Formed in 1961, the band was active for 60 years, almost non-stop. They had 56 years of studio output, starting in 1965, which made them the world's longest surviving rock band, formed a year before The Rolling Stones, until their tragic end on 5 February 2021, when guitarist founding member George Kooymans revealed that he had been diagnosed with the neuro-muscular disease, ALS.
The band's core line-up of four was unchanged from 1970 to 2021, although extra musicians had short stints in the band in the 1970s. Golden Earring was always touring, except in 2000 (their only sabbatical year) and the final year of their existence, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 1961 George Kooymans (age 13) and his neighbour Rinus Gerritsen (age 15) formed The Tornado's in the Zuiderpark district of their home town of The Hague, The Netherlands. The band's first line-up mainly played The Shadows and The Ventures covers, as well as other instrumental tunes, and played its first gigs at school parties.
In 1963, as the band found out that there already was a British band called The Tornados, they decided to change their name into The Golden Ear-rings (after a Peggy Lee song). The band now performed around The Hague, soon had a devoted local following and landed a record deal with Polydor. Their début single, 1965's Please Go, immediately landed in the Dutch Top 10.
Under the Golden Earrings moniker the band eventually recorded four albums and had twelve hit singles in the Netherlands between 1965 and 1969, ten of which reached the Dutch Top 10. Several of their records were released internationally in Europe and even North America, although they failed to make an impact there.
One of the band's sixties singles became their first Dutch #1 hit: 1968's somewhat carnavalesque Dong-Dong-Diki-Digi-Dong, although that tune is now frowned upon by the band and generally regarded as inferior to other sixties Earrings gems, such as That Day (1966, the first Dutch pop single to have been recorded in the U.K., at London's Pye Studios), Sound Of The Screaming Day (1966) and the epic Just A Little Bit Of Peace In My Heart (1969).
The band's lead singer during the early Golden Earrings years was Frans Krassenburg. He was replaced by Barry Hay (ex-The Haigs) in 1967. The band's drummer for much of the 1960s was Jaap Eggermont. His successors were Sieb Warner (1969) and, in 1970, Cesar Zuiderwijk (ex-Livin' Blues), Golden Earring's definitive drummer.
The band's international career modestly started to take off in 1969, the year of their psychedelic Eight Miles High album, their first haphazard tour of the United States and also the year in which the band name was slightly changed into The Golden Earring and finally (dropping the article within a year), Golden Earring. On their early U.S. tours, their long, wild cover version of The Byrds' classic Eight Miles High impressed audiences and press alike. Golden Earring's 19-minute album version, as well as the stand-alone 1969 single, Another 45 Miles, were the first Golden Earring recordings to get some North American airplay.
The arrival of drummer, Cesar Zuiderwijk, in 1970, completed what would turn out to be the group's definitive line-up: Barry Hay (lead vocals/guitar/flute), George Kooymans (guitar/vocals), Cesar Zuiderwijk (drums) and Rinus Gerritsen (bass/harmonica/keyboards).
1970 saw a dramatic shift in Golden Earring's musical style. After the melodic, often Beatle-esque sixties beat of The Golden Earrings and a brief phase of psychedelia and hippie rock in 1968 and 1969, the single Back Home marked the birth of Golden Earring's trademark heavy, riff-based brand of hard rock with catchy hooks. Back Home hit #1 in the Dutch charts and 'broke' Golden Earring in most of Europe, notably countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France.
This marked the start of a decade of domestic and international glory. Between 1966 and 1976 seventeen consecutive Earring singles rocketed into the Dutch Top 10, while their international popularity increased, especially after their lengthy 1972 tour of Europe, supporting The Who. Buddy Joe (1972) achieved considerable chart success in the German-speaking countries of Europe, but 1973's Radar Love was their breakthrough smash hit worldwide: #13 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #1 in the U.S. Cashbox chart, #5 in Britain, #8 in Australia, #10 in Canada, #5 in Germany, #6 in Belgium, #1 in Spain and also #1 in (last but not least) Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), to name but a few.
Radar Love remains an enduring 'car classic' and radio anthem of global fame to this day. Between 1969 and 1985 Golden Earring completed ten major tours of North America, building a considerable North American fanbase, as well as five headlining tours of Great Britain in 1973 and 1974 alone. Golden Earring toured as 'special guests' of The Who, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, .38 Special, Rush and many more, whereas bands like Aerosmith, KISS, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd opened for Golden Earring. The album that spawned Radar Love, 1973's Moontan, was certified 'Gold' by North America's RIAA in 1974 and sold millions of copies worldwide.
