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
Naked Truth
Golden Earring Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
* The naked truth
Used to be a young gun
Out on the hard streets
Getting high on crystal
Drinking scotch and smoking weed
Daddy's wish used to be nothing less than my command
Mama couldn't give me
The thing a young boy needs
Instead of mama suffering
She was smart enough to leave
Spend my life fighting trying to stay free
From trials and tribulations and the state penitentiary
Hustled pool really looking cool
Just making both ends meet
Until that day I saw you walking
Down Blue Angel street
The sweetest lies are lily white coming from your lips
You brush away all my pain with a lazy finger tip hm
It moves my heart just watching
The way you walk so smooth
You save me from an evil fate
You steal away my blues
Lyin' here in your arms
I don't need more proof
Lyin' here safe and warm
It's just the naked truth
This man loves you
This man loves you
This man loves you
This man loves you
That's the naked truth
It's the naked truth
Going down that graveyard spiral
There was nothing I could do
Life treatin' me much harder
Than a mean old corkscrew
Lyin' here in your arms
I don't need more proof
Lyin' here safe and warm
It's just the naked truth
This man loves you
This man loves you
This man loves you
This man loves you
It's the
It's the naked truth
It's the naked truth
The lyrics of Golden Earring's song Naked Truth are about a young man's struggles with addiction, authority, and survival, and his eventual discovery of love. The singer talks about his rebellious past, where he used to be a young guy on the streets, getting high on crystal and drinking scotch and smoking weed. His father was strict with him and would even lash him with a switch and crucify him with both hands. Though his mother couldn't provide him with the right kind of support, she was smart enough to leave his father. To survive, he hustles pool, makes ends meet, and fights the trials and tribulations of life.
But one day, everything changes when he sees a woman walking down Blue Angel Street. She is honest with him and brushes away his pain with a "lazy" finger tip, which moves his heart. She saves him from an evil fate, steals away his blues, and he falls in love with her. In her arms, he feels safe and warm, and he understands that he doesn't need any more proof of love. The song ends with a repetition of the phrase, "This man loves you," which is the naked truth.
The singer's transition from a life of addiction and struggle to one of love and emotional fulfillment is evident in the song's lyrics. The singer's love interest is his savior, giving him a purpose and hope for a future. The song explores themes of love, addiction, family, and redemption, making it relatable to many audiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Used to be a young gun
I used to be young and restless
Out on the hard streets
I used to hang out in tough neighborhoods
Getting high on crystal
I used to take crystal meth
Drinking scotch and smoking weed
I used to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana
Daddy's wish used to be nothing less than my command
My father used to expect me to follow his every command
Took a switch to my back nailed me to a cross both hands
My father used to physically punish me severely
Mama couldn't give me
My mother couldn't provide me
The thing a young boy needs
What a young boy needs for his psychological development
Instead of mama suffering
Rather than my mother continuing to suffer
She was smart enough to leave
She was wise enough to leave my father
Spend my life fighting trying to stay free
I have spent my life fighting for my freedom
From trials and tribulations and the state penitentiary
From the difficulties and hardships of life and imprisonment
Hustled pool really looking cool
I used to hustle at pool and try to appear cool
Just making both ends meet
Just barely making enough money to get by
Until that day I saw you walking
Until the day I saw you walking down the street
Down Blue Angel street
Down a particular street named Blue Angel
The sweetest lies are lily white coming from your lips
Your lies sound very convincing and innocent despite being false
You brush away all my pain with a lazy finger tip hm
You have a way of making my emotional pain disappear easily
It moves my heart just watching
Watching you affects me emotionally
The way you walk so smooth
The way you walk is effortless and graceful
You save me from an evil fate
You prevent me from experiencing a terrible outcome
You steal away my blues
You make me feel better and happier
Lyin' here in your arms
Lying here in your embrace
I don't need more proof
I don't need any more evidence to confirm my feelings
Lyin' here safe and warm
Lying here feeling secure and comfortable
This man loves you
I love you
It's the naked truth
It's the honest and genuine truth
Going down that graveyard spiral
Going down the path of self-destruction
There was nothing I could do
I couldn't do anything to stop it
Life treatin' me much harder
Life is treating me more severely
Than a mean old corkscrew
More severely than an unpleasant corkscrew
This man loves you
I love you
It's the
It is
It's the naked truth
It's the honest and genuine truth
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BARRY HAY, GEORGE KOOYMANS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Carlos Marques
1 Back Home
2 Another 45 Miles
3 Mad Love's Coming
4 Just A Little Bit Of Peace In My Heart
5 Why Do I
6 Weekend Love
7 Going To The Run
8 Twilight Zone
9 I Can't Sleep Without You
10 Vanilla Queen
11 One Shot Away From Paradise
12 Pouring My Heart Out Again
13 Long Blond Animal
14 Radar Love
15 Eight Miles High
16 The Naked Truth
17 Jangalene / Don't Stop The Show
18 When The Lady Smiles
Bobby Royal
Hands down one of the best unplugged shows I've seen yet!!
Cooper Jaquish
One of the most underrated bands of all time. Incredible musicians. Thanks for posting!
Alex Brandauer
Ну не правда!!! Они — ЗВЁЗДЫ. все их знают. Их популярность и авторитет непререкаем. Нигде. Я говорю о слушателях. Не потребителях «музла». Каждый человек в мире, живущий музыкой, знает Golden Earring. Они живут в сердце каждого нормального интеллигентного человека. А рэперам и глухим на чувства и не надо знать об этой внеземной четверке.
Robin Nichols
Golden Earring has always been my favourite rock band. Been going for 50 years. That's an impressive record. The fact that they are all still good mates is evident in the quality of their live gigs.Thanks for the vid.
Jos Pér Mar
No dejo de ver esté acústico, escucharlo y oir una nueva nota, ver un detalle ayer se me paso, no deja de impresionarme cada vez. Deseo salga un nuevo grupo de R & R, ... me aga sentir lo mismo, parecido me conformo como con Blue oyster cult ¿ sinónimos o antónimos?
Katherine Thornton Teppenpaw
I've been looking everywhere for this. I've seen bits and pieces but, I've always wanted to be able to watch the concert in full length. Thanks so much!
Георгий George
Я большой фанат Арии, но их перепетый Беспечный Ангел нервно курит в сторонке по сравнению с оригиналом. Просто грандиозно!!!
Carlos Marques
1 Back Home
2 Another 45 Miles
3 Mad Love's Coming
4 Just A Little Bit Of Peace In My Heart
5 Why Do I
6 Weekend Love
7 Going To The Run
8 Twilight Zone
9 I Can't Sleep Without You
10 Vanilla Queen
11 One Shot Away From Paradise
12 Pouring My Heart Out Again
13 Long Blond Animal
14 Radar Love
15 Eight Miles High
16 The Naked Truth
17 Jangalene / Don't Stop The Show
18 When The Lady Smiles
George Moore
Thanks!
Suzannah Schulthies
Thank you for posting the track list!