The Outsiders (Dutch band)
Encyclopedia
The Outsiders were a Dutch band from Amsterdam
. Their period of greatest popularity in the Netherlands
was from 1965–67, but they released records until 1969. In recent years their legacy has extended beyond the Netherlands, and the group is today recognized as a distinctive progenitors of the garage rock
genre.
(vocals), Ronnie Splinter (guitar), Appie Rammers (bass guitar), Tom Krabbendam (guitar), Leendert "Buzz" Busch (drums), and Frank Beek (bass guitar 1968-1969), the band exemplified the "Nederbeat
Sound", a raw, Dutch take on rock 'n' roll created in the wake of the 60s British Invasion
. Unlike the many European bands influenced by The Beatles
, The Outsiders took their cues from harder-edged British groups like The Pretty Things
(who frequently toured the Netherlands) and The Rolling Stones
. In November 1965, in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Outsiders opened for Stones' second Dutch concert. Other critics have cited influences for the Outsiders as wide-ranging as Buddy Holly
, Jacques Brel
, and Love (band)
, as well as Eastern Europe
an folk
influence from Tax's Russia
n Roma ethnic roots. The Outsiders developed a reputation for a wild and raucous stage act, and were eventually banned from various venues.
The Outsiders released three full-length records, Outsiders and the singles collection Songbook in 1967, and C.Q. in 1968. The latter sold poorly upon release but is now considered a masterpiece of psychedelic garage rock. The band also released thirteen singles, including 1967's "Summer Is Here," which reached the Top Ten on the Dutch charts. Their eponymous debut album, which featured one side of studio recordings and another taken from their live show, also sold well during this period. Unusually for this era, the band never recorded any covers
. While several Dutch pop groups of the era — namely Tee Set
("Ma Belle Amie"), the Shocking Blue
("Venus"), and the George Baker Selection ("Little Green Bag") — all had hits in the United States on the Colossus label, resulting in what some music pundits jokingly called the "Dutch Invasion," the Outsiders were unable to join in on this success as their records were never released in the U.S.
bands fell from commercial favor, including The Outsiders. Later, Outsiders singles had lower chart peaks, and personnel changes, friction, poor promotion and management problems followed. Experiments and changes in musical style, though critically well-regarded today, only served to alienate the band's fanbase. The group began attempting publicity stunts in the hopes of building interest. These included dressing in medieval costumes, and staging a haircut for lead singer Wally Tax on Dutch television.
By autumn of 1969, Ronnie Splinter quit music for a while. The band disbanded, with Tax and Busch forming Tax Free, in the early '70s, in U.S., where they recorded one album.
A reunion tour of the four original Outsiders took place in October 1997. Wally Tax died in 2005.
by Jerome Blanes; the English version 'Outsiders by Insiders' was published in December 2009. Two collections of photographs, The Outsiders Picture Book, Volume 1 and The Outsiders Picture Book, Volume 2 and two scrapbooks with articles have also been published.
Reportedly, Kurt Cobain
was a fan of the Outsiders and made an unsuccessful attempt to meet Wally Tax.
When the Clash first formed they called themselves the Outsiders. A friend then showed them a record by the Outsiders, and they changed their name to the Clash.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. Their period of greatest popularity in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
was from 1965–67, but they released records until 1969. In recent years their legacy has extended beyond the Netherlands, and the group is today recognized as a distinctive progenitors of the garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
genre.
Career overview
Featuring Wally TaxWally Tax
Wally Tax was a Dutch singer and songwriter, best known as founder and frontman of the Nederbeat group The Outsiders. After commercial and artistic success with The Outsiders in the late 1960s, he had a brief solo career in the 1970s, and then was a successful songwriter, producing a number of hit...
(vocals), Ronnie Splinter (guitar), Appie Rammers (bass guitar), Tom Krabbendam (guitar), Leendert "Buzz" Busch (drums), and Frank Beek (bass guitar 1968-1969), the band exemplified the "Nederbeat
Nederbeat
Nederbeat is the Dutch pop music influenced by the early 1960s Beat groups led by the Beatles.Also the emergence of pirate station Radio Veronica stimulated the Dutch music community to produce truckloads of 'Nederbeat'. The Hague was the country's beat capital, along with neighbouring coastal...
Sound", a raw, Dutch take on rock 'n' roll created in the wake of the 60s British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
. Unlike the many European bands influenced by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Outsiders took their cues from harder-edged British groups like The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things are an English rock and roll band from London, who originally formed in 1963. They took their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing" and, in their early days, were dubbed by the British press the "uglier cousins of the Rolling Stones". Their most commercially successful...
(who frequently toured the Netherlands) and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. In November 1965, in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Outsiders opened for Stones' second Dutch concert. Other critics have cited influences for the Outsiders as wide-ranging as Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
, Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
, and Love (band)
Love (band)
Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer/songwriter Arthur Lee and lead guitarist Johnny Echols...
