[RiderOnTheWheel]

Originally Posted by Seagull259

I discovered the likes of Earth & Fire, Sandy Coast, Golden Earring, Tee Set, Focus, Bolland & Bolland etc thanks to RNI & Veronica. Even Abba I first came across on RNI in 1973 thanks to them playing Ring Ring.

These artists used to get a fair number of plays on the English language programmes - the only one I don't remember is Sandy Coast. I also remember French and Italian songs. What I do remember - especially in the earlier days - is a 'pop' type play list that bore little resemblance to the Radio 1 or Luxembourg play lists of the day and songs by well known British artists that I have never heard on any other stations since.

[MikeBr]

Originally Posted by Mike_1101

Did they ever play this?
Donna Hightower "This world today is a mess"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FERGyaYUy6s
Recorded in 1972 by CBS in Spain but issued in the UK and several other countries by Decca.

If you ever listen to "Nostalgie" from France, they sometimes play it.

Spent 14 weeks in the Radio Nordzee International Top 50 starting 21.10.72
http://www.hitnoteringen.nl/rni_nl/top50_1972.htm

Spent 3 weeks in the RNI International Top 30 starting 10.11.72
http://www.hitnoteringen.nl/rni_uk/r...nal_top_30.htm

[Mike_1101]

Originally Posted by MikeBr

Spent 14 weeks in the Radio Nordzee International Top 50 starting 21.10.72
http://www.hitnoteringen.nl/rni_nl/top50_1972.htm

Spent 3 weeks in the RNI International Top 30 starting 10.11.72
http://www.hitnoteringen.nl/rni_uk/r...nal_top_30.htm

It must have sold a few copies then. If you have ever seen the german crime series "Der Kommissar", Donna Hightower is actually shown in one episode singing this song, maybe the only film of her singing it. Another episode featured the Les Humphries singers and this Tom Jones song was also played several times in one episode - on a juke box - Tom Jones didn't appear himself.

TOM JONES - GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Jcr6PcATs
maybe a continental hit for him?

[RadioRob]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheWheel

the only one I don't remember is Sandy Coast.
[...]
a 'pop' type play list that bore little resemblance to the Radio 1 or Luxembourg play lists of the day and songs by well known British artists that I have never heard on any other stations since.

Wooo Sandy Coast, hot rocky stuff. This pop vid of their biggest hit is gritty in its visual content. Lovely.

One of the delights of English-language europop was the not-quite-right pronunciation or syntax. Thus "We have been quite a few days together" in the above song, and the surreally spoken Only Lice by Greenfield and Cook. Lice right from the start.

Yes, it was the alternative reality of the Dutch music scene that did it for me too with so much variety, different languages and influences. Everything from the eccentric Aphrodite's Child and conventional George Baker to Julio Iglesias' hypnotic Un canto a Galicia. I feel really lucky to have stepped outside the (to me) constipated bounds of the UK mass pop scene thanks to R Noordzee.

Oh, one more iconic song of the seventies europop scene: Tee Set Ma belle amie. 1969 really, but it was a regular throughout the Dutch and English services until final closedown.

[happyradio]

I agree with the comments. The late 60's and early 70's was a wonderful time for Dutch music. So many great bands and iconic songs. One of my favourites is from 1971 - The Cats and One Way Wind.

[RadioRob]

Originally Posted by happyradio

The Cats and One Way Wind.

Is she her that I hope to find
Why you blow the colds everyday
Tell me what are you trying to say

Well quite.

[MikeBr]

Originally Posted by RadioRob

Is she her that I hope to find
Why you blow the colds everyday
Tell me what are you trying to say

Well quite.

I favourited and posted the video of that song to a Facebook group quite recently, nautical theme to the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF9sS-WZvaU

[norderney]

I was 12 years old when RNI closed down in 1974. I had only been listening to it for about 9 months. Living near Southampton I got a fairly reasonable signal on 220m, but was very shocked and saddened by the closure.

I remember listening to the Top 20 every Friday evening at 21.00. Those I remember in particular were Robin Banks, Don Allen and Brian McKenzie.

After the closure I never heard anything more about Brian. Great days.

[LaurelandHardy]

Originally Posted by norderney

I was 12 years old when RNI closed down in 1974. I had only been listening to it for about 9 months. Living near Southampton I got a fairly reasonable signal on 220m, but was very shocked and saddened by the closure.

I remember listening to the Top 20 every Friday evening at 21.00. Those I remember in particular were Robin Banks, Don Allen and Brian McKenzie.

After the closure I never heard anything more about Brian. Great days.

I do believe that Brian did a stint on Dublin's Radio Nova in the 1980's but I am not 100% sure as I never heard him.
I was 18 when RNI closed down and I was an avid listener since the very early days. I am pleased that there is an online version of the station now.

[RadioRob]

Originally Posted by MikeBr

nautical theme to the video

Perhaps nautical because they were from watery Volendam, as were many successful Dutch bands and solo singers. The small town is still producing them now - Jan Smit and others. There's something haunting and soulful about the waterfront when you know that it was a sea fishing port before the Afsluitdijk cut it off from the North Sea forever. It's well worth a half day's visit from Amsterdam on the bus.

Wikipedia says:

Together with BZN, they were key figures of what came to be called the Palingsound (eel-sound), an umbrella for artists residing in Volendam (the country's top seafood city).

Eel-sound, I could live with that description.

The Cats' Dreams is terrific, with (according to a commentator on Youtube) a solo by Jan Akkerman.

[Ex Pat]

Originally Posted by LaurelandHardy

I do believe that Brian did a stint on Dublin's Radio Nova in the 1980's but I am not 100% sure as I never heard him.

It's possible although I don't recall hearing him either. He ran Bay City studio from the same building.

[Seagull259]

Originally Posted by LaurelandHardy

I do believe that Brian did a stint on Dublin's Radio Nova in the 1980's but I am not 100% sure as I never heard him.

Originally Posted by Ex Pat

It's possible although I don't recall hearing him either. He ran Bay City studio from the same building.

Brian was one of my favourites on RNI with his gentle Scottish accent. Cannot trace whether he was actually on air on Nova Dublin but was "involved"

http://www.quizquest.fsnet.co.uk/brianmckenzie.htm

He was apparently on the satellite version of Nova in 1988.

http://www.amfm.org.uk/tx/tx18/nova.html

As far as I am aware he still lives somewhere in Spain.

[LaurelandHardy]

Originally Posted by Seagull259

Brian was one of my favourites on RNI with his gentle Scottish accent. Cannot trace whether he was actually on air on Nova Dublin but was "involved"

http://www.quizquest.fsnet.co.uk/brianmckenzie.htm

He was apparently on the satellite version of Nova in 1988.

http://www.amfm.org.uk/tx/tx18/nova.html

As far as I am aware he still lives somewhere in Spain.

Thanks "Seagull259" I knew he was involved with Nova but was not aware as to what extent.

He used to me known as "Carpet Man" as his initials BMK were also the initials of a carpet manufacturer or something like that.

[Ex Pat]

Originally Posted by Seagull259

Cannot trace whether he was actually on air on Nova Dublin but was "involved"

He might have been in the very early days. There was a master 1/4 inch reel of DJ i/d jingles in the production studio and his name was included on it along with Tony Allen, Chris Cary etc.

[Gerry1]

Originally Posted by LaurelandHardy

He used to me known as "Carpet Man" as his initials BMK were also the initials of a carpet manufacturer or something like that.

Blackwood Morton, Kilmarnock