Biography
De Toppers, occasionally promoted under the billing Gerard-René-Gordon, function as a Dutch supergroup whose pop vocalists draw especially large crowds when appearing jointly onstage. Formed as a trio, the lineup unites Gordon—born Gordon Heuckeroth on July 6, 1968, in Amsterdam—alongside René Froger, born November 5, 1960, in Amsterdam, and Gerard Joling, born April 29, 1960, in Alkmaar, Netherlands; each member had already achieved solo success before the three united. Their initial collaborative breakthrough arrived via the concert medley “Live at the Arena,” which appeared on Froger’s 2005 album of the same name and was issued as a single in late 2004, climbing to number three on the Dutch singles chart. Capitalizing on that momentum, the singers prepared a medley-based stage production and began touring under the De Toppers name. Their first official release in this configuration, the 2005 EMI live album Toppers in Concert, consisted largely of medleys and achieved strong commercial results, peaking at number three on the Dutch albums chart while yielding the Top Ten single “Over de Top!” Subsequent yearly installments of comparable live performances and recordings followed, among them Toppers in Concert 2006, Toppers in Concert 2007, and Toppers in Concert 2008, each of which reached either number one or number two on the albums chart. Joling departed in 2008 and was succeeded by Jeroen van der Boom, born June 22, 1972, in Nijmegen, Netherlands. The refreshed ensemble was chosen to represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, where their entry “Shine” became a major domestic success and attained the number-two position on the singles chart.
Singles