Diesel (band)

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For the other one-man musical group commonly known as Diesel, see Johnny Diesel. For John Coghlan's Diesel, see John Coghlan
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Diesel was a Dutch pop/rock group that became one of the few Dutch acts to chart in the U.S. when their song, Sausalito Summernight entered the U.S. Top 40 in 1981.

[edit] Early career

Diesel, composed of Rob Vunderink (guitar/vocals), Mark Boon (guitar), Frank Papendrecht (bass) and Pim Koopman (drums/keyboards) formed in the late 1970s, and released their first single in 1979. Following their formation, they had several hits in the Netherlands, but had already disbanded by 1980.

[edit] Breakthrough

In 1981 Watts in a Tank was released in the U.S.. The single Sausalito Summernight, a song that had been only a minor hit in the Netherlands, became a huge U.S. radio hit, and rose to #25 on the U.S. Top 40. It reached #1 in Canada. Watts in a Tank itself went up to #65 on the Billboard 200. Diesel, fuelled by this success, recorded another album, Unleaded, in 1982. This album was produced by American producer Steve Yellick. The album flopped, and Diesel parted ways from Mr. Yellick.

[edit] Comebacks

During their 1987 resurrection they scored in their home country with Samantha, a song Pim Koopman had contributed to a Beach Boys' album that was never recorded.

Diesel has since resurfaced in various line-ups but has never come close to another US hit.

A five-minute version of Sausalito Summernights appeared on a CD re-release in 2002.

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