Rob de Nijs
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Rob de Nijs | |
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 Rob de Nijs in 2008 | |
| Born | Robert de Nijs 26 December 1942 |
| Nationality | Dutch |
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| Years active | 1960–2022 |
Rob de Nijs(born 26 December 1942) is a Dutch singer and actor, active since the 1960s.
Biography
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De Nijs, backed by The Lords, won a talent-contest in 1962 and released his first single in 1962, "Ritme van de Regen".In 1965 De Nijs split from The Lords because they signed their own record-deal at another label; he embarked on a joint circus-tour withJohnny Lion.
By 1967, De Nijs was a free agent; he performed at small venues and worked as a bartender for a living. His attempts to keep up with thezeitgeist,including "Bye Bye Mrs. Turple", failed; he only made the headlines by marrying his girlfriend Elly in 1968.[1]
In 1969 De Nijs took part in the Dutch heat of theEurovision Song Contestand through musicals likeSajjuns Fiksjenhe landed himself a role in children's TV-seriesOebele.This was followed in 1972 byHamelenin which he played Bertram Bierenbroodspot.
SingerBoudewijn de Grootand songwriter Lennaert Nijgh helped De Nijs relaunch his singing career; in 1973 he was back in the charts with "Jan Klaassen de Trompetter".
The hits continued through 1975-1976, notably "Malle Babbe" and "Zet een Kaars voor Je Raam" (a Dutch translation by Lennaert Nijgh ofDavid McWilliams's "Can I Get There by Candlelight?" ). In 1977 De Nijs releasedTussen Zomer en Winter,a concept-album chronicling the change from a hot summer's day to a cold winter's night, which starts with the hit song "Het Werd Zomer", a translation from thePeter Maffaysong "Und Es War Sommer", and ending with "In De Winter", a translation of theJanis Iansong "In The Winter". The album also features translations ofLou Reed's "Perfect Day"and The Beach Boys'"Disney Girls (1957)".
In 1980 De Nijs releasedMet Je Ogen Dicht( "With Your Eyes Closed" ) which included the top 10-hit "Zondag" and became the Netherlands' best-selling album of the year. He metBelinda Meuldijkwho gave up her own singing-career (after releasing only one single in 1979) to become his chief-songwriter and his second wife (they married in 1984). The first efforts of their collaboration were collected in 1981 on the albumDe Regen Voorbij( "Past The Rain" ).
In 1985 De Nijs had a Christmas #2-hit with the peace-anthem "Alles Wat Ademt" from the albumPur Sang;the English version, "Let Love Be The Answer", was later recorded by US-exile singer Joe Bourne for hisBourne in Holland-album of translated covers. In 1986 De Nijs released an album of covers from the 1950s/1960s-era; it included his version of "Living Doll"shortly after theComic Relief-remake topped the charts.
In 1987 he celebrated his silver jubilee; he re-recorded "Ritme van de Regen" for aBest Of-album and made a guest-appearance in television-seriesDe Bandas himself. He also released an album titledZilver(Silver) which mostly contained his interpretations of famous Dutch songs.
In 1989 De Nijs releasedDe Reiziger(Travelling Man) featuring the bilingual duet "Ik Hou Alleen Van Jou". At the end of the year he wore his Bertram Bierenbroodspot-outfit again for a reunion with the leading-actors ofHamelen.
In 1990Stranger In Your Landwas released, his first album of English originals plus translations of "Zonder Jou" ( "On My Own"; 1981 duet with Demis Roussos), "Bo" (1983) and "Toerist In Het Paradijs" (1989) which became the title-track. The former ended up as the B-side of the "Girls For Sale" -single. In 1992, De Nijs appeared as a judge during the finale of thenl:Kinderen voor Kinderen festival,where he also performed the VIP-version ofAllemaal kabaal(originally from the 11th edition ofKinderen voor Kinderen) with 2 children's choirs (De Waagzangertjes fromAlkmaarand De Blokskes fromSt. Genesius-Rode,Belgium). In 1996 De Nijs scored his first #1-hit with a remix of "Banger Hart".
De Nijs entered the first decade of the 21st century with a knighthood and released albums with translations of Christmas-songs and French chansons (including "This Melody" for whichJulien Clercwas flown in to sing the French parts). Meanwhile, he separated from Meuldijk after twenty years; he married for the third time and became a father again. De Nijs was 70 when he welcomed his third son Julius.
In 2010 De Nijs released the back-to-basics-albumEindelijk Vrij(Free At Last) which he recorded in the US. In 2012 he embarked on his 50th anniversary tour.
In 2014 De Nijs released an album calledNieuwe Ruimte(New Space) with contributions from well-known songwriters likeJan Rot,Boudewijn de Groot, andDaniel Lohues;the latter two reprising their earlier collaborations with De Nijs.
In 2016 De Nijs was honoured with the Radio 5 Oeuvre Award and a tribute-concert.
In 2017 De Nijs releasedNiet voor het laatst(Not for the Last Time); on this album he collaborated with Meuldijk again and sang a duet with his son Robbert.
In September 2019, De Nijs announced his retirement from performing after being diagnosed withParkinson's disease.A farewell-tour and a new album were scheduled for 2020, but postponed because of thecorona pandemic.On March 31, 2020 he appeared on the demissionary talkshowDe Wereld Draait Door(The World Continues to Turn) to perform two new songs. [2]
In 2021, De Nijs played the first of his two remaining farewell-shows in Belgium; the second was scheduled for 2022.
References
[edit]- ^Huwelijk Rob de Nijs en Elly Hesseling te Bergen op Zoom(in Dutch)
- ^[1]"Rob de Nijs stopt toch met optreden" ], AD.nl, 17 september 2019
External links
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Media related toRob de Nijsat Wikimedia Commons- Official website
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