Barry Hay

Last updated

Barry Hay
Barry Hay 2014.jpg
Hay in 2014
Background information
Birth nameBarry Andrew Hay
Born (1948-08-16) 16 August 1948 (age 76)
Faizabad, United Provinces, India (present day-Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India)
Origin The Hague, Netherlands
Genres Rock
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • flute
  • guitar
Years active1967–present
Website barryhaymusic.com

Barry Andrew Hay (born 16 August 1948) is an Indian-born Dutch musician; he was the lead vocalist and frontman of Dutch rock band Golden Earring from 1967 until their disbandment in 2021. [1] He has also released three solo albums.

Contents

Early life and education

Hay was born in Faizabad, United Provinces (present day Ayodhya, India), to a Dutch-Jewish [2] mother, Sofia Maria née Sluijter (1922–2004, born in Makassar), and a Scottish commissioned officer, Philip Aubrey Hay (1923–1980). He moved to the Netherlands at the age of eight to live with his mother after his parents divorced. He lived in Amsterdam and later in The Hague, attending an English boarding school.

After graduating from secondary school, he took courses at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague.

Background

Barry is of Jewish descent. Hay's grandmother, Flora Sluijter-Polak (born 29 January 1890 in Amsterdam), was killed in an Auschwitz concentration camp on 1 October 1942, [3] and her child, Marcus Sluijter (born 21 August 1927) was also killed in Auschwitz, on 31 January 1943, aged fifteen. [4] After the Second World War ended, Barry's mother hid her Jewish identity and "no longer wanted to know that she was Jewish". [5]

His maternal grandfather served in the Dutch East Indies Army. [6]

Career

Hay started his music career with a band called The Haigs. In the summer of 1967, he was asked to join the Golden Earrings, as they were then called (the "Earrings" was later changed to "Earring"), replacing Frans Krassenburg. Hay created the cover art for some of Golden Earring's albums.[ citation needed ]

They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on the Dutch chart, reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, and went to number thirteen on the United States chart, [7] [8] "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. [7] During their career they had nearly 30 top-ten singles on the Dutch charts and released 25 studio albums.

Hay in 1971 BarryHay1971TopPop.png
Hay in 1971

He has released three solo albums. Only Parrots, Frogs and Angels (1972) and Victory of Bad Taste (1987) both has little success. The Big Band Theory (2008) is available for online streaming. The Big Band Theory featured music from Metropole Orkest. In 2009, he released a DVD of him and the Orkest performing the album live.

In 1990, Hay lent his voice to the Dutch dub of the animated film "All Dogs Go to Heaven", providing the voice of Charlie. [9] He later did this again for the Dutch version of Fern Gully and for Hanekam de Rocker (together with his bandmate George Kooymans ). In 1999 he played a small role - as himself - in An Amsterdam Tale .

In 1994, he sang lead vocals and played alto flute on the Ayreon song "Sail Away to Avalon", the single from the latter's debut album, The Final Experiment .

During the 2000s, Hay provided the Dutch voice of Rock Zilla in the Canadian cartoon show My Dad The Rock Star, and he appeared in an advertisement for prescription sunglasses. [10]

In 2016, Hay released an album with side-project Flying V Formation, and his biography.[ citation needed ] In December 2017, the Flying V released a cover of The Ronettes' 1963 hit song "Be My Baby".

In 2019, Hay released an album with musician JB Meijers (The Common Linnets); For You Baby, which contains Latin-flavoured cover versions and includes Blue Bayou , a duet with Danny Vera.

On 5 February 2021, the band's manager announced to the Dutch press that their active career was over due to George Kooymans' serious illness. [11] In 2022, he released another album in collaboration with JB Meijers, titled "Fiesta de la Vida".

Personal life

Hay married Sandra Bastiaan on February 22, 1992. The couple have two daughters, born in 1990 (Bella Hay) and 1999.

In 2001, Hay left The Hague and moved back to Amsterdam, although he now divides his time between the Netherlands and Curaçao, where he hosts a radio show.

Discography

Golden Earring

(See full discography at Golden Earring discography)

Solo

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Earring</span> Dutch rock band

Golden Earring were a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Tornados. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on the Dutch chart, reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, and went to number thirteen on the United States chart, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. During their career they had nearly 30 top-ten singles on the Dutch charts and released 25 studio albums.

<i>Golden Earring</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Golden Earring

Golden Earring is the self-titled album by Dutch rock band Golden Earring, released in 1970. Fans often refer to it as Wall of Dolls due to the cover artwork. This is the first Golden Earring album with drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk as a member. From that time, all four members of the band on this album have remained in the lineup.

<i>Live</i> (Golden Earring album) 1977 live album by Golden Earring

Live is the first live album by Dutch rock band Golden Earring, released in 1977. It was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on March 25, 1977.

<i>No Promises...No Debts</i> 1979 studio album by Golden Earring

No Promises...No Debts is an album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 1979. In the U.S. the album was released with a different cover photo showing the group standing around.

