by AS Swanski » Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:24 pm
Hi,
I'm new to the forum and this was one of the first threads to catch my eye, as I am Dutch (though living in Sweden nowadays). I played in a couple of (obscure) new wave bands during the 1980s so I can relate pretty well to the topic.
When we talk about Dutch new wave, then it's best to forget Golden Earring (famous long before Johnny Rotten had even finished school - if he ever did), Herman Brood (who lived the life of an enfant terrible, but was musically very conservative), Luv / Maywood / Mai Tai (commercial girls pop), Fox The Fox (which were not taken seriously by Dutch new wave fans) and some of the others named earlier in this thread.
New wave was popular in The Netherlands, but most fans listened to foreign bands in the first place and there weren't so many Dutch wave bands that earned commercial success. Gruppo Sportivo played a kind of powerpop with a touch of cabaret, and was pretty big for a while. Another one that hit the mainstream was Nits, an art school band that started with a rather Beatlesque sound but over time developed a truly unique, poetic style.
There was some minor success for The Flying Spiderz, The Tapes and Mecano. Clan Of Xymox was a gothic band that were more successful abroad than in their home country.
Quite interesting was the ultra movement in the early 1980s: experimental bands, mainly from Amsterdam, that tried to develop their own musical language, similar to the New York no wave scene. Minny Pops, one of the lading ultra names, became a cult band and was associated with the Factory label in the UK. Soviet Sex also had quite a reputation and some of its founding members later started Blue Murder, which had a more polished sound, followed by Astral Bodies.
There was a wave of bands who sang in Dutch, which until then was quite rare for a pop group, and the most famous name among these was Doe Maar. In the 1980s, they were something like the Dutch Beatles, leaving behind dozens of fainted girls wherever they had played. Musically these bands had not much to do with what we call "new wave" as their main influences were reggae, ska and traditional Dutch pop music.
One band that also sang in Dutch but had nothing to do with Doe Maar / Goede Doel / Toontje Lager, was DIV, five students of architecture from Delft. To me, they were musically the most interesting Dutch band of the 1980s, with a tense and brooding sound that slightly referred to Belgium's best new wave band, T.C. Matic.
Another Dutch-singing band that made a few excellent records was The Scene. They were active in the 1980s but their best work was released a decade later.
Around 1985 bands like Claw Boys Claw and Fatal Flowers emerged from the Amsterdam garage scene. Their music was heavily influenced by the American psychedelic era as portrayed on the famous Nuggets compilations. Both bands were very successful according to Dutch standards.
In the second half of the 1980s, dance became big in the underground scene and The Netherlands were among the first countries to adopt house music. Maybe not exactly new wave, but started by members from former new wave bands, was Urban Dance Squad, one of the best live acts I have ever seen. They had an explosive sound that combined rock with funk and hip hop, much like The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Living Colour.
Phew, that's what I recall in a nutshell....
Hope this helps,
A.S. Swanski