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Doe Maar
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Doe Maar was formed in 1978 by keyboard player and singer Ernst Jansz and bassist Piet Dekker, with guitarist Jan Hendriks and drummer Carel Copier. Jansz and Dekker had previously played together in Boudewijn de Groot's backing band. In 1980 Henny Vrienten joined as bassist and singer. Doe Maar played ska and reggae with Dutch lyrics, and in doing so proved that pop music in Dutch did not have to sound old-fashioned.
Music and breakthrough
The debut album Doe Maar (1979) was poorly received. Skunk (1981) went to number 1 in the album chart. It contains Sinds 1 dag of 2 (32 jaar), about a 32-year-old man who, to his own surprise, is in love again, with the guitar on the offbeat, the beat between the beats. The radio DJ Frits Spits gave the song its title. Most of the songs came from Vrienten and Jansz, and were about being in love, puberty, parents and boredom, in the language in which young people talked to one another. In 1982 the band broke through on a massive scale. The single De bom, about life under the threat of cruise missiles, spent four weeks at number 1 in the Top 40 in December 1982. The album 4us (1983) also reached number 1.
Influence
Teenagers followed Doe Maar as their parents had followed The Beatles. In February 1984 the band announced its end, and on 14 April 1984 two farewell concerts followed in the Maaspoort in Den Bosch. After that, Dutch-language bands such as Het Goede Doel, Klein Orkest and the Frank Boeijen Groep got more room. Doe Maar later returned, in 2000 and 2008, among other occasions. Vrienten died in 2022.
Listening
Sinds 1 dag of 2 (32 jaar) · Doe Maar, 1981Apple Music ↗
De bom · Doe Maar, 1983Apple Music ↗
Discography
Studio albums
- 1979Doe Maar
- 1981Skunk
- 1981Skunk
- 1982Doe de dub: discodubversie
- 1982Doris Day en andere stukken
- 19834US
- 2000Klaar
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Mixtape 7: The 1980sNL Reader
- Mixtape 11: NederpopNL Reader
- Magazine: Nederpop in the Cold WarNL Magazine
Mentioned in other articles
- Rock in Dutch Genre
After Doe Maar, Dutch became the language of rock too.
- Nederpop Genre
Doe Maar played ska and reggae with Dutch lyrics and broke through massively in 1982; Het Goede Doel made synth-pop and the Frank Boeijen Groep new wave.
- België Song
After Doe Maar, dozens of Dutch-language bands followed within a few years.