Thank you Karin Hulsman. It was because of you that I got to know Frank Boeijen in the early eighties. How often did we see him perform! You were in love with Frank Boeijen. I was not...
On 1 March 2020, the album "Kontakt" was on the turntable during our Sunday Morning Classics.
Frank Boeijen
Frank Boeijen (1957) was born and raised in Nijmegen. He is the youngest of a Catholic family with ten children. His youth was already marked by a lot of music: at home, where his older brothers brought music by Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and at school, where he was often allowed to sing solo. In the years after secondary school, Boeijen devoted himself entirely to music. Together with the seven years older guitarist Wout Pennings, an album was independently released in 1977: Frank Boeijen and Woutje Pennings. Through Pennings, the album ended up at record company CNR in 1978. Boeijen and Pennings were given the opportunity by CNR to re-record the album, including four new songs, under the production guidance of Rob de Nijs. The album featured keyboardist Jan Rietman and backing vocalist Jody Pijper. To be able to perform live, the duo was expanded with drummer Henk Wanders and bassist Nels Busch.
Frank Boeijen Group
In 1979, Pennings and Boeijen parted ways. Boeijen then founded the Frank Boeijen Group with Wanders, Busch, guitarist Will Theunissen and keyboardist Jos Haagmans. The new group's first performance was on 3 November 1979 at the youth centre Doornroosje in Nijmegen. The first single, Transport from Bangkok, was not a success but the B-side Verjaardagsfeest attracted the attention of DJ Frits Spits in 1981. This song was named Support Record in the radio programme De Avondspits and later entered the Tipparade.
The Frank Boeijen Group released a total of eleven albums, including 1001 Hotel (1983), Kontakt (1984), Foto Van Een Mooie Dag (1985), In Natura (1986) and Welkom In Utopia (1987). The best-known hits were Linda (1983), Zwart wit (1984), written following the death of Kerwin Duinmeijer, Kronenburg Park (1985), with Mai Tai providing backing vocals, and Zeg me dat het niet zo is (1990). The band underwent various personnel changes. For example, guitarist Maarten Peters was a member of the Frank Boeijen Group between 1984 and 1986. Towards the end of the 1980s, Boeijen increasingly put his personal stamp on the group. Following an idea from manager Paul Schouwenaars, from 1987 the Frank Boeijen Group mainly performed in theatres and playhouses, which was quite unusual for a pop group at the time. The premiere of the Welkom in Utopia tour was on 26 September 1987 at the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam. After more than eleven years, Boeijen disbanded the group in early 1991. He stated that the possibilities as a group were exhausted and that he sought new impulse and inspiration in collaborations with others. On 30 March 1991, the last two performances of the Frank Boeijen Group took place at Theatre De Metropole in Almere.
On 17 March 2015, Boeijen won the Lennaert Nijgh Prize for best lyricist. On 11 April 2017, it was announced by Frits Spits on NPO Radio 5 that Frank Boeijen would receive the NPO Radio 5 Nostalgia Oeuvre Award 2017 on 3 September 2017.
source: Wikipedia photo: Michiel Hendryckx
https://frankboeijen.nl/
