Frizzle Sizzle
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Frizzle Sizzle were a Dutch pop group of the 1980s.
Sisters Karin and Laura Vlasblom and their friends Mandy Huydts and Marjon Keller debuted in 1981 on the second album of Kinderen voor Kinderen, a children's choir whose ongoing television-shows are broadcast by VARA each November. All of the girls were given a lead vocal; Karin in Gastarbeider (a song about a forbidden love between a Dutch girl and a Greek boy), Mandy in Bijna brugklas (about the transition from primary to secondary school) and Marjon in Roken, an anti-smoking tirade. Laura sang Verlegenheid (a reminder that shyness hits everyone at one moment) in an embryonic line-up of Frizzle Sizzle (minus Marjon). Due to their age (13 was the maximum), the Vlasblom sisters left after the second album; Mandy and Marjon paid further contributions to the third album. The former sang Johnny mijn pony (about being in love with her pony), the latter Op de wip (about being stuck in the middle between a pain-in-the-neck brother and a bossy sister). Marjon left after the fourth album on which she had minor roles in two tracks; Iedereen gaat voor z'n beurt (Nobody waits his turn) and 'Ziek zijn (which sums up the joys of throwing a sickie) She also sang the first half of the call-for-exercise Trim trim trim. In 1984 the girls appeared on the fifth show to tell that they formed a girl group and sang about their days with the choir as a bridge between the interviews with the departures and the new batch of songs. Marjon was still on hand as a backing vocalist for the choir and did so on the fifth and sixth albums.
Naming themselves Frizzle Sizzle they were selected to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with Alles heeft een ritme (English: Everything has rhythm), a tropical-tinged song in the classic Kinderen voor Kinderen-mould. Being the one act to perform barefoot they only reached the 13th position. In the Dutch charts it went to number 21. Soon afterwards Frizzle Sizzle showed their true colours by releasing songs in English (Never give up being the first). Early 1987 they had a number 14 hit with Talk it Over, which drew comparisons with established girl group Dolly Dots. Second Chance reached number 38 the same year. Frizzle Sizzle were joint winners of the 1987 Silver Harp Awards for new bands with their first and only album First Date.
After their break-up in 1989 the girls remained active in showbusiness; Karin made television programmes, Laura pursued a solo-career and was married to boyband singer- turned-musical actor Bastiaan Ragas, Mandy Huydts became a backing vocalist for the arena-filling Rene Froger but released her own stuff in between commitments. Marjon Keller, now hosting radio-shows as well as doing voice-overs for RTL, always insisted on not being lived by stardom. Back in 1988 she was quoted "It (was) fun being part of Frizzle Sizzle, but there are more things in life".
In 1995 former members of Kinderen voor Kinderen were invited to attend the 15th show (hosted by Paul de Leeuw). The ex-Frizzle Sizzles were notably absent, but they later compensated by making an in-crowd appearance at De Leeuw's own TV-show. "Still barefoot ?" he asked; to which the girls (then pushing thirty) gave a confirming answer.
