Diesel (band)
Diesel is a rock band from the Netherlands formed in 1979 by drummer Pim Koopman and singer and guitarist Rob Vunderink. With Sausalito Summernights she achieved an international hit in 1981.
history
Pim Koopman and Rob Vunderink had already released a single in 1978 under the name Concrete. When guitarist Mark Boon and bassist Frank Papendrecht joined the band in 1979 , it was decided to change the name. Diesel initially landed top 40 hits in the Netherlands such as Going Back to China and Down in the Silvermine . The breakthrough came in 1981 with the song Sausalito Summernights , their fourth single . In this song Mark Boon processes his experiences on a trip to America. Although this was initially just a mediocre hit in their homeland, it was played regularly on Canadian radio. As a result, the single reached number 1 in Canada and number 25 in the US . The group traded in North America under the name Dutch Diesel to avoid confusion with another band.
In the period that followed, there were several changes in appointment at Diesel. So singer Vunderink got out in 1983 and went to Moscow as a newspaper correspondent . He was replaced at Diesel by Henk Hager. In 1987, however, he was expelled there because he had reported too critically about the Soviet regime and returned to Diesel. However, he left the band in 1989 and went back to Moscow. There were also changes in other positions, including André Versluys and Wijnand Ott (bass), Bas Krumperman and Jan Loomans (guitar), Henk Hager and Kim Weemhoff (drums). It wasn't until 2000 that Vunderink and Koopman returned to the band and the band released the album Diesel on the Rocks .
Despite all the line-up changes, Diesel still exists today and is still on tour regularly. In 2017 the line-up was Rob Vunderink (vocals, guitar), Mark Boon (vocals, guitar), René Meister (keyboard, vocals), Dave Bordeaux (vocals, bass) and Ron van Elswijk (drums). In 2017 Diesel released the single Like Hell I Will! . Dave Bordeaux was replaced shortly after by Orlando Milan, who in turn was replaced by Matto Kranenburg in March 2018.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 NL
|
|||
| 1980 | Watts In A Tank |
NL38 (2 weeks) NL |
More albums
- 1982: Unleaded
- 2000: Diesel on the Rocks
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
NL
|
|||
| 1979 | Goin 'Back To China Watts In A Tank |
NL28 (3 weeks) NL |
|
| 1980 | Down In The Silvermine Watts In A Tank |
NL28 (4 weeks) NL |
|
| Sausolito Summernight Watts In A Tank |
NL35 (3 weeks) NL |
||
| 1988 | Samantha |
NL33 (3 weeks) NL |
Web links
swell
- ↑ a b Chart sources: NL albums NL singles