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 who'd record their own version twenty years later. Boeijen had previously addressed the subject on the debut album's Transport uit Bangkok which portrayed a girl whose name translates as Goldflower (Dutch: "Gouden Bloem"). Kronenburg Park was also released in English as Round Midnight with lyrics by Golden Earring-frontman Barry Hay ("You've always been the mistress of bad luck, making love for another lousy buck").
Afterwards the band largely traded synthesizers for pianos and clubs for theatres, which made them pioneers. In 1990 the band celebrated their 10th anniversary by releasing Hier komt de storm, a live-retrospective with the added bonus of new studio-tracks including the Dylan-tribute Robert Zimmerman. A major tour followed which was to be their last, and after March 30 1991 Frank Boeijen Groep disbanded. Boeijen is a solo-artist since doing successful tours in both the Netherlands and Belgium.
External links
- Official website (in Dutch)