Biography
From 1980 through 1991, Dutch singer and songwriter Frank Boeijen led the well-known Frank Boeijen Groep before stepping out on his own as a solo performer that same year. While heading the ensemble, he ranked among the early architects of Nederpop together with Doe Maar and Het Goede Doel. Once the height of Nederpop subsided, he opened fresh territory by guiding his band into theater settings and introducing pop music to different halls and listeners. Working alone, he has upheld the same theater-oriented method and kept releasing material at a steady rate.
Frank Boeijen entered the world in Nijmegen on November 27, 1957, as the youngest of ten siblings. His father worked as a typesetter inside a factory. The older brothers favored American pop, so the household regularly played Bob Dylan and Neil Young on the turntable; years afterward Boeijen composed a track about the experience called “Robert Zimmerman.” As a youngster he picked up the guitar. After secondary school he began a musical partnership with guitarist Wout Pennings. Together they issued an album in 1977. The tracks were later rerecorded and the record reappeared the following year under the title Boeijen en Pennings, produced by Rob de Nijs. Drummer Henk Wanders and bassist Nels Busch joined the pair to handle live dates.
Pennings departed in 1979; guitarist Wil Theunissen stepped in, and the outfit became the Frank Boeijen Groep. Radio disc jockey Frits Spits began spinning the B-side of their debut single, “Verjaardagsfeest,” on his evening program. Later that year the group released its first album, titled simply Frank Boeijen Groep; the airplay for “Verjaardagsfeest” carried the LP onto the Tipparade.
Nederpop, pop sung in Dutch, gained broad popularity in the early 1980s, and the Frank Boeijen Groep joined the wave when “Linda” entered the Top 40. Another single, “Zwart Wit,” written after a racially motivated killing in Amsterdam, climbed to number one. The 1982 album Twee and 1983’s 1001 Hotel both sold strongly.
In 1984 Conamus presented the Frank Boeijen Groep with the Zilveren Harp. That year also brought the album Kontakt. Lead guitarist Wil Theunissen exited later in 1984 and was succeeded by Maarten Peters, who yielded his spot two years later to Ger Hoeijmakers. The band issued Foto Van Een Mooie Dag in 1985. Its single “Kronenburg Park,” titled after Nijmegen’s Kronenburger Park where Boeijen was born and still lived, proved a major hit. The next release, In Nature in 1986, sold modestly yet respectably.
By the close of the decade Boeijen’s sound occupied a space between the levenslied of André Hazes, the chansons of Ramses Shaffy, and the pop of Doe Maar. Together with manager Paul Schouwenaars, Boeijen concluded that the group had outgrown clubs and tents; with the 1987 album Welkom in Utopia they chose to book Dutch theaters instead. The Welkom in Utopia tour opened at Amsterdam’s Stadsschouwburg that September. Two further records followed: the studio set Een Zomer Aan Het Eind Van de Twintigste Eeuw in 1989 and the live album Hier Komt de Storm in 1990. During this period Boeijen was involved with Sky Channel presenter Amanda Redington; they wed in 1990. The 1988 album Dans in Slow Motion had been written for her, yet the couple parted in June 1994.
In spring 1991 Boeijen declared the group finished and released his debut solo album, Wilde Bloemen, that November. The sessions featured drummer Norman Bonink, guitarist Peter van Benthem, and bassist Michel van Schie; Lené Te Voortwis later replaced van Schie on tour, and pianist Ton Snijders also took part. The record included several duets with prominent Dutch artists, among them “Twee Gezichten,” created and recorded with Henk Hofstede of the Nits, and “Het IJs,” written and recorded with Henny Vrienten of Doe Maar.
During summer 1993 Boeijen captured Jazz in Barcelona, an album whose songs reflected his separation from Amanda Redington. The ensuing theater tour drew full houses nightly. Traces of the breakup likewise surfaced on the following release, 1994’s De Ontmoeting, an even more stripped-down and personal collection than its predecessor. De Ontmoeting also contained the single “Twee Mannen Zo Stil,” whose music and lyrics were supplied by Boeijen and Stef Bos. Although the track never charted, it later became a Nederpop staple frequently heard at funerals. That same year Boeijen produced an album for Liesbeth List, the vocalist featured on Ramses Shaffy’s recordings. Another live set, Stormvogels, appeared in 1995.
Boeijen returned in 1997 with two projects: the greatest-hits package Het Mooist & Het Beste and the new-material album Vaderland. The previous year he had journeyed widely through Asia, and although the songs centered on Boeijen and the Netherlands, many were composed from a far-off vantage. In 1999 De Ballade van de Dromedaris, tracked at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, came out, followed by the live album Door de Jaren Heen, which included duets with Ramses Shaffy, Liesbeth List, and Stef Bos. Both releases sold briskly. Heden arrived in 2001. Drummer Norman Bonink left to join Bløf and was replaced by Oscar Kraal. Heden featured a collaboration with Bløf frontman Paskal Jakobsen on the single “Geen Gevaar,” issued in summer 2002. That year Boeijen also received an Edison Award as Best Singer, and the career overview Toen en Nu, gathering fifty of his songs, was released. His career circled back in 2006 when Frits Spits presented him with the Best Dutch Pop Album Award for the studio album As.
