Bintangs

Did You Know?

• Pim Oets compared Gus Pleines' vocals to Mick Jagger's in a 1970 article.
• The Bintangs' early repertoire included multiple songs by Bo Diddley.

Formation and success

The Bintangs, whose name comes from the Bahasa Indonesia word for "star," began in 1961 as an indorock band playing covers in Beverwijk. The original members were Frank and Arti Kraaijeveld (bass and guitar, both singing), Meine Fernhout on guitar, and Jimmy Jansen on drums. Their first single, released in 1965 on Muziek Express, was Willie Dixon's "You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover" with Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man" as the B-side; the lineup then included Henk van Besu on drums, Jan Wijte on rhythm guitar, and Will Nimitsz on vocals and mouth harp.

By the mid-1960s, fans had painted the band's name on a gas holder in Beverwijk. In 1969 they opened for The Rolling Stones and The Kinks, having released several singles. That year they signed with Phonogram Records and issued their debut album, Blues on the Ceiling. Their hits "Ridin' on the L & N" and "Travelling in the U.S.A." came out in 1969 and 1970.

The album Travelling in the U.S.A. followed in 1970, and while the single "He Didn't Wanna Go Home" charted in the Netherlands, album sales were strong. In a 1970 interview the band described themselves as "playing from the heart" and announced a new single, "Lion Tamer."

Later years

In the following years the Bintangs released several albums and singles, some recorded in the United Kingdom. Arti Kraaijeveld returned to the Netherlands in 1977 after time in Los Angeles, where he had recorded an album for Shelter Records; he released Ram Man, mostly older material written during a hiatus, recorded in three days in Brussels on the small label New Entry. By 1979, when they performed for the University of Groningen's 366th birthday, the Bintangs were the oldest surviving Dutch band.

The 1981 compilation Still Going Strong on Ariola had no commercial success. The 1985 single "Rosemary Nymphet," produced by Jaap van Eggermont, received no radioplay. That year the band gave a farewell concert at Paradiso in Amsterdam, released as the album Bye Bye. Frank Kraaijeveld then formed his own band with Cees Brouwer, while Pleines and van Schie toured as 14all.

In 1988 Decca rereleased two albums, Travelling in the USA and Ridin' with the Bintangs, as Original Tapes. Frank described his time outside the Bintangs as "unsatisfying."