Guitarist and singer George Kooymans of the Golden Earring is seriously ill. He has the incurable muscle disease ALS. This means the end of the band from The Hague, the group's manager confirms to NOS.

As a teenager, 72-year-old Kooymans was involved in the founding of the band together with bassist Rinus Gerritsen. In the years that followed, singer Barry Hay and drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk joined the ranks.

In the AD Kooymans confirms that he does indeed have the disease. "It's a very bad report and I'm not really in the mood to say much about it. I'm under treatment at the university hospital in Leuven. That's it."

ALS is an incurable muscle disease. In ALS, the nerves die, causing muscles to become weaker and stiffer. It is becoming increasingly difficult to move, eat, talk and breathe. That ultimately leads to death, there is no cure. Two to three people per 100,000 get the disease.

Barry Hay van de Earring says in a first reaction that the dismay is great. "It's all very intense."

[nos.nl]

Damn, thats sad. Wish him all the best, but that sounds terrible. Having said that, did anyone think Golden Earring was still around?

Their last "hit" in the Netherlands: Still Got the Keys to My First Cadillac (2012)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-02-05 19:30 by NilsHolgersson.

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RollingFreak
Damn, thats sad. Wish him all the best, but that sounds terrible. Having said that, did anyone think Golden Earring was still around?

Until 2019 they still played very often in the Netherlands and their last show was in 2019 at Ahoy Rotterdam.

In the early nineties Mick Jagger bought in Holland their famous The Naked Truth accoustic live album.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-02-05 20:18 by Mabru.

Very sad to hear. Their last single, Say When, came out in 2019. Here is maybe my favourite Golden Earring song, with vocasls by Kooymans:
[www.youtube.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-02-05 22:48 by walkingthedog.

They were the longest touring band, longer than the Stones....So far. Very sad news. They brought great tracks to the world. When The Lady Smiles, Twilight Zone are amongst my all time favorite rock songs. They sounded better over time - a tight piece of rock. Wishing him all the best.

Very sad to hear the news of George Kooymans having ALS and for the Golden Earring the ending as a band. They were the biggest act in the Netherlands, sharing the stage with other big acts like Santana, Rush, Kiss, Aerosmith and The Who. Radar Love got covered hundreds of times and selling out live shows till the end.

Moontan

Cheers to a long & good career. I hope the doctors are able to at least make him comfortable.

Very sad news. I only knew the band from Radar Love and Twilight Zone and wasn't aware that they were still together.

Another hidden gem: [www.youtube.com]

Isnt this better than Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da?

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NilsHolgersson




Isnt this better than Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da?

Yes, but still probably the worst GE single. The b-side is pretty cool, though : [www.youtube.com]

Very sad news indeed. Although George Kooymans could be replaced I believe the Golden Earring "calling it quits" is the right decision. Their power has gone long ago.

My wife just told me that she prefers the George Baker Selection
For me they were an okay band, but not much more than that. Very many personel changes and style changes over the decades leading from The Golden Earrings (in the early sixties, when they became nationally known) to eventually Golden Earring.
Still, very sad that this happens to George, because to me he appeared to be a nice, devoted guy, who wrote several nice songs for the band. All the best to George in particular and Rinus, Cesar and Barry

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TheflyingDutchman
Very sad news indeed. Although George Kooymans could be replaced I believe the Golden Earring "calling it quits" is the right decision. Their power has gone long ago.

Replacing George Kooymans in GE would be like replacing Keith Richards in The Stones.

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walkingthedog

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TheflyingDutchman
Very sad news indeed. Although George Kooymans could be replaced I believe the Golden Earring "calling it quits" is the right decision. Their power has gone long ago.

Replacing George Kooymans in GE would be like replacing Keith Richards in The Stones.

I apologise, it was not my intention to hurt anyone's feelings.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-02-07 23:32 by TheflyingDutchman.

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TheflyingDutchman

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walkingthedog

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TheflyingDutchman
Very sad news indeed. Although George Kooymans could be replaced I believe the Golden Earring "calling it quits" is the right decision. Their power has gone long ago.

Replacing George Kooymans in GE would be like replacing Keith Richards in The Stones.

I apologise, it was not my intention to hurt anyone's feelings.

No hurt feelings, just wanted to point out that Kooymans is the most important member of GE and replacing him is simply unthinkable.

I have fond memories of George and The Golden Earring. Actually, they were the first
(and so far last, due to Covid-19) band I saw perform live. Have seen them a couple of
times over the years and like the Stones they adopted a lot of styles and musical trends
and made those their own.

George also did some nice side projects. I have seen him playing (in Dutch, or should I
say "Haags") with what one could call a Dutch "Super band", that named themselves
"Vreemde kostgangers".
Another show case of his great guitar playing and ability to adopt styles.





Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

The first song that I remember was "Back Home" when I was a little kid, and it thrilled me.

Here's another song that moves me, till date.

Another favorite Golden Earring track: Byrds cover - Eight Miles High 19 minutes

sad news. First band I ever saw live at Glasgow Apollo in 1974. My ears were ringing for days afterwards. Fantastic

As with the Stones their heydays were in the '60's, 70's and early 80's. Like this classic:
[www.youtube.com]

But afterwards they also did some nice tracks. This is one of my favorites from the 90's:
[www.youtube.com]

I read on the internet that the Rolling Stones have played "Radar Love" on stage.Cannot find it though. Anyone??



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-02-09 00:02 by TheflyingDutchman.

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TheflyingDutchman
I read on the internet that the Rolling Stones have played "Radar Love" on stage.Cannot find it though. Anyone??

I read it too just a stupid quote......they never did.

__________________________

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NICOS

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TheflyingDutchman
I read on the internet that the Rolling Stones have played "Radar Love" on stage.Cannot find it though. Anyone??

I read it too just a stupid quote......they never did.

It was mentioned in NOS journaal Friday night ...

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Lien

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NICOS

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TheflyingDutchman
I read on the internet that the Rolling Stones have played "Radar Love" on stage.Cannot find it though. Anyone??

I read it too just a stupid quote......they never did.

It was mentioned in NOS journaal Friday night ...

Well then we all know that even the NOS doesn't know or just post rubbish

__________________________

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RMNice1958
sad news. First band I ever saw live at Glasgow Apollo in 1974. My ears were ringing for days afterwards. Fantastic

Yes, I was at that one too!

should check what it's worth ...
maybe golden earring worth some cash

The video for 'Twilight Zone' was one of the first I remember seeing on VH1's Totally 80s show. Having said that, I was born waaay after their heyday. Still, it's surprising to see they still were around.

Saw them in Scheeßel 1977.

Golden Earring was the last performance before the stage went up in flames. Since all Hells Angels security, wo had not been paid for their services, had already left, after having damaged the organizers caravans, there was free access to the stage. So I attended Golden Earring's set standing directly behind the band right on stage. Cool experience for a young boy, I mean, to be so close to the band. Last number, before the band deserted the stage in a hurry, was of course Radar Love. Some time later, being back in the crowd, I saw flames flaring up from the stage. Then I wouldn't have dreamt that the band would still be around for some more 40+ years. Farewell Golden Earring.

[digit.wdr.de]

[www.youtube.com]







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-02-09 17:55 by dead.flowers.