Frank Boeijen entered the world in Nijmegen on November 27, 1957, as the youngest of ten siblings. His father worked as a typesetter inside a factory. The older brothers favored American pop, so the household regularly played Bob Dylan and Neil Young on the turntable; years afterward Boeijen composed a track about the experience called “Robert Zimmerman.” As a youngster he picked up the guitar. After secondary school he began a musical partnership with guitarist Wout Pennings. Together they issued an album in 1977. The tracks were later rerecorded and the record reappeared the following year under the title Boeijen en Pennings, produced by Rob de Nijs. Drummer Henk Wanders and bassist Nels Busch joined the pair to handle live dates.
Pennings departed in 1979; guitarist Wil Theunissen stepped in, and the outfit became the Frank Boeijen Groep. Radio disc jockey Frits Spits began spinning the B-side of their debut single, “Verjaardagsfeest,” on his evening program. Later that year the group released its first album, titled simply Frank Boeijen Groep; the airplay for “Verjaardagsfeest” carried the LP onto the Tipparade.
Nederpop, pop sung in Dutch, gained broad popularity in the early 1980s, and the Frank Boeijen Groep joined the wave when “Linda” entered the Top 40. Another single, “Zwart Wit,” written after a racially motivated killing in Amsterdam, climbed to number one. The 1982 album Twee and 1983’s 1001 Hotel both sold strongly.
In 1984 Conamus presented the Frank Boeijen Groep with the Zilveren Harp. That year also brought the album Kontakt. Lead guitarist Wil Theunissen exited later in 1984 and was succeeded by Maarten Peters, who yielded his spot two years later to Ger Hoeijmakers. The band issued Foto Van Een Mooie Dag in 1985. Its single “Kronenburg Park,” titled after Nijmegen’s Kronenburger Park where Boeijen was born and still lived, proved a major hit. The next release, In Nature in 1986, sold modestly yet respectably.
By the close of the decade Boeijen’s sound occupied a space between the levenslied of André Hazes, the chansons of Ramses Shaffy, and the pop of Doe Maar. Together with manager Paul Schouwenaars, Boeijen concluded that the group had outgrown clubs and tents; with the 1987 album Welkom in Utopia they chose to book Dutch theaters instead. The Welkom in Utopia tour opened at Amsterdam’s Stadsschouwburg that September. Two further records followed: the studio set Een Zomer Aan Het Eind Van de Twintigste Eeuw in 1989 and the live album Hier Komt de Storm in 1990. During this period Boeijen was involved with Sky Channel presenter Amanda Redington; they wed in 1990. The 1988 album Dans in Slow Motion had been written for her, yet the couple parted in June 1994.
In spring 1991 Boeijen declared the group finished and released his debut solo album, Wilde Bloemen, that November. The sessions featured drummer Norman Bonink, guitarist Peter van Benthem, and bassist Michel van Schie; Lené Te Voortwis later replaced van Schie on tour, and pianist Ton Snijders also took part. The record included several duets with prominent Dutch artists, among them “Twee Gezichten,” created and recorded with Henk Hofstede of the Nits, and “Het IJs,” written and recorded with Henny Vrienten of Doe Maar.
During summer 1993 Boeijen captured Jazz in Barcelona, an album whose songs reflected his separation from Amanda Redington. The ensuing theater tour drew full houses nightly. Traces of the breakup likewise surfaced on the following release, 1994’s De Ontmoeting, an even more stripped-down and personal collection than its predecessor. De Ontmoeting also contained the single “Twee Mannen Zo Stil,” whose music and lyrics were supplied by Boeijen and Stef Bos. Although the track never charted, it later became a Nederpop staple frequently heard at funerals. That same year Boeijen produced an album for Liesbeth List, the vocalist featured on Ramses Shaffy’s recordings. Another live set, Stormvogels, appeared in 1995.
Boeijen returned in 1997 with two projects: the greatest-hits package Het Mooist & Het Beste and the new-material album Vaderland. The previous year he had journeyed widely through Asia, and although the songs centered on Boeijen and the Netherlands, many were composed from a far-off vantage. In 1999 De Ballade van de Dromedaris, tracked at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, came out, followed by the live album Door de Jaren Heen, which included duets with Ramses Shaffy, Liesbeth List, and Stef Bos. Both releases sold briskly. Heden arrived in 2001. Drummer Norman Bonink left to join Bløf and was replaced by Oscar Kraal. Heden featured a collaboration with Bløf frontman Paskal Jakobsen on the single “Geen Gevaar,” issued in summer 2002. That year Boeijen also received an Edison Award as Best Singer, and the career overview Toen en Nu, gathering fifty of his songs, was released. His career circled back in 2006 when Frits Spits presented him with the Best Dutch Pop Album Award for the studio album As.
Albums
