Index | Bio | Discography | Essay | Notes
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Index | Bio | Discography | Essay | Notes |
Rare Tracks | Polydor EP 2454 120 (1976/77)
Ten Mistakes | Dutch Ariola 25.464 XOT (1977)
Back to '78 | Dutch Ariola 26.472 OT (1978)
Mistakes | Sire UK/US SRK 6066 (1979)
More Mistakes 7" 33 rpm (1979)
Buddy Odor is a Gas | Dutch Ariola/Pye UK ARL 5045 (1979)
Copy Copy | Dutch Ariola/Attic Canada LAT 1102 (1980)
Pop! Goes the Brain | Dutch Ariola/Attic Canada LAT 1119
(1981)
Rhythm is a Constant Beat 12" | Dutch Ariola (1981)*
Design Moderne | Dutch Ariola 205 052 (1982)
Sombrero Times | Dutch Blitz/Ariola 206 567 (1984)
Sucker of the Century | JAWS Records # 557-2 CD EP (1986?)
Back to 19 Mistakes | Dutch BMG/Ariola CD 258.848 (1987/88)
Young and Out | Dutch VAN 2 CD Box 997011-2 (1992)
Sing Sing | Dutch VAN 7321184102* (1993)*
Second Life | Amsterdamned Records (1997)*
Hans Vandenburg Solo:
Hans Vandenburg's Commercial Break | Dutch VAN CD 74321 239342
(1994)
Shake Hands with Vandenburg | Dutch VAN CD 74321 403712 (1996)*
Meike Touw solo:
Tutti Frutti | Ariola 202 160 (1980)
* Unconfirmed Releases--in that Bryk hasn't actually seen
them himself, though others have alerted him to their existence.
Cynical commentary by Bryk unless otherwise noted.
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Ten Mistakes | Dutch Ariola 25.464
XOT (1977) beep beep love/superman/lasting forever/girls never know/i shot my manager | mission a paris/dreamin'/henri/armee monika/rubber gun produced by Robert Jan Stips a great debut, filled with strong songs and sharp wit. The Grupettes' trademark doo-wop harmonies evoke sixties girl groups and Annifrid and Agnetha. the overall sound is somewhere between (UK) Squeeze and the Blockheads with a smidge of the Zombies, the Monkees and the beat gruppes in general. This really ought to be considered a classic.
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Back to '78 | Dutch Ariola 26.472
OT (1978) hey girl/bernadette/p.s. 78/tokyo/i said no!/real teeth
are out/are you ready?/the booby-trap boogie | produced by Robert Jan Stips and Hans Vandenburg somewhat more novelty-stricken (the one-joke "shave me" vs. the odd but still pretty funny "real teeth are out") but man do you have to love rave-ups like "p.s. 78", "bernadette" and "hey girl", thoroughly ironic ballads as smart (and smart-assed) as "one way love" and the unfathomable "bottom of the class"--the soundtrack to a generation. now if only that generation had ever heard the damned thing. |
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Mistakes | Sire UK/US SRK 6066 (1979) mission a paris/dreamin'/henri/hey girl/i said no/i shot my manager | blah blah magazines/beep beep love/p.s. 78/superman/one way love (from me to you)/bottom of the class/the single More Mistakes 7" EP: bernadette/tokyo/disco really made it | girls never know/are you ready?/rubber gun an oddly-picked and sequenced compilation of tracks from first two LP's (what? no "lasting forever"?). also includes 6-track 7" EP more mistakes |
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Buddy Odor is a Gas | Dutch Ariola/Pye UK ARL 5045 (1980) side one: buddy odor is a gas!/(gimme that) lipstick/redskins/lock yourself up/i want it now/if i were you/teardrops and two broken hearts | side two (pop for jazzholes): i love you madly/cats hiss/for pim/it feels so good/men/my little man and i/jazz it up! personnel: same as mistakes + jan cees tans: sax, huub janssen: snare, ruud bos & fred leeflang: horns, r j stips: keyboards, barry hay: lead vocal, gerard van dooren: bass, bert terlaak: drums, ernst glerum: double bass psuedonymous project credited to the buddy odor stop. side one has some campy girl-group pop and truly hilarious songs like "lipstick" ("GIVE ME THAT POODLE! I NEED...RIGHT...NOW!") and "redskins", a delightfully odd song about...uh, sunbathing. (shades of the sinceros...) the second side is sort of like a Gruppo Sportivo Big Band with snares and dixieland horns over non-sequitur jazz pastiche lyrics. not quite as rewarding, although it gets off to a good start with "love you madly". |
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Tutti Frutti | Ariola 202 160 (1980) SIDE ONE: THE HOOVER/HOW ABOUT THAT/THE REARRANGERS/GET
