Formed in the Hague, Netherlands, in 1961, by George Kooymans (b. 11 March 1948, the Hague, Netherlands; guitar/vocals) and Rinus Gerritsen (b. 9 August 1946, the Hague, Netherlands; bass/vocals) along with Hans Van Herwerden (guitar) and Fred Van Der Hilst (drums). The group, initially known as the Golden Earrings, subsequently underwent several changes before they secured a Dutch Top 10 hit with their debut release, ‘Please Go’ (1965). By this point Kooymans and Gerritsen had been joined by Frans Krassenburg (vocals), Peter De Ronde (guitar) and Jaap Eggermont (drums) and the revitalized line-up became one of the most popular ‘nederbeat’ attractions. Barry Hay (b. 16 August 1948, Fyzabad, India; lead vocals, flute, saxophone, guitar) replaced Krassenburg in 1966, while De Ronde also left the group as they embraced a more radical direction. The group’s first Dutch number 1 hit, ‘Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi-Dong’, came in 1968 and saw them branching out from their homeland to other European countries as well as a successful tour of the USA. Eggermont left the group to become a producer and was eventually supplanted by Cesar Zuiderwijk (b. 18 July 1948, the Hague, Netherlands) in 1969 as Golden Earring began courting an international audience with their compulsive Eight Miles High, which featured an extended version of the famous Byrds song.
After years of experimenting with various music styles, they settled for a straight, hard rock sound and in 1972 Golden Earring were invited to support the Who on a European tour. They were subsequently signed to Track Records and the following year had a Dutch number 1/UK Top 10 hit with ‘Radar Love’ which subsequently found its way into the US Top 20 in 1974. Despite this, they were curiously unable to secure overseas success, which was not helped by a consistently unstable line-up. Robert Jan Stips augmented the quartet between 1974 and 1976 and on his departure Eelco Gelling joined as supplementary guitarist. By the end of the decade, however, the group had reverted to its basic line-up of Kooymans, Gerritsen, Hay and Zuiderwijk, who continued to forge an imaginative brand of rock and their reputation as a top European live act was reinforced by Second Live. With the release of Cut in 1982, Golden Earring earned themselves a US Top 10 hit with ‘Twilight Zone’. This was followed by a triumphant tour of the USA and Canada, where further chart success was secured with ‘Lady Smiles’. With various members able to indulge themselves in solo projects, Golden Earring have deservedly earned themselves respect throughout Europe and America as the Netherlands’ longest surviving and successful rock group.