, as well as Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
influence from Tax's Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Roma ethnic roots. The Outsiders developed a reputation for a wild and raucous stage act, and were eventually banned from various venues.
The Outsiders released three full-length records, Outsiders and the singles collection Songbook in 1967, and C.Q. in 1968. The latter sold poorly upon release but is now considered a masterpiece of psychedelic garage rock. The band also released thirteen singles, including 1967's "Summer Is Here," which reached the Top Ten on the Dutch charts. Their eponymous debut album, which featured one side of studio recordings and another taken from their live show, also sold well during this period. Unusually for this era, the band never recorded any covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
. While several Dutch pop groups of the era — namely Tee Set
Tee Set
Tee Set was a pop rock band formed in 1966 in Delft, Netherlands.The group recorded a single in 1969 entitled "Ma Belle Amie", which was a hit in their native country, selling over 100,000 copies...
("Ma Belle Amie"), the Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band from The Hague, the Netherlands, formed in 1967. Their biggest hit, "Venus", went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970, and the band had sold 13.5 million discs by 1973, but the group disbanded in 1974.-Members:...
("Venus"), and the George Baker Selection ("Little Green Bag") — all had hits in the United States on the Colossus label, resulting in what some music pundits jokingly called the "Dutch Invasion," the Outsiders were unable to join in on this success as their records were never released in the U.S.
The final year, reunion
After the summer of '67, many of the NederbeatNederbeat
Nederbeat is the Dutch pop music influenced by the early 1960s Beat groups led by the Beatles.Also the emergence of pirate station Radio Veronica stimulated the Dutch music community to produce truckloads of 'Nederbeat'. The Hague was the country's beat capital, along with neighbouring coastal...
bands fell from commercial favor, including The Outsiders. Later, Outsiders singles had lower chart peaks, and personnel changes, friction, poor promotion and management problems followed. Experiments and changes in musical style, though critically well-regarded today, only served to alienate the band's fanbase. The group began attempting publicity stunts in the hopes of building interest. These included dressing in medieval costumes, and staging a haircut for lead singer Wally Tax on Dutch television.
By autumn of 1969, Ronnie Splinter quit music for a while. The band disbanded, with Tax and Busch forming Tax Free, in the early '70s, in U.S., where they recorded one album.
A reunion tour of the four original Outsiders took place in October 1997. Wally Tax died in 2005.
Legacy
The Outsiders are the subject of an official biography, Outsiders voor Insiders (1997), written in DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
by Jerome Blanes; the English version 'Outsiders by Insiders' was published in December 2009. Two collections of photographs, The Outsiders Picture Book, Volume 1 and The Outsiders Picture Book, Volume 2 and two scrapbooks with articles have also been published.
Reportedly, Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
was a fan of the Outsiders and made an unsuccessful attempt to meet Wally Tax.
When the Clash first formed they called themselves the Outsiders. A friend then showed them a record by the Outsiders, and they changed their name to the Clash.
Singles
- "You Mistreat Me"/"Sun's Going Down" (Muziek Express Op-Art ME 1003) 1965
- "Felt Like I Wanted to Cry"/"I Love Her Still I Always Will" (Muziek Express Op-Art ME 1006) 1966
- "Lying All the Time"/"Thinking About Today" (Relax 45004) 1966
- "Keep on Trying"/"That's Your Problem" (Relax 45006) 1966
- "Touch"/"Ballad of John B" (Relax 45016) 1966
- "Monkey on Your Back"/"What's Wrong With You" (Relax 45025) 1967
- "Summer is Here"/"Teach Me to Forget You" (Relax 45048) 1967
- "I've Been Loving You So Long"/"I'm Only Trying to Prove to Myself That I'm Not Like Everybody Else" (Relax 45058) 1967
- "Don't You Worry About Me"/"Bird in a Cage" (Relax 45068) 1967
- "A Cup of Hot Coffee"/"Strange Things Are Happening" (Relax 45088) 1968
- "I Don't Care"/"You Remind Me" (Polydor S 1266) 1968
- "Do You Feel Alright"/"Daddy Died on Saturday" (Polydor S 1300) 1968
- "Hits Come Back" (Imperial 5C 006 24835) 1973
Albums
- You Mistreat Me EP (Relax 11.001) 1966
- Outsiders (Relax 30.007) 1967
- CQ (Polydor 236 803) 1968
- The Outsiders EP (Beat Crazy BC 001) 1994
Compilations
- Songbook (Teenbeat APLP 102) 1967
- Golden Greats of The Outsiders (Bovema Negram 5N028-26197) 1979
- CQ Sessions (Pseudonym CDP-1010-DD) 1994