OFF MY BACK/THE ALPHABET/YOU OR MY LONELINESS Produced and mixed by Max Mollinger and John Kriek Meike Touw: vocals - Mark Boon: guitars (thanks to Diesel) - Courtesy ot Polydor Records - Peter Calicher: keyboards (thanks to The Stop) - Mark. Peter, Max: male background vocals - Dick Schulte Nordholt: bass - Henk Wijtman: drums, vibraphone - Robert-Jan Stips: accordion, synthesizer (thanks to Transister) - Harry de Winter: bass - Henk Torpedo: drums (thanks to New Adventures) - Courtesy of Polydor Records - Jan-Cees Tans: saxophones - Ernst Glerurn: double bass - Max Mollinger: drums (thanks to The Stop). Recorded at: Arnold Mühren Studios, Volendam, engineered by John Kriek; Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, engineered by Pieter Nieboer; Soundpush Studios, Blaricum, engineered by Jan Schuurman; Relight Studios, Hilvarenbeek, engineerded by Robin Freeman and John Kriek. Mixed at Arnold Mühren Studios and Soundpush Studios |
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Copy Copy | Dutch Ariola/Attic Canada LAT 1102 (1980) don't count on me/goodbye radio/police-dog/it's too late/life in tokyo/i don't need you/the unusual soup recipe blues (inst.) | up to date/only on weekends/watch your boy/you and i will stick together/in love again/ramona/what happened to romance? produced by the band an indescribable excursion into new wave ska pop. no gruppettes, but about half the tracks feature the sparkling Bette (Deaf School) Bright on lead vocals and harmonies. there are some fine songs here, especially Bette's "watch your boy" and the heart-wrenching "you and i will stick together". |
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Pop! Goes the Brain | Dutch Ariola/Attic Canada LAT 1119 (1981) my old cortina/who's in trouble/ufo/girls only/if beauty is.../rhythm is a constant beat (extended version) | holland now/planet mercury/christine/i'm a lucky guy/a girl like you/very nice produced by R. J. Stips Oddly formulaic as the synths and drum machines come to the fore. lyrically, hans never strays from cars, girls and loneliness. catchy as fuck, though. |
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Design Moderne | Dutch Ariola 205 052 (1982) go 'n' get it!/(gimme a) break/happily unemployed/memories are memories/mein geilstes lied/and so on | blame it on the mad/james last car/newspaper/fiona/on her own/the goofananahoo intially came packaged in a plastic shopping bag. sleeve photography by van der meer personnel: vandenburg: guitar, vocal; calicher: keys; mollinger: drums, perc.; dick-schulte-nordholt: bass; +lies schilp, josee van iersel: backing voc.; + eddie conard: perc. The formula's wearing thin. The somewhat more serious topics and gradually more opaque melodies doesn't help. Even so, there's still the heart-tuggingly gorgeous 'on her own'. |
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Sombrero Times | Dutch Blitz/Ariola 206 567 (1984) Cara Uno: radar/why-oh-why/give it up/get up, enjoy/two tickets for rio | Cara Dos: good in bad/family life/girls in slow-motion/mumbo jumbo/what kind of normal guy am i Produced by michiel hoogenboezem and gruppo sportivo Unessential, and probably went out of print before the first couple of albums. Turgid rhythms and generally unmemorable songs. |
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Young and Out | Dutch VAN CD 997011-2 (1992) Young: 1. headphone lies 2. Repeatlemania 3. Tears start running 4.
Bloody cup-final day 5. Hollywood 6. No riff left 7. Animalism Out: 1. house has just left the building 2. She was pretty (normal then) 3. Hey girl (one more time) 4. solo brother 5. Something else 6. It's the girl 7. Bloody cup-final day 8. Pipeline 9. Norma-Lee 10. Miles away 11. Water is what you need (original first recording) 12. the inevitable X-mas single (only feeling fine when it's) X-MAS time |
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Hans Vandenburg's Commercial Break | Dutch VAN CD 74321 239342 (1994) 1. This day is fine 2. Brainwave 3. I'm in love with a girl 4. Wings & everything 5. Beatlesson 6. San Ber'Dino 7. My grey suit 8. Getting over you 9. Black words 10. Commercial break 11. ???? (Question Mark) 12. Multitrack deck 13. Too much blues / this guy's crazy 14. She wants to kill / part of hairdryer 15. Box 27 purfect girl 16. Zapp away 17. Unconditional love 18. Konversation Kix 19. Zwaar k*t |
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Shake Hands with Vandenburg | Dutch VAN CD 74321 403712 (1996) Shake hands with Vandenburg Bad Slippers Centerbald The Rubbers of Prevention Smash + Hit Gruppo Sportivo Mie & Het Residentie Orkest Sounds Interesting (1) Hobbyhorse Hank Total Happy Birthday Party Time: 64:52 'Shake Hands' contains songs, played by a lot of people, just joined together for some occasion. Hidden Loot by Hobbyhorse was recorded in 1969! -Atjous |