Recently acquired: Dutch pop stars of the 1960s

Recently, we found on British eBay a series of great postcards of Dutch pop artists of the 1960s. All were published by 't Sticht, a publisher from the city of Utrecht, which later emerged with another postcard publisher from Utrecht, Takken. We were kids when these postcards were published and the stars on them would become legends and their songs evergreens, anyway in the Netherlands. So this post is a happy, sentimental journey for us, and we do hope you'll enjoy it too.


Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6631.

Dutch singer, songwriter, and actor Boudewijn de Groot (1944) is known as a troubadour with a Dylan-esque impact. In the 1960s and 1970s, he shot to fame in the Netherlands and Belgium with hits like 'Welterusten Meneer De President' (Goodnight Mr. President), 'Het Land Van Maas En Waal' (The Land Of Meuse And Waal), and 'Jimmy' (1973). In the 1980s he started a new career as a composer of film music and as an actor. In the late 1990s, he made a very successful comeback.


Dutch postcard, 1967 by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6305.

Dutch singer and actress Liesbeth List (1941) passed away last year, on 25 March 2020. List was known as the Grande Dame of the Dutch chanson, thanks to songs like 'Pastorale', 'Aan de andere kant van de heuvels' (On the other side of the hills), and 'Kinderen een kwartje' (Children a quarter). She became popular during the 1960s and frequently collaborated with Ramses Shaffy. List sang Jacques Brel's chansons in a Dutch translation, and also acted in a few Dutch films.


Dutch postcard by Uitg. 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6783. Photo: Philips grammofoonplaten (Philips records).

French-Dutch singer and actor Ramses Shaffy (1933-2009) is an icon of the Dutch entertainment world. He became popular during the 1960s. His most famous songs include 'Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder' (Sing, fight, cry, pray, laugh, work and admire), 'We zullen doorgaan' (We shall go on), 'Pastorale' (Sun and Moon), 'Sammy' and 'Laat me' (Let me). He frequently collaborated with Dutch singer Liesbeth List. About his career and life, both a musical and a TV series were produced.


Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6430. Photo: Philips grammofoonplaten (Philips Records).

From 1959 on, Dutch singer and actor Johnny Lion (1941-2019) had success with his band the Jumping Jewels. Solo, he had single luck with the evergreen 'Sophietje' which he wrote for his girlfriend, Dutch model Sophie van Kleef. Johnny also appeared in some Dutch films.


Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6881. Photo: Fontana.

Dutch protest singer Armand (1946-2015) was known as 'the Dutch Bob Dylan'. Armand came to the fore during the hippie generation and was well known as an advocate of cannabis. His greatest hit song was 'Ben ik te min' (Am I not good enough?) in 1967. During a career lasting fifty years, Armand wrote and recorded at least eleven solo studio albums and dozens of singles.


Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6853.

Karin Kent (1943) was a Dutch pop singer, who was very popular in the Netherlands during the late 1960s thanks to such smash hits as 'Dans je de hele nacht met mij?' (Do you dance all night with me?).


Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6877. Photo: Decca. Boudewijn de Groot.


Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6939. Boudewijn de Groot.


Dutch postcard by Takken, Utrecht / 't Sticht, no. AX 4822. Photo: NV Phonogram, Amsterdam.

Swedish Siw Malmkvist (1936) is a popular pop/schlager singer in Scandinavia and Germany. ‘Siwan’ was the first Swede with a hit on the US Billboard chart with 'Sole Sole Sole', a duet with Umberto Marcato. Malmkvist is a performer with great versatility, and she performed in stage plays, musicals and films.

Dutch-Indonesian brothers Riem de Wolff (1943-2017) and Ruud de Wolff (1941-2000) formed The Blue Diamonds, one of the most successful Dutch pop acts ever. Their hit song 'Ramona' became an evergreen. Incidentally, the brothers also acted in films and on TV.


Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht. Photo: Philips grammofoonplaten. Sent by mail in 1965. Johnny Lion once more.


Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. 658.

For more than 60 years now Willeke Alberti (1945) is a very popular singer in the Netherlands. During the 1960s she was a teen idol with several #1 hits. Later she starred as an actress on stage, on TV, and in popular films. Through the years, Alberti has become embraced in the Netherlands as a gay icon, due to a combination of her song repertoire, her durability, and her performances in support of manifold (gay) causes. Her first husband was musician Joop Oonk, best known for the band Jumping Jewels.


Dutch postcard by 't Sticht, Utrecht, no. AX 6580. The Golden Earrings (later Golden Earring) with left George Kooijmans and right Rinus Gerritsen, but in between?

Golden Earring is a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings (the 's' was dropped in 1969). They achieved worldwide fame with their hits 'Radar Love' (1973), 'Twilight Zone' (1982), and 'When the Lady Smiles' (1984). Recently, George Kooyman has been diagnosed with the muscle disease ALS, and sadly, that means the end of the band performing. During their career, Golden Earring had nearly 30 top-ten singles on the Dutch charts, and over the years they produced 25 studio albums.

For more Dutch pop star postcards check out our Flickr album Dutch Pop Stars or for postcards of international pop stars check out the album Vintage pop stars.