Frank Boeijen
| Frank Boeijen | |
|---|---|
 Frank Boeijen | |
| Born |
27 November 1957 Nijmegen |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Website | http://www.frankboeijen.nl/ |
Frank Boeijen (born 27 November 1957 in Nijmegen) is a Dutch singer and guitarist. His best known songs are Kronenburg Park (Ga die Wereld Uit) about a prostitute, Zwart Wit about the racial murder of Kerwin Duinmeijer in Amsterdam and Twee gezichten about a split personality. Having been in the music business for 25 years, he received the Edison award for his career achievements in 2005.
Biography
Boeijen released his first album in 1979, a joint effort with Wout Pennings produced by singer Rob de Nijs. From 1980 onwards he fronted the Frank Boeijen Groep; they released their self-titled debut album in 1981 to critical acclaim (OOR magazine was impressed by Boeijen's Herman van Veen-like voice). The breakthrough came in 1983 with the album 1001 Hotel, featuring the Motown-inspired singles Het antwoord en Linda; the latter reached top 10. 1984 began with the release of Zwart Wit, originally intended to chronicle a white Romeo/black Juliet-relationship it became a statement against the racist murder of Kerwin Duinmeijer. 1985's Foto van een mooie dag had Kronenburg Park as its second single, assisted by the voices of R&B girl group Mai Tai. It wasn't the first time that Boeijen sang about a prostitute, as the debut album's Transport uit Bangkok portrayed a girl whose name translates as Goldflower (Dutch: "Gouden Bloem"). Kronenburg Park was also released in English as Round Midnight with lyrics penned by Golden Earring-frontman Barry Hay ("You've always been the mistress of bad luck, making love for another lousy buck"). 1986 proved to be a turnaround year for the band; they gradually moved away from the pompous sound that dominated the last three albums and traded the club circuit for theatres, thus becoming pioneers. In 1990 the ten-year-anniversary was celebrated by releasing the live-retrospective Hier komt de storm (plus a few new studio-tracks including the Dylan-tribute Robert Zimmerman) and staging a major tour. This was to be their last and by mid-1991 Frank Boeijen Groep disbanded. Boeijen is a solo-artist since doing successful tours in both the Netherlands and Belgium.
External links
- Official website (Dutch)