| The Outsiders | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Years Active: | 1964–1969 |
| Label: | Muziek Express Op-Art, Relax, Polydor, Pseudonym |
| Past Members: | Wally Tax Ronnie Splinter Appie Rammers Tom Krabbendam Leendert Busch Frank Beek |
The Outsiders were a Dutch Nederbeat band from Amsterdam. Their period of greatest popularity in the Netherlands was from 1965–67, but they released records until 1969. In recent years their legacy has extended beyond the Netherlands, and the group is today recognized as a distinctive exemplar of the garage rock genre.
Featuring Wally Tax (vocals), Ronnie Splinter (guitar), Appie Rammers (bass guitar), Tom Krabbendam (guitar), Leendert "Buzz" Busch (drums), and Frank Beek (bass guitar 1968-1969), the band exemplified Nederbeat, a Dutch take on beat music created in the wake of the British Invasion. Unlike many European bands influenced by the Beatles, The Outsiders took their cues from harder-edged British groups like the Pretty Things (who frequently toured the Netherlands) and the Rolling Stones. The Outsiders opened for the Rolling Stones at their second Dutch concert on 26 March 1966 in 's-Hertogenbosch.
The Outsiders released three full-length albums: Outsiders and the singles collection Songbook in 1967, and C.Q. in 1968. The latter sold poorly upon release but is now considered a masterpiece of psychedelic rock and garage rock. The band also released thirteen singles, including 1967's "Summer Is Here," which reached the Dutch Top Ten.[1] Their eponymous debut album, which featured one side of studio recordings and another of live recordings, also sold well during this period. Unusually for this era, the band never recorded any covers. While several Dutch pop groups of the era, including Tee-Set ("Ma Belle Amie"), Shocking Blue ("Venus"), and the George Baker Selection ("Little Green Bag"), all had hits in the United States on the Colossus label (resulting in what some music pundits jokingly called the "Dutch Invasion"), the Outsiders were unable to join in on this success as their records were never released in the country.
After the Summer of Love, many Nederbeat bands fell from commercial favor, including the Outsiders. Later Outsiders singles had lower chart peaks, and personnel changes, friction, poor promotion and management problems followed. Experiments and changes in musical style, though critically well-regarded today, alienated the band's fanbase. The group began attempting publicity stunts in the hopes of building interest, including dressing in medieval costumes and staging a haircut for Wally Tax on Dutch television.
In the autumn of 1969, Ronnie Splinter quit music. The band disbanded, with Tax and Busch subsequently forming Tax Free.[2] [3]
A reunion tour of the four original Outsiders took place in October 1997. Wally Tax died in 2005.
Appie Rammers and Leen Busch were active with Tax & The Outsiders from April 2015 to early 2017, together with Tycho Tax (vocals), Yuri Tax (guitar) and Mick Langenberg (guitar).
The Outsiders are the subject of an official biography, Outsiders voor Insiders (1997), by Jerome Blanes; the English version Outsiders by Insiders was published in December 2009 by Misty Lane Books. Two collections of photographs, The Outsiders Picture Book, Volume 1 and The Outsiders Picture Book, Volume 2 and two scrapbooks with articles have also been published.