Beneluxury

[Pellie]

Brummel's Luxor. Nice felt on this one, unfortunally the yellow protection liner is missing, but overall in mint condition. My guess late 50's, early 60's. It's a bit snug, so i have to stretch it a bit. But that would work.

 

[steur]

Here’s something different for you. A bit of Dutch music history and some hats to be found too. Let’s start with this fellow.

Jan Akkerman was born in Amsterdam but has been living in Volendam (where I live) after marrying a local girl. Lives about a mile away from me. Performs now and again in a local pub but has moved towards jazz some time ago. He was however chosen in 1973 as best guitar player in the world by Melody Maker, leaving Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page behind him. Not much of a hatwearer is Jan, but he can be seen on the odd occasion with a hat.

He was at the time still member of Focus, along with this fellow.

Thijs van Leer, also from Amsterdam. Flutist, keyboard player and vocalist. They made a name for themselves in the US with an epic performance on the Midnight Special of their composition Hocus Pocus in 1973, cramming this 7 minute song into a 5 minute timeslot and hitting it out of the park and into the next state. Note presenter Gladys Knight here. Enjoy.

Van Leer was much more a hatwearer than Jan Akkerman was. The two didn’t get along very well and Van Leer was often referred to by Akkerman as “that yodler”. Van Leer’s musical abilities were considerable and it was because of this he was asked to help out on the following occasion.

There is a song which was composed by two other greats of Dutch musical history. Boudewijn de Groot, seen here.

Rarely wears a hat, likely because he was (and is) proud of his hair. If you ever want to experience the best diction and pronunciation of the Dutch language (best sit down and it will probably pass) De Groot is the one to go to. Second to none. Superb songs as well.

And Lennart Nijgh, lyricist. Never wore a hat, likely because it would fall off as he downed another drink. Best lyricist in the Dutch language ever bar none.

The two of them together here.

And later in life.

This is just the intro. More in the second post.

 

[jeffgarf]

Thijs van Leer, also from Amsterdam. Flutist, keyboard player and vocalist. They made a name for themselves in the US with an epic performance on the Midnight Special of their composition Hocus Pocus in 1973, cramming this 7 minute song into a 5 minute timeslot and hitting it out of the park and into the next state. Note presenter Gladys Knight here. Enjoy.


Van Leer was much more a hatwearer than Jan Akkerman was. The two didn’t get along very well and Van Leer was often referred to by Akkerman as “that yodler”. Van Leer’s musical abilities were considerable and it was because of this he was asked to help out on the following occasion.

Funny story, one of my employees, a musician himself, still plays this around the office. He was obsessed with "Hocus Pocus" by Focus. He was also born about 25 years after this performance.

 

[steur]

Part II

The two of them wrote this song as a sort of dialogue for this guy and girl (bear with me here).

Ramses Shaffy. Born in France in Neuilly-sur-Seine, as son of the Egyptian consul Ramsès Shaffy Bey and the Polish countess Alexandra de Wysocka of Russian decent ("comtesse Romanov"). As a musician, singer and painter he was the darling of progressive and artistic Amsterdam of the sixties and seventies. He lived the lifestyle to the fullest with women, but mostly men. He did wear hats.

One of his hats. This one a Hückel.

Liesbeth List, born Elisabeth Driessen in Bandoeng, Indonesia. Mostly known as the musical counterpart of Shaffy and they often performed together. She had a recognizable hairstyle and never wore hats of any sort.

Their biggest hit was the song De Groot and Nijgh composed for them, called “Pastorale”. You can find it here, both the original clip and one with English subtitles.

and with subtitles

It is a great song and a devilishly clever send-up of Shaffy at the same time. He is portrayed as the arrogant sun around which everything revolves and she as the girl who is in love with him.

We’re getting there; a little more patience. The final part of the song is her singing how much she loves him, but there was a problem during the recording. List couldn’t reach it. What to do? As luck would have it, Thijs van Leer was there and he had a vocal range of three octaves. So the last lines of the song were actually sung by Van Leer and not by List.

There, all of the players neatly connected and a fun little musical tidbit to boot.

 

[steur]

Funny story, one of my employees, a musician himself, still plays this around the office. He was obsessed with "Hocus Pocus" by Focus. He was also born about 25 years after this performance.

