Armand
Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6881. Photo: Fontana.
Dutch protest singer Armand (1946-2015) was known as 'the Dutch Bob Dylan'. Armand came to the fore during the hippie generation and was well known as an advocate of cannabis. His greatest hit song was 'Ben ik te min' (Am I not good enough?) in 1967. During a career lasting fifty years, Armand wrote and recorded at least eleven solo studio albums and dozens of singles.
Armand was born as Herman George van Loenhout in 1946 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and grew up, very near to the place where Bob and Truus lived as kids. His great examples were Bob Dylan, Peter Seeger, and Woody Guthrie. Since childhood, he suffered from asthma and was not expected to live beyond 20. Hence Armand later called “every day a bonusArmand started as a member and founder of the bands Shannonboys and Les Gilets. He launched his first solo record 'En nou ik' in 1965. It flopped, but he didn't give up. Then the record 'En een van hem ben ik' came out, which was a minor hit. Suddenly, 3 months afterwards, the B side, 'Ben ik te min' became a national hit. He stayed in the Dutch Top 40 for 14 weeks with this record. In that same year, the single 'Blommenkinders' was released. This brought him back in the Top40, now reaching number 19. His record label Philips refused to release the song 'Lijpe Harrie'. Armand was a great advocate of legalising soft drugs and Philips declined to publish lyrics about that subject. Armand decided to write the debut song for Lenny Kuhr, 'Laat maar schrijven'. Ten years later Armand released 'Lijpe Harrie' after all.
In 1970, Armand transferred in 1970 to Telstar Records, then owned by Dutch singer Johnny Hoes. On the Kilroy label, he released six albums in the period of 1971 to 1981. The albums contained many socially concerned lyrics, most of them inspired by the hippie ideology of the late 1960s. In 1990 he broke with the majors to give himself more artistic freedom. In 1994 he released 'One of Our Kind', which was only for sale at his gigs. In 1996 he celebrated his 50th birthday by bringing out the double CD '50 jaar Armand'. The album 'A Tribute to Armand/50 years and still in the Highlife' followed.
Armand revived his music career in 2011 when he participated in the TV show 'Op Volle Toeren' hosted by rapper Ali B. He recorded his own version of the song 'Straattaal', originated by the rapper Nina, who-in turn-recorded her version of Armand's song 'Ben ik te min'. This updated adaptation of 'Ben ik te min' was released (with Ali B and Brownie Dutch). The song now talks of the disrespect for women Nina finds in hip hop culture. In 2012, Armand began a collaboration with singer-songwriter Lucky Fonz III and Dave von Raven, singer for The Kik, both fans of his, and in June 2015 Armand & The Kik released an album with adaptations of Armand's lesser-known songs, followed by a Dutch tour. Armand died in Eindhoven in 2015 of pneumonia, at the age of 69.
Source: Wikipedia and Saving Iceland.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Armand
Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6881. Photo: Fontana.
Dutch protest singer Armand (1946-2015) was known as 'the Dutch Bob Dylan'. Armand came to the fore during the hippie generation and was well known as an advocate of cannabis. His greatest hit song was 'Ben ik te min' (Am I not good enough?) in 1967. During a career lasting fifty years, Armand wrote and recorded at least eleven solo studio albums and dozens of singles.
Armand was born as Herman George van Loenhout in 1946 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and grew up, very near to the place where Bob and Truus lived as kids. His great examples were Bob Dylan, Peter Seeger, and Woody Guthrie. Since childhood, he suffered from asthma and was not expected to live beyond 20. Hence Armand later called “every day a bonusArmand started as a member and founder of the bands Shannonboys and Les Gilets. He launched his first solo record 'En nou ik' in 1965. It flopped, but he didn't give up. Then the record 'En een van hem ben ik' came out, which was a minor hit. Suddenly, 3 months afterwards, the B side, 'Ben ik te min' became a national hit. He stayed in the Dutch Top 40 for 14 weeks with this record. In that same year, the single 'Blommenkinders' was released. This brought him back in the Top40, now reaching number 19. His record label Philips refused to release the song 'Lijpe Harrie'. Armand was a great advocate of legalising soft drugs and Philips declined to publish lyrics about that subject. Armand decided to write the debut song for Lenny Kuhr, 'Laat maar schrijven'. Ten years later Armand released 'Lijpe Harrie' after all.
In 1970, Armand transferred in 1970 to Telstar Records, then owned by Dutch singer Johnny Hoes. On the Kilroy label, he released six albums in the period of 1971 to 1981. The albums contained many socially concerned lyrics, most of them inspired by the hippie ideology of the late 1960s. In 1990 he broke with the majors to give himself more artistic freedom. In 1994 he released 'One of Our Kind', which was only for sale at his gigs. In 1996 he celebrated his 50th birthday by bringing out the double CD '50 jaar Armand'. The album 'A Tribute to Armand/50 years and still in the Highlife' followed.
Armand revived his music career in 2011 when he participated in the TV show 'Op Volle Toeren' hosted by rapper Ali B. He recorded his own version of the song 'Straattaal', originated by the rapper Nina, who-in turn-recorded her version of Armand's song 'Ben ik te min'. This updated adaptation of 'Ben ik te min' was released (with Ali B and Brownie Dutch). The song now talks of the disrespect for women Nina finds in hip hop culture. In 2012, Armand began a collaboration with singer-songwriter Lucky Fonz III and Dave von Raven, singer for The Kik, both fans of his, and in June 2015 Armand & The Kik released an album with adaptations of Armand's lesser-known songs, followed by a Dutch tour. Armand died in Eindhoven in 2015 of pneumonia, at the age of 69.
Source: Wikipedia and Saving Iceland.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.