Gruppo Sportivo

The Dutch new wave outfit Gruppo Sportivo built a devoted following in the early 1980s through its affectionate parodies of pop music and occasional humorous cultural commentary, even though much of the catalog reached listeners only via imports. After signing with Epic’s British division, the band issued its first album, 10 Mistakes, in 1978. That record featured vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Hans Vandenburg alongside keyboardist Peter Calicher, bassist Eric Wehrmeyer, drummer Max “Climax” Mollinger, and the additional vocalists known as the Grupettes—Josee Van Iersel and Meike Touw. R.J. Stips, who would soon join the Nits, produced both 10 Mistakes and its successor, Back to ’78. American audiences first encountered the group via the 1979 compilation Mistakes, which collected highlights from those initial two releases.

Copy Copy, issued in 1980 and centered on its lyrics, brought in bassist Martin Bakker and introduced the three-piece horn section the Skamasters, comprising tenor saxophonist Laurens de Jonge, baritone saxophonist Jan de Ligt, and trumpeter Edwin Theuerzeit. On 1981’s Pop! Goes the Brain, Vandenburg replaced his usual Dutch accent with an English one. By the time Design Moderne appeared in 1982, Dick Schulte Nordholt had assumed the bass chair, and the Grupettes functioned more flexibly, with Lies Schilp joining Van Iersel for that album. Sombrero Times in 1984 employed bassist Michiel Eilbracht and restored the original Grupettes lineup.

That release marked the final Gruppo Sportivo album to enjoy wide overseas distribution. Later efforts saw the core membership shrink to Vandenburg supplemented by session players and whichever former members happened to be available. A succession of albums—Sucker of the Century, Young and Out (1992), Commercial Break (1994), the live Sing Sing (1995, issued two years afterward in America under the title Second Life), and Shake Hands With Vandenburg (1996)—appeared primarily on Dutch labels, where the band’s principal audience has since remained.