. Second Chance reached #38 the same year. Frizzle Sizzle were joint winners of the 1987 Silver Harp Awards for new bands with their first and only album First Date. In 1988 the girls once again paid tribute to their past by singing a song about their first bicycle-ride (backed by an on-location video) for the Peter Faber-host educational series Mijn Eerste Keer (My First Time). I have selected TREAT ME GOOD as my favourite English song by them.

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GIRL GROUPS FROM THE NETHERLANDS PART 3

Dolly Dots were a popular Dutch girl band in the 1980s. With their style of upbeat dance/pop, they scored many hits throughout Europe. The sextet consisted of Angela Groothuizen, Angéla Kramers, Anita Heilker, Esther Oosterbeek, Patty Zomer and Ria Brieffies. The Dolly Dots had many hits between 1979 and 1988. They were most successful in the Netherlands, but they also scored hits in the rest of Europe. Their single “Radio” was a big hit in Japan. “P.S.” was a Top 50 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play hit in 1981. They also enjoyed hits in Turkey, Lebanon, Iceland, and toured through Egypt. At the peak of their success in 1984 the Dolly Dots had their own TV series, Barbie dolls, wallpaper, and a #1 hit, “Love Me Just a Little Bit More (Totally Hooked On You)”. At the end of the next year, Anita Heilker left the group to have a daughter. She later became the Dutch voice of Donald Duck. The rest of the band continued as a five-piece. Heilker had already launched her own career. In 1986 she released four solo singles (“You’ve Got Me Keyed Up”, “Into The Night”, “Dancing On The Moon” and “Don’t Treat Me Like This”), as well as a solo album (The Girl In Black). Since the TV series’ success in 1984, there had been plans to record a Hollywood movie. In the summer of 1986 the 5 remaining Dolly Dots finally went to the US to work with an unfinished script and made a movie called Dutch Treat, which was released later that year. The movie and its soundtrack were modest successes in The Netherlands but were not released in the US due to poor reviews. The group broke up in 1988. Their last single was an attempt to break into the UK market. The Dolly Dots teamed up with hit producers Stock Aitken Waterman and released the song “What a Night”. It reached number 18 in the Dutch charts, but was not successful in the UK. THE QUEEN OF SHEBA, composed by Richard Debois and Peter van Asten (who wrote the 1984 Dutch entry Ik hou van jou), would have been a great Euro entry.

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GIRL GROUPS FROM THE NETHERLANDS PART 2

Luv’ is a Dutch girl group that scored a string of hit records in Continental Europe (Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Denmark) as well as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original members were Patty Brard, José Hoebee and Marga Scheide. In 1979, Luv’ was “Holland’s best export act” and thus received the “Conamus Export Prize”. The band sold more than seven million records worldwide (singles and albums). Among their greatest hits were: U.O.Me (Welcome To Waldolala), You’re the Greatest Lover, Trojan Horse, Casanova and Ooh, Yes I Do. The formation went through line-up changes and the original singers reunited several times. They had a hectic schedule between 2006 and 2008. They gave a farewell performance on August 11, 2012 in Spaarnwoude at the Dutch Valley Festival. Two members of the pop act have had a successful solo career in their homeland: Patty as a TV personality and José as a vocalist. In 2016, Marga, José and Ria Thielsch (who already replaced Patty in 1980) decided to relaunch Luv’. The You’re the Greatest Lover single was their international breakthrough in 1978 and sold one million copies. Apart from their homeland, Luv’ entered the music charts in Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico. The follow-up singles (Trojan Horse (another million seller), Casanova, Ooh, Yes I Do…) were also successful. In 1978-1979, Luv’ was Holland’s best export act and received for their entire oeuvre the Export award from Conamus, a foundation dedicated to the promotion and support of Dutch music abroad. In Germany, the trio was often invited on two popular TV programs: Disco and Musikladen. You’re the Greatest Lover (which sold 500.000 copies in Goethe’s country and earned a gold certification) was also used for the soundtrack of an episode of Derrick TV series. Two decades later, a dance music oriented cover version of this track by Loona renamed Latino Lover was a hit single in German speaking countries (#6 and gold single (250 000 units sold) in Germany, #9 in Austria and #6 in Switzerland in 2000). Some tracks were recorded in Spanish. Eres Mi Mejor Amante (a.k.a. You’re the Greatest Lover) was a minor hit in Spain and Si, Que Si (a.k.a. Ooh, Yes I Do) reached the gold status in Mexico. Their songs were also popular behind the Iron Curtain, especially in East Germany, Poland and Hungary. However, records distribution was limited in the Eastern Bloc. Sales were indeed difficult to evaluate in this part of the world. Their song CASANOVA would have been a perfect Eurovision entry.

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GIRL GROUPS FROM THE NETHERLANDS PART 1

With the selection of a all girl group O’G3NE to represent the Netherlands at the 2017 Eurovision song contest in Kiev, we will look over the next weeks at other girl groups that came from this country. First up is BABE

Babe was designed after Luv’, another very famous Dutch girl-pop band, mostly performing bubblegum pop. The trio was formed by producer and performer Peter Koelewijn, and he produced all of their records. The only exception was the single Tick-a-thumps my heart which was produced by Hans van Hemert, the producer behind Luv’. Koelewijn had made this decision because he felt a change in sound was needed for the trio. However, fans did not appreciate the new sound, which was very much like Luv’ because it no longer featured the recognizable solo vocals by Gemma Van Eck, but instead was sung in harmony by all three singers, so Koelewijn decided to take production back. Initially the group consisted of Gemma van Eck, Rita van Rooy en Monique Hagemeyer. Hagemeyer was replaced in 1980 by Margot van der Ven, Van Eck decided to leave the trio in 1981 and was replaced by Marga Bult. Although very popular at the time, Babe is considered the band in the Netherlands that had the most Top 40 hits without ever having a single placing within the top 10.One of their singles, The Drunken Sailor was an old Irish sailor song, transformed into a bubblegum tune by Koelewijn. It was a big hit in South Africa. In 1980 the trio participated in a famous songfestival in Korea, performed for the Dutch Military in Lebanon, toured extensively through Indonesia, and made appearances in several TV-shows in then Eastern-Germany and Poland. The trio finally disbanded in 1986 after their fame had gotten less and their music did not find many fans any longer. Marga Bult continued with a fairly successful solo career, which included her entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1987, where she performed “Rechtop in the wind” under the pseudonym Marcha. With 83 points she finished in a respectful 5th place in a field of 22 entries. My favourite Babe song is EXPLOSIVE. This would have been a perfect Eurovision entry.

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