<i>Prisoner of the Night</i> 1980 studio album by Golden Earring

Prisoner of the Night is an album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 1980. In the US, the album was titled Long Blond Animal.

<i>2nd Live</i> 1981 live album by Golden Earring

2nd Live is the second live album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in May 1981. The album was not issued in the U.S.

<i>The Hole</i> (album) 1986 studio album by Golden Earring

The Hole is the eighteenth studio album by the Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 1986. The band gave a free promotion concert in support of the album on the beach of Scheveningen for an audience of 185,000. Anton Corbijn directed a video clip for the single "Quiet Eyes". It was made in the same black and white style as the photographs he made for the inner sleeve of the album.

<i>Bloody Buccaneers</i> 1991 studio album by Golden Earring

Bloody Buccaneers is an album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 1991.

<i>Face It</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Golden Earring

Face It is an album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 1994. The album was not issued in the U.S.

<i>The Naked Truth</i> (Golden Earring album) 1992 live album by Golden Earring

The Naked Truth is the fourth live album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 1992. All songs were performed with acoustic instruments. The album has been released over the decade with additional tracks under the titles The Complete Naked Truth and Fully Naked.

<i>Paradise in Distress</i> 1999 studio album by Golden Earring

Paradise in Distress is the twenty-third album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 1999. The album was not issued in the U.S.

<i>Last Blast of the Century</i> 2000 live album by Golden Earring

Last Blast of the Century is the sixth live album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 2000. The album was not issued in the U.S.

<i>Millbrook U.S.A.</i> 2003 studio album by Golden Earring

Millbrook U.S.A. is an album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 2003. It was named after Millbrook, New York, where the band stayed to record the album. Despite this, the album was not issued in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cesar Zuiderwijk</span> Dutch drummer

Cornelis Johannes "Cesar" Zuiderwijk, is a Dutch drummer. He is best known as the drummer of the Dutch rock band Golden Earring from 1970 until their retirement in 2021.

<i>On the Double</i> (album) 1969 studio album by Golden Earring

On the Double is a double album by Dutch rock band Golden Earring, released in 1969. It was the last album released under the name Golden Earrings as well as the last to feature drummer Jaap Eggermont, who left to pursue a career as a record producer, ultimately creating Stars on 45.

<i>Winter-Harvest</i> 1967 studio album by Golden Earring

Winter-Harvest is the second album by Dutch beat band Golden Earrings, released in 1967. Note that Frans Krassenberg, after this record, would leave the band. He was replaced by Barry Hay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twilight Zone (Golden Earring song)</span> 1982 single by Golden Earring

"Twilight Zone" is a 1982 hit by Dutch band Golden Earring. It was written by the band's guitarist George Kooymans, who drew inspiration from the spy thriller book The Bourne Identity rather than the 1960s mystery television series The Twilight Zone. The song "Twilight Zone" appears on Golden Earring's 1982 album Cut. It spent 27 weeks on the US Pop charts. It was the group's sole Top 10 Pop single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart, the band's only No. 1 hit in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Kooymans</span> Dutch musician (born 1948)

George Jan Kooymans is a Dutch retired guitarist and vocalist. He is best known for his work with the Dutch group Golden Earring. Kooymans wrote "Twilight Zone", the group's only top 10 entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rinus Gerritsen</span> Dutch musician

Marinus Gerritsen is a Dutch bassist. Best known for being founding member of Dutch group Golden Earring, he is also a producer of artists like Herman Brood. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden counts Gerritsen as an important influence.

<i>Tits n Ass</i> 2012 studio album by Golden Earring

Tits 'n Ass is the twenty-fifth and final studio album by Dutch rock band Golden Earring, released on 11 May 2012. It was their first studio album since 2003's Millbrook U.S.A., but was not issued in the U.S. It was the group's final album before their 2021 breakup.

References

  1. Birchmeier, Jason. "Biography: Barry Hay". Allmusic . Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  2. His grandmother, Vrouwtje Sluijter née Polak, and his uncle, Marcus Sluijter, were murdered in the Holocaust.
  3. "Vrouwtje Sluijter-Polak". Joods Monument (in Dutch). 29 January 1890. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  4. "Marcus Sluijter". Joods Monument (in Dutch). 21 August 1927. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  5. Vuijsje, Robert (30 July 2018). "Volgens joden ben ik een jodenjongen, omdat mijn moeder het is". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  6. "Stambomen van Nederlands Joodse families - Gezin Overzicht". Maxvandam.info. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  7. 1 2 Huey, Steve. "Golden Earring Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  8. US-Singles: Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2006. Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN   0-89820-172-1 / US-Alben: The Billboard Albums von Joel Whitburn, 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN   0-89820-166-7
  9. "Barry Hay | Actor, Composer, Soundtrack". IMDb. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  10. "FramesDirect.com Blog". FramesDirect.com.
  11. "Ziekte George Kooymans betekent het einde van Golden Earring". Nos.nl. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.