The band failed to achieve similar chart success in the years after Radar Love: the progressive Switch (1975) and To The Hilt (1976) charted in Billboard's album charts, but yielded no major U.S. hits. The singles were clearly not what North American audiences wanted from the 'Radar Love guys'.
Golden Earring was forgotten by many outside of The Netherland and by 1980 even Dutch audiences started to lose interest: albums such as No Promises, No Debts (1979) and Prisoner Of The Night (1980) were commercial flops, leading to the band's decision (in 1981) to record a 'final LP and then call it quits.
The lead single from 1982's 'farewell album', Cut, a Kooymans-penned tune called Twilight Zone, surprisingly became an even bigger hit in the U.S. than Radar Love: #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks, thanks to heavy MTV rotation of the Dick Maas-directed video. The song (#1 in The Netherlands) revived Golden Earring's stateside career overnight. The Cut LP was certified 'gold' in Canada, with Twilight Zone hitting #3 in the Canadian charts.
In their native Netherlands the band did manage to extend their creative and commercial peak this time: the single When The Lady Smiles and the album N.E.W.S. ('NorthEastWestSouth'), both released in 1984, repeated the success of Twilight Zone and Cut. 'Lady' peaked at #3 in Canada, but fared disappointingly in the U.S. as MTV and even radio stations banned the track because of its controversial video, once again directed by Dick Maas, in which the rape of a nun was suggested.
After 1985 things rapidly went downhill for Golden Earring internationally (they would not tour the U.S. again), but - after a creative and financial crisis that lasted throughout the second half of the 1980s - the band wrote one of their most enduring Dutch hits in 1991 (the power-ballad, Going To The Run, which fared partially well in Russia) and discovered a new gold mine in their home country a year later: acoustic concerts in theatres, the concept of MTV Unplugged.
To everybody's surprise, the band's acoustic live album, The Naked Truth, slowly became their all-time biggest selling album in The Netherlands. Its sequels, Naked II (1997) and Naked III (2005) also went platinum at least once in The Netherlands.
Golden Earring's by far most succesful album internationally remains 1973's Moontan, which sold well over 3.5 million copies outside of The Netherlands and was certified 'gold' in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom (and platinum in the U.S. in later years).
Golden Earring released 25 studio albums, 9 live albums and countless succesful compilations. Almost all of these records were certified gold, often platinum, in The Netherlands. More than anything else, though, the band remained a live force of legendary status in their home country and beyond. They toured throughout each year until the very end, almost exclusively in the Netherlands, although there are still occasional live appearances in Belgium and Germany. 2009 saw Golden Earring's long overdue return to the United Kingdom: their sold out shows in Ipswich and London's Shepherd's Bush Empire were their first live appearances in England since 1978.
In 2011 the band recorded their first album of new material since 2003's Millbrook U.S.A.: Tits 'n Ass - studio album #25 for the Dutch legends - was released on 11 May 2012 on Universal Music and hit #1 in the Dutch album charts one week after its release to become Golden Earring's 8th #1 album in their home country. Certified 'gold' in The Netherlands, the album was generally believed to be Golden Earring's final studio outing, but December 2015 saw the release of a five-track mini album entitled The Hague, released more than fifty years after their début single and just before the band's sold out 'Five Zero' anniversary concert at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome in front of a 17,000-strong crowd. 2019 saw the release of a stand-alone single, Say When: Golden Earring's final studio recording.
Nobody was aware of it at the time, but the band's 16 November 2019 performance at the Rotterdam Ahoy would turn out to be their final concert. After a year of Covid-19 lockdowns, guitarist George Kooymans announced his ALS diagnosis on 5 February 2021, the disease rendering him unfit to perform. Within hours, the band admitted that carrying on without Kooymans was unthinkable. In the words of lead singer, Barry Hay: "This is the end of the line for the band. It's a death blow. We always said: we'll keep going until the first one of us goes down. I never expected it to be George."
The band's final performance was released as a live CD and DVD in April 2022, named after Barry Hay's final words at the end of countless Golden Earring shows: You Know We Love You!.
