Frank Boeijen

Dutch singer and songwriter Frank Boeijen served as frontman for the well-known Frank Boeijen Groep from 1980 through 1991, the same year he embarked on his independent solo path. While guiding that ensemble, he ranked among the early trailblazers of Nederpop, standing alongside groups such as Doe Maar and Het Goede Doel. Once the height of Nederpop subsided, he forged new territory by taking his band into theaters, introducing pop music to fresh venues and listeners. Continuing as a solo performer, he has sustained this theater-centered method and kept releasing material at a consistent rate.

Born in Nijmegen on November 27, 1957, Boeijen grew up as the youngest of ten siblings; his father worked as a typesetter in a factory. His older brothers favored American pop, so recordings by Bob Dylan and Neil Young frequently spun on the household turntable—an experience he later commemorated in the song “Robert Zimmerman.” After high school, the young musician teamed with guitarist Wout Pennings; together they issued an album in 1977. The tracks were rerecorded and the album reissued the following year under producer Rob de Nijs, appearing under the title Boeijen en Pennings. To handle live dates, drummer Henk Wanders and bassist Nels Busch joined the pair.

Pennings departed in 1979 and was succeeded on guitar by Wil Theunissen, at which point the group adopted the name Frank Boeijen Groep. Radio host Frits Spits discovered the B-side “Verjaardagsfeest” from their debut single and gave it repeated spins on his evening program. Later that year the band released its first album, titled simply Frank Boeijen Groep, which entered the Tipparade thanks to the airplay surrounding “Verjaardagsfeest.”

As Nederpop—Dutch-language pop—gained mainstream traction in the early eighties, the Frank Boeijen Groep rode the wave when the single “Linda” reached the Top 40. Another release, “Zwart Wit,” written in response to a racially motivated killing in Amsterdam, climbed to number one. The albums Twee (1982) and 1001 Hotel (1983) both achieved strong sales.

In 1984 Conamus presented the Frank Boeijen Groep with the Zilveren Harp; the album Kontakt appeared the same year. Lead guitarist Wil Theunissen exited later in 1984 and was replaced by Maarten Peters, who two years afterward gave way to Ger Hoeijmakers. The 1985 album Foto Van Een Mooie Dag yielded the hit single “Kronenburg Park,” named for the Nijmegen park near Boeijen’s birthplace and home. Its follow-up, In Nature (1986), sold modestly yet respectably.

By the close of the decade Boeijen’s style occupied a middle ground between the levenslied of André Hazes, the chansons of Ramses Shaffy, and the pop of Doe Maar. According to Boeijen and manager Paul Schouwenaars, the band had outgrown clubs and marquees, so the 1987 album Welkom in Utopia launched a tour of Dutch theaters that opened at Amsterdam’s Stadsschouwburg in September. Subsequent releases included the studio album Een Zomer Aan Het Eind Van de Twintigste Eeuw (1989) and the live set Hier Komt de Storm (1990). During this period Boeijen was romantically involved with Sky Channel presenter Amanda Redington; they married in 1990. The 1988 album Dans in Slow Motion was written for her, though the couple separated in June 1994.

In spring 1991 Boeijen announced the group’s dissolution and issued his debut solo album, Wilde Bloemen, that November. The record featured drummer Norman Bonink, guitarist Peter van Benthem, and bassist Michel van Schie; van Schie was later replaced on tour by Lené Te Voortwis, while pianist Ton Snijders also contributed. Wilde Bloemen contained several collaborations, among them “Twee Gezichten” with Henk Hofstede of the Nits and “Het IJs” with Henny Vrienten of Doe Maar.

During summer 1993 Boeijen recorded Jazz in Barcelona, an album reflecting on his split from Redington. The ensuing theater tour sold out nightly. Echoes of that breakup surfaced again on the more austere 1994 album De Ontmoeting, which included the single “Twee Mannen Zo Stil,” co-written with Stef Bos. Although the track did not chart, it later became a Nederpop staple frequently played at funerals. That same year Boeijen produced an album for Liesbeth List, the vocalist featured on Ramses Shaffy’s recordings. Another live collection, Stormvogels, arrived in 1995.

Two further albums appeared in 1997: the greatest-hits package Het Mooist & Het Beste and the new-material set Vaderland. The songs on the latter drew partly from Boeijen’s extensive travels through Asia the previous year, offering a distant vantage on both the artist and the Netherlands. De Ballade van de Dromedaris, recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, followed in 1999 and was succeeded by the live album Door de Jaren Heen, featuring duets with Ramses Shaffy, Liesbeth List, and Stef Bos; both projects sold briskly. Heden surfaced in 2001, by which time drummer Norman Bonink had joined Bløf and Oscar Kraal had taken his place. The album yielded the summer-2002 single “Geen Gevaar,” a collaboration with Bløf frontman Paskal Jakobsen. Also in 2002 Boeijen received an Edison Award as Best Singer, and the 50-song retrospective Toen en Nu was issued. His career circled back in 2006 when Frits Spits presented him with a Best Dutch Pop Album Award for the studio release As.