The number of people reacting to this performance on Youtube is staggering. To be fair, it is something to behold.

 

[BobHufford]

Hocus Pocus in 1973

I’ve had that album (“Moving Waves” in the US) since I was 13. Great “hat” story Stefan!

 

[steur]

I’ve had that album (“Moving Waves” in the US) since I was 13. Great “hat” story Stefan!

View attachment 817104

Thanks, Bob. Had their first two albums when I still had my vinyl collection. When that went out the door they didn't get replaced with CD's. Might have to do that one day.
My town has a strong musical tradition which even has its own name "palingsound". It leans heavily towards harmonies and west coast country rock. Akkerman is all too aware he does not fit in there at all musically. His daughter Laurie, who sings and plays guitar as well, was in the same schoolclass as my oldest son. Never ran into Jan Akkerman though.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Thanks, Bob. Had their first two albums when I still had my vinyl collection. When that went out the door they didn't get replaced with CD's. Might have to do that one day.
My town has a strong musical tradition which even has its own name "palingsound". It leans heavily towards harmonies and west coast country rock. Akkerman is all too aware he does not fit in there at all musically. His daughter Laurie, who sings and plays guitar as well, was in the same schoolclass as my oldest son. Never ran into Jan Akkerman though.

A few anecdotes about Dutch music as experienced from Italy.
I recall the band Shocking Blue—specifically their singles "Venus" and "Never Marry a Railroad Man," which were staples at parties back in the late sixties, right in the thick of my adolescence.
"Hocus Pocus" served as the theme song for a morning radio show on RAI; I’d almost always listen to it while studying, and whenever that yodel-meets-rondo section kicked in, I’d get such a kick out of it that a friend and I even pooled our money to buy the album. We enjoyed it for a while, but then, during a party, someone else just had to have it—they took it home, and it vanished from our shared collection.
The story of Jan Akkerman is a bit more involved. It starts with "House of the Kings," another track that served as a radio show theme in Italy. A friend of mine—a bit older than I was—fell in love with the piece, and since I was a total record-store regular back then, I was tasked with tracking it down. I managed to find it, and she became a devoted fan of the Dutch guitarist—I suspect she might have been the only one in the entire city of Verona! Whenever I went to visit her, she’d always have the latest Akkerman album ready for me to hear. I haven’t seen her in years, but I still picture her opening the door to her apartment with "House of the Kings" playing in the background.
I’m not familiar with Shaffy & List, but that video is pure LSD-fueled kitsch—and that little sun costume is something to keep in mind for those sadder moments, just to spark a bit of laughter

 

[steur]

A few anecdotes about Dutch music as experienced from Italy.
I recall the band Shocking Blue—specifically their singles "Venus" and "Never Marry a Railroad Man," which were staples at parties back in the late sixties, right in the thick of my adolescence.
"Hocus Pocus" served as the theme song for a morning radio show on RAI; I’d almost always listen to it while studying, and whenever that yodel-meets-rondo section kicked in, I’d get such a kick out of it that a friend and I even pooled our money to buy the album. We enjoyed it for a while, but then, during a party, someone else just had to have it—they took it home, and it vanished from our shared collection.
The story of Jan Akkerman is a bit more involved. It starts with "House of the Kings," another track that served as a radio show theme in Italy. A friend of mine—a bit older than I was—fell in love with the piece, and since I was a total record-store regular back then, I was tasked with tracking it down. I managed to find it, and she became a devoted fan of the Dutch guitarist—I suspect she might have been the only one in the entire city of Verona! Whenever I went to visit her, she’d always have the latest Akkerman album ready for me to hear. I haven’t seen her in years, but I still picture her opening the door to her apartment with "House of the Kings" playing in the background.
I’m not familiar with Shaffy & List, but that video is pure LSD-fueled kitsch—and that little sun costume is something to keep in mind for those sadder moments, just to spark a bit of laughter

Wonderful trip down memory lane there, Daniele. Can't explain to younger generations the thrill of times hunting down obscure vinyl in various shops in Amsterdam. Can't blame you for not knowing about Shaffy and List as they were firmly on the light music and chansons side, which were all the rage back then it seems. Boudewijn the Groot is not exactly rock and roll either, but he gets a pass just because.