Studio albums (released as Golden Earring, unless noted otherwise)
Just Ear-rings (1965, as The Golden Earrings or The Golden Ear-rings)
Winter-Harvest (1967, as Golden Earrings, sometimes spelled as Winter Harvest)
Miracle Mirror (1968, as Golden Earrings)
On The Double (1969, as Golden Earrings)
Eight Miles High (1969, as The Golden Earring)
Golden Earring (1970, colloquially known as 'Wall Of Dolls')
Seven Tears (1971)
Together (1972)
Moontan (1973)
Switch (1975)
To The Hilt (1976)
Contraband (1976, U.S. title: Mad Love)
Grab It For A Second (1978)
No Promises... No Debts (1979, spelled as No Promises, No Debts on most online platforms)
Prisoner Of The Night (1980)
Cut (1982)
N.E.W.S. (1984)
The Hole (1986)
Keeper Of The Flame (1989)
Bloody Buccaneers (1991)
Face It (1994)
Love Sweat (1995, covers album)
Paradise In Distress (1999)
Millbrook U.S.A. (2003)
Tits 'n Ass (2012)
The Hague (EP, 2015)
Live albums
Live (1977)
2nd Live (1981)
Something Heavy Going Down (1984, includes one new studio track)
The Naked Truth (1992, acoustic)
Naked II (1997, acoustic)
Last Blast Of The Century (2000)
Naked III (2005, acoustic, incorrectly listed as Naked Truth III on some streaming platforms)
Live In Ahoy 2006 (2006, live DVD + CD set)
You Know We Love You! (2022, live DVD + CD set)
Additional information:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Earring
Official website: https://www.golden-earring.nl
Liquid Soul
Golden Earring Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
* Face it
* Last blast of the century
Went down to the liquor store -
Had enough - but I needed more
Give me a six pack,
I got money - I got cash -
Break the seal
Take my knife
Cut the waitin' - say the word
No hesitatin' - can't you see that I'm hungry!
I been a dirty liar, a cold-hearted diplomat
And now I keep on tryin'
Tryin' hard to forget
I used to be a coward,
No Clark Gable
No stick of dynamite
No funky fire sign
This river's runnin' dry
You'll never capture
It's liquid soul!
Daylight I'm angry
Lonely, but I found
Somethin' solid gold
On this endless road
I like the glow
When the fire turns to coal
And I see your mystery
Send me on my way
Sometimes I wander
Sometimes I leave for good
Livin' up my fantasy
Livin' in a world like you
She ask me do you love me
I answer I don't know
She ask me do you love me
Yes I love you girl!
Givin' up my freedom
Givin' up my fantasy
I'm givin' up!!
Go go
(Bass solo)
Sometimes prisoner
Sometimes I feel free
I'm livin' up - livin' up
Livin' up my fantasy
Already know the answer
Information plain to see
Through the muddy water
No sticks of dynamite
No need for sacrifice
This river ain't runnin' dry
You'll never capture
It's liquid soul!!
The lyrics of "Liquid Soul" by Golden Earring depict the restless pursuit of a man for something more than what he already has. The song begins with the singer visiting a liquor store to quench his thirst even though he had enough. He uses power-packed metaphors to express his desperation, telling the seller to take his money, his life, and even his knife to give him what he wants without hesitation. He then confesses to being a dirty liar and a cold-hearted diplomat, and now he is trying hard to forget it all.
The song then portrays the singer's confusion and frustration with himself, comparing his condition to a dry river that no one can capture. Despite feeling angry and lonely, he finds something solid gold on his endless journey. There is a marked shift in the tone of the song when the singer talks about his love for a woman who asks him if he loves her. The singer confesses that he doesn't know, but he loves her, and he is ready to give up his freedom and his fantasy for her. The song ends with the singer accepting his current state of being, acknowledging that the answers are already known and that muddy waters need no sticks of dynamite to clear them.
Overall, "Liquid Soul" by Golden Earring highlights the restlessness and confusion of an individual in pursuit of something more. It is a profound portrayal of the human psyche and how one can come to terms with their lives.
Interesting facts about "Liquid Soul" by Golden Earring:
* "Liquid Soul" is a song by Golden Earring, a Dutch rock band that was formed in 1961 in The Hague.
* The song was released in 1994 and has been featured on two of Golden Earring's albums: "Face It" and "Last Blast of the Century."
* The song features a mixture of hard rock and psychedelic sounds, which are characteristic of Golden Earring's music style.
* In an interview, lead singer Barry Hay revealed that the lyrics of "Liquid Soul" were inspired by his fascination with American blues music, which often features metaphors and abstract concepts.
* The bass solo in "Liquid Soul" has been praised by many music critics for its technical proficiency and the way it adds to the overall mood of the song.
* Throughout their career, Golden Earring has released over 25 studio albums and has sold millions of copies worldwide.
* The band's most famous song is "Radar Love," which was a hit in the United States and other countries in the 1970s.
* Golden Earring was inducted into the Dutch Music Hall of Fame in 2019.
* The current lineup of Golden Earring consists of Barry Hay, George Kooymans, Rinus Gerritsen, and Cesar Zuiderwijk.
