Gruppo Sportivo
Gruppo Sportivo are a Dutch pop band, from The Hague, formed in 1976, who enjoyed some measure of international success in the late 1970s and 1980s. The frontman of the band, and writer of the material, is Hans Vandenburg.
Their first single was "Out There In The Jungle" (Polydor 1976), but the height of their career came with the two albums Ten Mistakes (1977) and Back to '78 (1978). They came to popularity just after the height of punk rock, but were regarded as more post-punk, veering more towards the mainstream pop.[citation needed] Their track "Dreamin'" off of Mistakes received much college radio airplay in the US. They were admired for their live performances, which had great humour and slapstick. Their most well-known song is "Beep Beep Love" (from the album Ten Mistakes), which enjoyed some success both in the UK and US. The UK's Radio & Records voted them "Top Newcomer '78". In July 2006, the Japanese girl band, Puffy AmiYumi, recorded a new version of "Tokyo", originally recorded by Gruppo Sportivo in 1978.
Gruppo Sportivo is still active and Vandenburg (aka Van DeFruits) is constantly working on new material.
Original line-up
- Hans Vandenburg: guitar/vocals;
- Peter Calicher: Keyboards;
- Max Mollinger: Drums, Vocals;
- Eric Wehrmeyer, Bass;
- Josee van Iersel, Vocals
- Meike Touw: Vocals
Present line-up
- Hans Vandenburg: guitar/ vocals;
- Peter Calicher: keyboards/ vocals;
- Max Mollinger: drums;
- Joris Lutz: bass;
- Lies Schilp: vocals;
- Inge Bonthond: vocals
Discography
Gruppo Sportivo
- Rare Tracks - Polydor (1976/77)
- Ten Mistakes - Ariola (1977)
- Back to '78 - Ariola (1978)
- Mistakes - Sire (1979)
- More Mistakes (7") - Sire (1979)
- Buddy Odor is a Gas - Pye (1979)
- Copy Copy - Ariola (1980)
- Pop! Goes the Brain - Ariola (1981)
- Rhythm is a Constant Beat (12") - Ariola (1981)
- Design Moderne - Ariola (1982)
- Sombrero Times - Ariola (1984)
- Sucker of the Century - JAWS Records (1986)
- Back to 19 Mistakes - BMG/Ariola (1987/88)
- Young and Out - Dutch VAN [2 CD Box] (1992)
- Sing Sing - Dutch VAN (1993)
- Second Life - Amsterdamned Records (1997)
- Married With Singles - Pseudonym Records (2000)
- Topless 16 - Pias (2004)
- DVD Career Movies (2006)
- Rock Now, Roll Later! - Pias [2CD](2007)
- The Secret of Success - T2 Entertainment (2011)
Hans Vandenburg
- Buddy Odor is a Gas - Pye (1979)
- Hans Vandenburg's Commercial Break - VAN Records (1994)
- Shake Hands With Vandenburg - VAN Records (1996)
- Ouwe Hans Dierenpark - Uit Het Leven Gegrepen - VAN records (1998)
- Dierenpark - Sliptong - Suburban (2002)
- Dierenpark - Tot Ziens, Bedankt, Het Beste Van Dierenpark Live! - My First Step Records (2006)
Quote
"We picked our name because we saw it on a poster and liked the sound...and we are a sort of team. We write in English because no one else outside Holland speaks Dutch and we want our songs to be heard and listened to everywhere." (Hans Vandenburg)[citation needed]