Over
ten years ago I ran a parallel blog to this one, dedicated to sharing
some of the best pop/rock hit singles of the seventies made by Dutch
acts. That blog has long gone the way of the dodo, but I'm reviving it
for the new lay-out of my art blog. There will be a number of posts,
each containing twelve songs by different acts, in chronological order
within one post. I will also be restricting myself in three aspects: no
songs that were huge hits in the UK and/or USA, maximum four songs total
for each act spread out over the various posts, and each song scores at
least a 4/6 on the Artrockometer. The illustrations will be the
original singles covers if I can find them, and each song description
will end with a little symbol that links to the corresponding YouTube
video (if available). The image above is by Rudy van der Veen and is in
the public domain. OK... enjoy!
Never Marry a Railroad Man by Shocking Blue (1970)
Shocking Blue were a Dutch pop/rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague, with Mariska Veres as lead singer. Internationally, they are mainly known for their world wide hit Venus from the late sixties. In the Netherlands, they scored 14 top 40 hits, including seven that made the top ten (of which two went to number one). Never Marry a Railroad Man by Shocking Blue was one of those number ones.
True Love That's a Wonder by Sandy Coast (1971)
Sandy Coast were a Dutch pop/rock band from the area around The Hague, formed around singer Hans Vermeulen. Over a period of fifteen years (1966-1981) they had twelve top40 hits in the Netherlands. True Love That's a Wonder was their biggest success, topping at number 3.
Maribaja by The Cats (1973)
The Cats were one of the most successful pop groups from the
Netherlands. They hail from the tiny fishing village of Volendam near
Amsterdam, and inspired so many others from there to start a band, that
the name Palingsound (Eel Sound) was coined for this particular style of
radio-friendly music by groups from Volendam. From 1966 until 1985 they
scored 36 hits in the Dutch top40, five of them reaching number one. Maribaja topped at number 6 and is a personal favourite of mine in their repertoire.
Lucifera by Lemming (1973)
Lemming were a shock rock band who were active from 1973 until 1977, and
was resurrected as The Lemming in 2002. They scored three top40 hits in
the period 1973-1975; Lucifera was
their first hit single, topping at number 19.
Let Your Hair Hang Down by Catapult (1974)
Catapult were a glamrock band from Leiden and Katwijk. They scored seven top40 hits from 1974 until 1976, and had another success in 1980 after changing their name to The Monotones. Let Your Hair Hang Down was their biggest success - the single topped at #5 in the charts.
Chance For a Lifetime by Kayak
Kayak are a progressive rock band, who in addition to their albums (which are of general high quality) scored nine top40 hits in the period 1973-1980, including one top 10 hit. Chance For a Lifetime was their fourth hit, peaking at #31. A personal favourite of mine, although the album version is even better.
My Morning Sun by Maddog (1975)
Maddog was one of many pop groups from the fishing village Volendam, performing in the typical "eel sound". Between 1973 and 1975 they had four small hits. I always loved their final hit My Morning Sun, even though it did not get higher than #28 in spite of extensive radio play.
Rose Valley by Teach In (1976)
Teach In were a pop group from Enschede (my town of birth). They scored 12 top40 hits between 1974 and 1979, half of them reaching the top ten. Internationally they are best known for winning the Eurovision Song Festival in 1975. Rose Valley was one of their minor hits, topping out at #17 - but my personal favourite of their output.
If You Ever Come To Amsterdam by Pussycat (1977)
Pussycat were a country pop group from the south of Limburg, formed around three singing sisters. With their debut single Mississippi from 1975 they scored an international hit, hitting the #1 position in many European countries, including the UK. All in all they charted with 15 songs in the Dutch top 40 in the period 1975-1983, including seven top ten hits, of which Mississippi and My Broken Souvenirs made #1. If You Ever Come To Amsterdam, a minor hit that topped at #20, is one of my two favourite songs from the band.
You're The Greatest Lover by Luv' (1978)
Luv' was one of the first Dutch girls bands, the three members selected for their looks as much as their voices. From 1977 to 1993 they scored 13 disco-inspired top40 hits, including seven that reach the top ten and two that made number one. This is one of the two, and one of the few songs of this band that I like.
Going Back to China by Diesel (1979)
Diesel is a rock band originally formed in 1979 by Pim Koopman and Rob Vunderink. Betweem 1979 and 1988 they had four minor hits in the top40. Going Back to China was their first single, reaching #28 in the charts.
Copyright statement: posting lower quality single covers is deemed fair use.
