Posted on 02/08/2021 2:11:26 PM PST by nickcarraway
Golden Earring, the Dutch rock band known for such hits as “Radar Love,” “Twilight Zone” and “When the Lady Smiles,” has officially called it quits.
The decision comes after George Kooymans, the band’s guitarist and co-founder, was diagnosed with ALS.
“This is a death blow,” Barry Hay, the singer and multi-instrumentalist who has been a member of the group for over 50 years, declared to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. “We always said we would keep going until one of us fell over."
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“I didn't expect George to be the first," Hay continued. "Kooymans was always the toughest of the four of us. You sometimes philosophize about that: who goes first? Then he was always at the back of the line. It sucks; we would have preferred a farewell tour, but unfortunately this is what it is. Our last performance appears to have been in Ahoy (a conversion center in Rotterdam, Netherlands) in 2019. That was a great show with family and friends, but we would have preferred it differently.”
Kooymans founded Golden Earring - originally called The Hague - alongside his friend and neighbor Rinus Gerritsen when the two were just teenagers. They remained in the group for the entirety of its 60 year run, with Gerritsen handling bass, while Kooymans provided guitar and vocals. Hay would join in 1967. The addition of drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk in 1970 completed what many consider to be the group’s classic lineup.
In total, the band released 25 studio albums over the course of its impressive career. 1973’s Moontan, spurred largely by the success of “Radar Love,” was the band’s most commercially successful LP in America. The group’s most recent release, a compilation album titled Alive... Though the Years, arrived in 2018.
Aside from confirming his ALS diagnosis and admitting he’s receiving treatment at a hospital in Belgium, Kooymans has been tight-lipped regarding his health.
Asked if the group could conceivably continue forward with a new musician replacing their co-founder, Zuiderwijk was clear. "That will never happen," the drummer insisted. “We are a group of friends of four men who are irreplaceable. A new band member? That wouldn't fit.”
“You got Radar Love and Riders on the Storm, you can drive forever...”
and Runnin Down a Dream (superb guitar solo)
I was about 13 and visiting a friend out-of-state. His older sister was dating some guy (17?) that had a cool muscle car. He took us on a ride. I recall that song playing over and over on his 8-track has he drove the heck out of that car - and me scared to death in the back seat!
Don’t forget the extended version of “In The Air Tonight”.
Eighteen minutes of sheer joy so far as I’m concerned!
Best EP I ever bought!
Yup. True enough.
Kids in the back seat cause accidents.
Accidents in the back seat cause kids.
Agreed. It is in the top tier of “please don’t let me die that way” diseases.
Since 1961, arguably the longest continuous rock act going.
My favorite song was ‘Ce Soir’ off of their ‘Switch’ LP...covered by Iron Maiden (post-Dickinson, sadly). Golden Earring also does a great eighteen-minute cover of ‘Eight Miles High’.
Very few bands have been as durable, with few personnel changes.
ZZ Top has been going at it since 1969, with the same three guys.
The Stones have had some personnel changes over the years, but outside of that, not many bands, came close to Golden Earring’s longevity.
One more radar lover gone.
Yeah I would say so. They must have all melded together nicely for that kind of longevity.
And I’d have to throw in “Driver’s Seat” and “Turn the Page”, with maybe a dash of “Who Lotta Love” if I’m driving a car that’s fast enough to do it justice.
“1 More Gallon of Gasoline” - Too Slim & The Taildraggers
Van Halen 1 is the greatest road album ever.
Golden Earing had been at it since the 1960s.
I heard Radar Love (73) on radio growing up and then Twight Zone etc on MTV (and some radio) but a decade later I heard them in a Rhino Records boxed set Nuggets II.
Golden Earring - Daddy Buy Me A Girl (Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djb3y1deKA4
That’s a long run.
People say that ZZ Top held it together longer than any other band with the original lineup but the original ZZTop had other members (it was Billy’s band after Moving Sidewalks).
Most notable you’ll hear keyboards
ZZ Top - Salt Lick (1969)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfjAcPRrFfE
>>Since 1961, arguably the longest continuous rock act going.
May be.
I saw the original Crickets (trio) in the 2000s. The bass player has since passed on.
Rolling Stones clock in 1962.
Bill Haley’s original Comets (both 1950s lineups of the band which were somewhat contemporary as the replacements were the original original band) appeared onstage for a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2012. Better late then never I guess.
One of the best bands ever. I was lucky enough to see them twice back in the 70s. “Radar Love” was our unofficial theme song when my future bride and I ran off to Jamaica. Wild days indeed! Shame about Kooymans. He was always so perfect.
I had a coworker that passed away from it. She was a very beautiful woman who is very active. She started having difficulty walking and went to the doctor who diagnosed her with ALS. She passed away a little over a year later. Horrible disease.
Little Feat - Let It Roll is another great driving song
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