* In addition to their music career, Golden Earring has been involved in various philanthropic causes, including supporting cancer research and promoting eco-friendly initiatives.
Chords:
Unfortunately, the chords for "Liquid Soul" by Golden Earring are not available.
Line by Line Meaning
Went down to the liquor store -
I visited the liquor store.
Had enough - but I needed more
I had enough, but I still needed more.
Give me a six pack,
I want a six pack.
I got money - I got cash -
I have money, I have cash.
Take my life
Take my life (in the sense of 'take it from me').
Break the seal
Break the seal (of the alcohol container).
Take my knife
Take my knife (in the sense of 'remove it from me').
Cut the waitin' - say the word
Stop the waiting and give me the alcohol.
No hesitatin' - can't you see that I'm hungry!
Don't hesitate, can't you see that I'm thirsty?
I been a dirty liar, a cold-hearted diplomat
I have been dishonest and unfeeling.
And now I keep on tryin'
But now I keep trying.
Tryin' hard to forget
Trying hard to forget.
I used to be a coward,
I used to be a coward.
No Clark Gable
Not like Clark Gable (who was brave and confident).
No stick of dynamite
Not explosive or powerful like dynamite.
No funky fire sign
Not something noticeable or showy like a fire sign.
This river's runnin' dry
This part of me is drying up.
You'll never capture
You'll never fully understand or contain it.
It's liquid soul!
It's my soul, always in motion, always changing.
Daylight I'm angry
In the daylight, I feel angry.
Lonely, but I found
Lonely, but I found something.
Somethin' solid gold
Something valuable and precious.
On this endless road
On my journey through life.
I like the glow
I enjoy the warmth and light.
When the fire turns to coal
When the fire becomes more stable and lasting.
And I see your mystery
And I see your hidden depths and secrets.
Send me on my way
Let me continue my journey.
Sometimes I wander
Sometimes I wander aimlessly.
Sometimes I leave for good
Sometimes I leave for good.
Livin' up my fantasy
Living the life I want to live.
Livin' in a world like you
Living in a world like yours.
She ask me do you love me
She asks me if I love her.
I answer I don't know
I answer honestly that I don't know if I love her.
Yes I love you girl!
But then I admit that I do love her.
Givin' up my freedom
Giving up my freedom (in the sense of making a commitment to her).
Givin' up my fantasy
Giving up my fantasy (in the sense of coming to terms with reality).
I'm givin' up!!
I'm making a big change in my life.
Go go
Encouragement or permission to take action.
(Bass solo)
Musical interlude featuring bass guitar.
Sometimes prisoner
Sometimes I feel trapped.
Sometimes I feel free
Sometimes I feel free.
I'm livin' up - livin' up
I'm living the way I want to live.
Livin' up my fantasy
Living the life I want to live.
Already know the answer
I already know the answer.
Information plain to see
It's obvious and clear.
Through the muddy water
Through the difficult and unclear situations.
No sticks of dynamite
No sudden or explosive solutions.
No need for sacrifice
No need for dramatic or costly sacrifices.
This river ain't runnin' dry
My inner self is not drying up or running out.
You'll never capture
It can't be fully grasped or understood.
It's liquid soul!!
It's my soul, always in motion, always changing.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sjors Timmermans
I'm a great fan too!! I even play their music on my guitar. even my guitar looks like the George Kooymans (my idol) has.
Gregorio Lonewolf
Here is what I wrote on the Radar Love song Video. I am familiar with Golden Earring but had not heard from them since the mid to late 70's. Thanks to YouTube I have found them again and glad that I have, they are a great band. I saw Golden Earring back in 1973-74 on tour with Rush & KISS. The drummer had every imaginable drum and percussion on stage, including timpani or kettle drums. Did a solo for 15 minutes going from one drum to the next with all of the percussions and cymbals et al.
Mark Bartlett
Damn that was good now I'm looking for this and something from 1984 on DVD.
André Verhage
te gekke gitaar riff!
Jan
It's also in the Groenoordhallen in Leiden, Holland, in 1999.
Jan
2 DVD's, 28 tracks, I've no idea how long exactly.
Mwdobelix
Happy Birthday Cesar Zuiderwijk! Drum on!
Gregorio Lonewolf
This obvisiously is not the same Golden Earring that brought us Radar Love back in the mid 70's. This is kool. I do like it. Thanks for posting.
fa4452@yahoo.com
This is the same band. they are the longest running band with the original members. Look it up.74 singles and around 50 albums since the 60's. If you like this check out their live rocking version of "I need love" using acoustic Taylor guitars. Its great.
Jos Zomer
Gregorio Lonewolf, it's still the same Golden Earring !!