The Rousers & The Thought
Holland's The Rousers were formed when brothers Cocke and Jan de Jong, inspired by The Ramones and the Damned, started a band playing cover songs. Two years later they joined forces with brothers Bonne and Wieb Zigtema and bass player Rob Marienus. They combined the energy of punk and the melodies of 60's beat music and invented what they called "new beat". They released the LP "A Treat Of New Beat" (Torso, 1979) which combined jagged guitar riffs, vocal harmonies and witty lyrics like into two minute pop gems. "Magazine Girl" was the first single and was well received but got banned from the radio because of the topless girls on the sleeve. After a disappointing second album "Touched" (Torso, 1980) The Rousers broke up.
In 1982 most of the band went on to form The Thought. The band still relied on it's 60's influences but added psychedelics and bombast. They had an unexpected underground club hit in the United States with the a cover of the Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much Dream Last Night" which led to a major label deal and their well received second album. After the release of their third and last LP the band broke up in 1986.
Cock de Jong is currently playing in The Shavers.
The Rousers were:
Cock de Jong - guitar, vocals
Jan de Jong - drums
Rob Marienus - bass
Wieb Zigtema - guitar, vocals
Bonne Zigtema - vocals
Theo van der Plas - guitar, vocals
The Thought were:
Cock de Jong - guitar, vocals.
Jan de Jong - drums.
Wieg Zigtema - guitar, synthesizer, vocals.
Rob Marienus - bass.
Rob van Zandvoort - keyboards.
Go to the download page to get The Rousers - "Rock 'n Roll Or Run"
Go to the download page to get The Thought- "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night"
England's The Fabulous Poodles were a quirky pub rock band formed in 1976 and after releasing two albums in the U.K. came close to breaking big in the U.S. with their stateside debut album "Mirror Stars" (Epic, 1978). They toured the states opening for Tom Petty, The Ramones and even Sha Na Na and appeared on Dick Clark's legendary American Bandstand. Their LP (released on limited edition pink vinyl) managed to crack the Billboard charts outselling both the Jam's and The Clash's debut albums. But lack of label support and burnout took its toll and the band split in 1980. It didn't help that they had a ruthless manager that didn't allow the band members to use their own names after the breakup
