Squeeze are an English rock band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the new wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording in the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. In the UK, their singles "Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction", and "Labelled with Love" were top-ten chart hits. Though not as commercially successful in the United States, Squeeze had American hits with "Tempted", "Black Coffee in Bed", and "Hourglass", and were considered a part of the Second British Invasion.
Edam-Volendam is a municipality in the northwest Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, primarily consisting of the towns of Edam and Volendam. It is situated on the western shore of the Markermeer, just north of Waterland. In 2021, it had a population of 36,268.
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.
Johannes "Hans" Bouwens, known as George Baker, is a Dutch singer and songwriter who, with his band George Baker Selection, scored three international hits; "Little Green Bag" (1969), "Paloma Blanca" (1975) and "Santa Lucia by Night" (1985).
Patricia Ann Cole, known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American soul singer. Arnold began her career as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1965. The following year she relocated to London to pursue a solo career. Arnold enjoyed considerable success in the United Kingdom with her singles "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (1967) and "Angel of the Morning" (1968).
"Cool for Cats" is a song by English rock band Squeeze, released as the second single from their album of the same name. The song features a rare lead vocal performance from cockney-accented Squeeze lyricist Chris Difford, one of the only two occasions he sang lead on a Squeeze single A-side. The song, slightly edited from the album track, peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1979, making "Cool for Cats" one of the band's biggest hits.
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.
"Moneytalks" is a song written by Malcolm and Angus Young and produced by Bruce Fairbairn for the hard rock band AC/DC. Originally released on 24 September 1990 on the album The Razors Edge, it was later released as a single that year. A live version of the song recorded on the band's 1990–1991 Razors Edge World Tour appeared on AC/DC's 1992 live album, Live.
"It's a Hard Life" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was featured on their 1984 album The Works, and it was the third single from that album. In 1991 it was included in the band’s second compilation album Greatest Hits II.
"Shandi" is a hit single by American hard rock band Kiss. Released on their 1980 album, Unmasked, the song was popular in Australia, where it reached number five on the Australian charts. The song would prove to be a hit in other countries as well, making the top ten in three other countries. "Shandi" peaked at number 47 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
"Do It Again" is a 1972 song composed and performed by American rock group Steely Dan, who released it as a single from their debut album Can't Buy a Thrill as its opening track. The single version differed from the album version, shortening the intro and outro and omitting the organ solo.
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.
Jan Smit is a Dutch singer, television host, and actor. Smit mostly sings songs in the Dutch language, in a genre known as palingsound. In addition to his solo career, in 2015 Smit joined the schlager trio KLUBBB3, and in 2017 The Toppers. As a TV presenter, he has worked on programs like the Beste Zangers and Sterren Muziekfeest op het Plein Since 1999, Smit has been serving as an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages.
Jan Keizer is a Dutch singer and composer, best known as one of the singers of the popband BZN.
Zen was a Dutch rock band, founded by Siegfried 'Siebe' de Jong and Dirk van der Ploeg in 1965. Van der Ploeg was the songwriter for the band, but the band underwent numerous changes in its line-up in its existence. The hippie-oriented one hit wonder band hit the top spot on the Dutch Top 40 singles chart in January 1969, with their version of the theme song from the musical Hair.
"Strange Brew" is a song by the British rock band Cream. First released as a single in June 1967 in the UK and US, it was later added to their second studio album Disraeli Gears. The song features Eric Clapton on lead vocals rather than the usual lead by Jack Bruce. The single peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart in July of that same year. In the UK, it was the last Cream single to be released by Reaction Records.
"Arms of Mary" is a song written by Iain Sutherland and performed by Sutherland Brothers and Quiver. It was a 1976 international hit single for the band; the Glasgow Herald in its obituary for Iain Sutherland described "Arms of Mary" as "a plaintive and radio-friendly folk-rock ballad in which the narrator reminisces over the woman he first made love to."
Piet Veerman is a Dutch pop musician. From 1964 to 1985 he was a guitarist and singer for The Cats, and since 1968 the lead singer for all the singles of this band. He released a first solo album in 1975 but started his solo career definitely in 1987 after The Cats broke up for the last time. During his career, Veerman received more than thirty gold records.
Anny Schilder is a Dutch pop singer, and was the lead singer of BZN from 1976 to 1984.
Palingsound is the unique musical sound attributed to a subgenre of Dutch pop music called palingpop. 'Palingsound' is also frequently used as a synonym for the genre palingpop as a whole. The term references the origin of many of the artists making music this way, the (eel) fisherman's town of Volendam. Palingsound refers to a smooth melodic and sometimes sentimental sound, with close vocal harmonies, combined with matching arrangements and a studio mixing style.
