The Rubettes are an English pop/glam rock band put together in 1974 after the release of "Sugar Baby Love", a recording assembled of studio session musicians in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, the then head of A&R at Polydor Records, and his co-songwriter, Tony Waddington after their doo-wop and 1950s American pop-influenced songs had been rejected by a number of existing acts. Waddington paired the group with manager John Morris, the husband of singer Clodagh Rodgers and under his guidance, the band duly emerged at the tail end of the glam rock movement, wearing trademark white suits and cloth caps on stage. Their first release, "Sugar Baby Love" was an instant hit remaining at number one in the United Kingdom for four weeks in May 1974, while reaching number 37 on the US chart that August, and remains their best-known record. Subsequent releases were to be less successful, but the band continued to tour well into the 2000s with two line-ups in existence.
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967. They were part of the Nederbeat movement in the Netherlands. The band had a string of hit songs during the counterculture movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, including "Send Me a Postcard" and "Venus", which became their biggest hit and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and many other countries during 1969 and 1970. The band sold 13.5 million records by 1973 but disbanded in 1974. Together with Golden Earring they are considered the most successful Nederbeat-band, if the criterion is scoring hits abroad and especially in the United States.
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard rock music was produced by the Kinks, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Cream, Vanilla Fudge, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. In the late 1960s, bands such as Blue Cheer, the Jeff Beck Group, Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin, Golden Earring, Steppenwolf, and Deep Purple also produced hard rock.
Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally named the Doc Thomas Group, the band changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums at the beginning of the 1970s but failed to find any success. On the verge of breaking up, the band were encouraged by David Bowie to stay together. Bowie wrote their glam-style signature song "All the Young Dudes" for them, which became their first hit in 1972. Bowie subsequently produced their album of the same name, which added to their success.
Japan were an English new wave band formed in 1974 in Catford, South London by David Sylvian, Steve Jansen (drums) and Mick Karn, joined by Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Rob Dean the following year. Initially a glam rock-inspired band, Japan developed their sound and androgynous look to incorporate electronic music and foreign influences.
Golden Earring was 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.
"Radar Love" is a song by the Dutch rock band Golden Earring. The single version of "Radar Love" reached #9 on the Record World chart, #10 on Cash Box, and #13 on Billboard in the United States. It hit the Top 10 in many countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Spain.
Roy Wood is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard.
Mud are an English glam rock band, formed in February 1966. Their earlier success came in a pop and then glam rock style, while later hits were influenced by 1950s rock and roll and rockabilly, and they are best remembered for their hit singles "Dyna-mite", "Tiger Feet", which was the UK's best-selling single of 1974, and "Lonely This Christmas" which reached Christmas number 1 in December 1974. After signing to Rak Records and teaming up with songwriters/producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, the band had fourteen UK Top 20 hits between 1973 and 1976, including three number ones.
Rubberen Robbie is a Dutch band from Leiden, Netherlands, best known for a parodic medley of Dutch-language songs that was a number-one hit in the Netherlands in 1981. It is the continuation of a successful 1970s glam rock outfit, Catapult; its members also formed a successful production and songwriting team, Cat Music, responsible for a number of Dutch hit songs.
BZN was a Dutch pop group that had a string of hits from 1966 to 2007 on. BZN recorded mostly in English and French, but also had success with material in Dutch and German.
"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.
VideoKids were a 1980s Euro disco duo from the Netherlands, formed in 1984 and consisting of Peter Slaghuis (1961-1991) and Bianca Bonelli (1964-1995). The band's members also had solo careers on their own, such as Peter being a famous DJ and remixer, and Bianca having a solo single called "Je Veux L'amour ". They released two albums, The Invasion of the Spacepeckers in 1984 and On Satellite in 1985. All of their songs were produced and written by Catapult musicians Aart Mol, Cees Bergman, Elmer Veerhoff, Erwin van Prehn and Geertjan Hessing, and recorded at Cat Music.
Bojoura, born Raina Gerardina Bojoura van Melzen, is a folk and pop vocalist, whose greatest success came in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Fantastique was a pop music duo from the Netherlands in 1981-1983, consisting of Dick Van Dam and Astrid Leuwener. Their singles at the time, "Mama Told Me", "Costa Blanca", "Maria No Mas", "Your Hand In My Hand" and "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", sold successfully worldwide. They released one album, Fantastique in 1982. All of their songs were produced and written by Catapult musicians Aart Mol, Cees Bergman, Elmer Veerhoff, Erwin van Prehn and Geertjan Hessing, and recorded at Cat Music.
"When the Lady Smiles" is a 1984 song by Dutch band Golden Earring. It was the first single from their album N.E.W.S. (NorthEastWestSouth). Following their United States top 10 hit "Twilight Zone", "When the Lady Smiles" was a chart disappointment in America, only reaching No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the song became the band's fifth Hot 100 charter, making Golden Earring the most successful Dutch band on the United States singles chart.
Nederbeat is a genre of rock music that began with the Dutch rock boom in the mid-1960s influenced by British beat groups and rock bands such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Much like British freakbeat, it is essentially the Dutch counterpart to American garage rock. Among the best-known Nederbeat groups are the Golden Earrings, The Motions, The Outsiders and Shocking Blue.
Digital Emotion is a 1980s Euro disco group from the Netherlands, formed in 1983. Performers were Steven Koswal, Chickie de Beer and Myrna Balrak; Jean François Columbo, De Beer and Balrak; and Steve de Goede, De Beer and Marlinda van der Hoff. Their first singles from 1983, "Get Up, Action" and "Go Go Yellow Screen", sold successfully worldwide. They released two albums, Digital Emotion in 1984 and Outside In The Dark in 1985. All of their songs were produced and written by Catapult musicians Aart Mol, Cees Bergman, Elmer Veerhoff, Erwin van Prehn and Geertjan Hessing, and recorded at Cat Music.
Earth and Fire were a Dutch rock and pop band. Formed in the Netherlands by twin brothers Chris and Gerard Koerts, and most popular in 1970, after adding a female singer, turning frontwoman, Jerney Kaagman.
"Woodpeckers from Space" is a song by the Dutch eurodisco duo VideoKids. A synth-pop cover of "The Woody Woodpecker Song", it was released in 1984 by Boni Records through their sublabel Break Records as the duo's debut single, as well as the sixth track from their debut studio album, The Invasion of the Spacepeckers (1984).
