Showing posts with label Frank Boeijen Groep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Boeijen Groep. Show all posts

Monday 1 March 2010

Kontakt - Frank Boeijen Groep

'Kontakt' was the third and final single from Frank Boeijen Groep's fourth album of the same name. You don't have to understand Dutch to hear how powerful the music in this track is: with great drums and an uplifting guitar solo at the end, it's hard to deny the attraction of this single, which was released in the summer of 1984.

Although I have to add that this single did not chart in the Netherlands. Possibly because most people already had the album and this single did not add anything new (except for the fact that the single version was a remix), but more probably because the demise of the Netherlands' most popular group Doe Maar caused a disinterest for any music that was recorded in the Dutch language. These days you'd wish that disinterest would have endured...

My collection: 7" single no. 239
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Kontakt' / 'Macho (live)'

Wednesday 24 February 2010

1.000.000 sterren - Frank Boeijen Groep

The Frank Boeijen Groep had to come up with another hit after their previous single 'Zwart wit' had been such a convincing top 5 hit. '1.000.000 sterren' ('1,000,0000 stars') was a song that didn't meet these expectations, although it was still able to reach number 29 in the Dutch Top 40.

Having been successful with their first music video for 'Zwart wit', another music video was made for this single. While 'Zwart wit' was shown sometimes in later years, the video for '1.000.000 sterren' disappeared from tv screens forever.

My collection: 7" single no. 229
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: '1.000.000 sterren' / 'Het antwoord (live)'

Friday 19 February 2010

Zwart wit - Frank Boeijen Groep

The end of Kerwin Duinmeijer's life was not a pretty one: the boy from the Netherlands Antilles was stabbed by a skinhead in Amsterdam, and when he managed to get to a taxi, the driver didn't want to transport him to a hospital because he didn't want any blood on his backseat. It was a death that shocked the Netherlands back in 1983, and it inspired Frank Boeijen to write 'Zwart wit' ('Black and white'), with the immortal line: 'Wie wil er bloed op de achterbank van de werkelijkheid' ('Who wants blood on the backseat of reality').

The song, bizarrely, gave the Frank Boeijen Groep their first top 10 hit. Upon its release in January 1984, it reached number 4 in the Dutch Top 40. Even now, it is recognised as one of the cornerstones of Dutch pop from the Eighties.

My collection: 7" single no. 225
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Zwart wit' / 'Kamer voor twee'

Monday 15 February 2010

Doe iets - Frank Boeijen Groep

The Frank Boeijen Groep released the second single from their third album '1001 hotel' in October 1983. It was 'Doe iets' ('Do something'). The lyric of the song, written as usual by band leader Frank Boeijen, was a cry for action between lovers.

After their first hit single 'Linda', this single again reached the Dutch Top 40, this time peaking at number 25.

My collection: 7" single no. 670
Found: Record fair, October 17, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Doe iets' / 'Macho'

Saturday 13 February 2010

Linda - Frank Boeijen Groep

Frank Boeijen has often expressed that he regretted recording 'Linda'. There was some pressure from the record company to finally come up with a hit single, and this repetitive piece of Dutch pop did the trick. The line 'Linda / Ik wil alles voor je doen' ('Linda / I'd do anything for you') is repeated more than a dozen times, and the verses are not very imaginative either.

'Linda', released in May 1983, reached number 28 in the Dutch Top 40 and gave the Frank Boeijen Groep their first hit single.

My collection: 7" single no. 348
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Linda' / 'Nachtportier'

Thursday 11 February 2010

Het antwoord - Frank Boeijen Groep

Frank Boeijen, lead singer of the Frank Boeijen Groep had to undergo surgery on his vocal chords because of a medical problem in early 1983. It had some effect on the sound of his voice, which is why there are actually two versions of this track, 'Het antwoord' ('The answer'). The track on the single was recorded before the surgery, whereas the version on the album '1001 hotel', as well as all the other tracks on the album, was recorded after the surgery.

All this makes this single a bit of a rarity. This version of the song has never been released on cd, while the single has never been a hit. What about the B-side? Well, that was simply a track from the previous album.

My collection: 7" single no. 214
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1983
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Het antwoord' / 'Sneeuwblind'

Tuesday 9 February 2010

Fantasie - Frank Boeijen Groep

For a long time, I didn't even know this single existed. It didn't chart and no mention of it was made in any of the music publications at the time. It must have been bad promotion, then, that caused this single to go down so badly.

'Fantasie' ('Fantasy') is an unusually light-weight pop song for the Frank Boeijen Groep, urging the listener to use his fantasy to make life a little less difficult. The B-side is a bit more gloomy, about love in the then-separated city of Berlin. Both tracks were taken from the band's second album 'Twee' ('Two').

My collection: 7" single no. 1225
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, April 22, 1990
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Fantasie' / 'Liebling'

Sunday 7 February 2010

Zo mooi - Frank Boeijen Groep

'Zo mooi' ('So beautiful') was the first single release from the Frank Boeijen Groep's second album. Released in September 1982, it was also the first single from the band that I bought upon its release. I was never much of a fan of Dutch music, but there was something special about this song: it grabs your attention from the first to the last second.

The B-side of this single has become quite a rarity, because it is one of only a handful of tracks that was never released on cd.

My collection: 7" single no. 157
Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Zo mooi' / 'Verrekijker'

Friday 29 January 2010

Blok aan mijn been - Frank Boeijen Groep

'Blok aan mijn been' was the third and final single taken from the self-titled debut album by the Frank Boeijen Groep, the Dutch band that was founded by Frank Boeijen at the end of the Seventies. Like its predecessor 'Vrijdagavond', this single failed to chart.

Just like that single, I had to search for this one for a long time too. I finally found a copy on a festival market for a price that was pretty steep. But after searching for a decade, you're bound to make a compromise. I didn't see the single that much afterwards anyway...

My collection: 7" single no. 2145
Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, August 21, 1994
Cost: 12,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Blok aan mijn been' / 'Ik haat jou'

Monday 25 January 2010

Vrijdagavond - Frank Boeijen Groep

It's interesting how record companies sometimes think they know better than the artist. For the second single of the Dutch Frank Boeijen Groep, the record company re-edited the track 'Vrijdagavond' ('Friday night'), including the chorus not two, but four times. The cuts are audible and frankly only make the song repetitive.

No wonder, then, that 'Vrijdagavond' did not chart in the Netherlands. It subsequently became a very rare single, which many fans are searching for even now. I found my copy almost 20 years after its release in 1981.

My collection: 7" single no. 3188
Found: eBay.nl, received September 12, 2000
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Vrijdagavond' / ''s Nachts wanneer ik waak'

Thursday 21 January 2010

Verjaardagsfeest - Frank Boeijen Groep

Frank Boeijen formed the Frank Boeijen Groep in 1979 with Henk Wanders, Nels Busch and Wil Theunissen. Their debut single 'Transport uit Bangkok' ('Transport from Bangkok') was released in January 1981. The Dutch DJ Frits Spits played an important role in launching the band in the Netherlands: he preferred the B-side 'Verjaardagsfeest' ('Birthday party') and started playing it daily during his radio show.

Although 'Verjaardagsfeest' did not reach the Dutch Top 40, it gave the band some exposure, and somehow it has become one of those songs that most people in the Netherlands remember if they have any pop knowledge at all.

My collection: 7" single no. 668
Found: Den Haag, 1989
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Verjaardagsfeest' / 'Transport uit Bangkok'

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