Rock and pop music of Netherlands

The innovators of the Dutch rock were the so-called Indorock ensembles from the late 1950s like the Tjelman Brothers and the Blue Diamonds. They began to play rock guitar instrumental when most of the Netherlands’s youth have not heard of the rock n roll. They stopped at the Indo community in The Hague and they were essentially in earning that city the title of Beatstad (meaning Beat City) in later years.  In the 60s bands like Shocking Blue and Golden Earring and in the 90s were Kane and Anouk; The Hague became identical for normal rock. The Dutch normally sees this as swag.

source of picture: www.theguardian.com

More successful music appeared in the 1960s in Amsterdam. The Outsiders were the first Dutch psychedelic rock band to become popular. The popular was the Haagse scene and many of the renowned ensembles of the 60s came from The Hague such as Schoking Blue which topped the chart of United States in 1970 with Venus, Q65, Earth& Fire, Golden Earring and The Motions. Other representatives from that time include the Cats, Bintangs, George Baker, Sandy Coast, Tee Set, Brainbox and Cuby & the Blizzards acquired international popularity with the songs title Little Green Bag in 1969 and Una Paloma Blanca in 1975.

From the late 60s, the post war generation achieved the political influence. Many state subsidized rock venues opened throughout the country. These clubs include Melweg and Amsterdam’s Paradiso were stepping stones for many alternative rock ensembles on their first European visit and the Dutch troop remained well informed about the new British and American acts.

In the 1970s some musicians came out. Herman Brood became the ultimate rock n roll model. He even scored a hit in the United States with Saturday Night. He became the essence of the rock n roll junkie for the song he sang. As a musician he was in the media until his death in 2001. Other ensembles from the 70s include Massada, Vitesse, Gruppo Sportivo, the Nits, Solution, Focus and also Golden Earring with their most hit ever: Radar Love which is also the top 10 in the United States.

The late 70s and the early 80s gave room to many bands to have their hits and make some bands to last longer. Girl groups Luv and Dolly Dots but also disco bands Spargo and Time Bandits were most popular. Together with the Golden Earring which scored some of their big hits with Twilight Zone and When the Lady Smiles. The Nits created a large spectator outside the Netherlands including Finland, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Fran and Greece and in 1989, was the first Dutch band to play in the then still Soviet Union. The Urban dance Squad was a cross-over hand ensemble that blending the hip hop with funk and rock. The band’s minor American achievement proved to be powerful. Their music pattern rapcore influenced bands like Rage against the Machine. Van Halen was initiated by Edward Van Halen who was a Dutch tradition.

The 90s produced some international hits like 2 Brothers on the 4^th Floor, 2 Unlimited and Vengaboys. Though, the 90s saw the beginning of the DJ-era. DJ Jean, DJ Tjesto, Ferry Corsten, Bart Claessen and Armin van Buuren began their careers in the 90s and became the superstars of their period.

Johan, naked Sphered, The Sheer, Krezip and Di-rect were the Dutch bands in the 2000s.

Contemporary pop acts include Anouk, Esmee Denters, Eva Simons, IIse De Lange and DJ acts Don Diablo.