Dutch rockers Golden Earring have broken up. The band, who originally formed as the Golden Earrings in 1961, are calling it quits after guitarist George Kooymans was diagnosed with the degenerative muscle disease ALS. The news was broken by the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, who revealed that Kooymans had informed his bandmates – frontman Barry Hay, drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk and bassist Rinus Gerritsen – at the end of last year. In a phone call with the newspaper, Kooymans confirmed the story, saying, "I am indeed ill. I have ALS. It's a very bad prognosis and I'm not really in the mood to say much about it. I am being treated at the university hospital in Leuven. That's it. It's a progressive disease. Unfortunately, performing is no longer possible." "This is a death blow," says Hay. "We always said we would keep going until one of us fell over. I didn't expect George to be the first. Kooymans was always the toughest of the four of us. "You sometimes philosophise about that: who goes first? And he was always at the back of the line. It sucks, and we would have preferred a farewell tour, but unfortunately it is what it is." The band's final show was in 2019, at the 16,000-capacity Ahoy venue in Rotterdam. The final date on the band's winter tour, the setlist included their three most well-known international hits: Radar Love, a UK top 10 hit in 1973, and Twilight Zone and When The Lady Smiles, both Billboard chart hits in the early 1980s. Golden Earring were more successful in the Netherlands, hitting the charts with 60 singles and reaching the number one position four times: with Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi-Dong in 1968, Back Home in 1970, Radar Love in 1973 and When The Lady Smiles in 1984. The band's most recent hit was Still Got The Keys To My First Cadillac, a Dutch Top 20 single in 2012. Kooymans formed the band with in The Hague in 1961 with Rinus Gerritsen, and the final line-up of Kooymans, Gerritsen, Hays and Zuiderwijk had been in place since 1970, with the classic Moontan album arriving three years later. Asked if it would be possible to carry on without Kooymans, Zuiderwijk responded, "We are a group of four men who are irreplaceable. A new band member? That wouldn't fit." Skip to content
Golden Earring What year was Golden Earring Radar Love? 1973
Radar Love/Released
The band enjoyed brief international fame in the 1970s when the single version of “Radar Love” (1973), from the Gold-certified album Moontan became a hit in both Europe and the U.S. Golden Earring embarked on their first major U.S. tour in 1969–1970. Who sang golden earring? Barry Hay
Who wrote Radar Love?Golden Earring Barry Hay Radar Love/Lyricists Did Golden Earring speak English? When it becomes clear that there is already another group with that name they settle with The Golden Earrings, inspired by a song by the British beat band The Hunters. The fact that the India-born singer speaks fluent English, gives the band an extra edge over many other Dutch groups at the time. What country is golden earring from? The Hague, Netherlands Who died in Golden Earring?George Kooymans What happened to the lead singer of Golden Earring? The decision comes after George Kooymans, the band’s guitarist and co-founder, was diagnosed with ALS. “This is a death blow,” Barry Hay, the singer and multi-instrumentalist who has been a member of the group for over 50 years, declared to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. What happened Golden Earring? Golden Earring, the Dutch rock band known for such hits as “Radar Love,” “Twilight Zone” and “When the Lady Smiles,” has officially called it quits. The decision comes after George Kooymans, the band’s guitarist and co-founder, was diagnosed with ALS. Where did the band Golden Earring come from?Who died from Golden Earring? Did Golden Earring break up? Golden Earring, the Dutch rock band that’s been around as long as the Rolling Stones and whose biggest U.S. hits were “Radar Love” and “Twilight Zone” has officially called it quits.
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