1. Picture wa… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two different bands called Picture.
1. Picture was the first real Dutch heavy metal band. Formed in 1979, they were especially popular in The Netherlands, Germany and Italy for their live performances. They still have a fan base in South America, Mexico and Japan. During their existence Picture supported AC/DC, Ted Nugent and Saxon in The Netherlands. With Saxon, they did a full European tour in 1981. Later on they toured with Rose Tattoo in Germany and headlined tours in Italy and Israël.
Rinus Vreugdenhil and Laurens Bakker originally got together in 1977 and started jamming with various musicians. It wasn’t until 1979 that the classic lineup of Rinus, Laurens, Jan Bechtum, and Ronald van Prooijen came together. Jan came first and as they auditioned singers, Ronald, who they all knew, decided to step in and audition. After one session, Jan, Rinus, and Laurens decided Ronald was the man, so the classic Picture was born.
Early on in Picture's career they teamed up with manager Henk van Antwerpen and signed to the label Warner Bros. Records. However, Picture felt their label were trying to steer them in a pop direction and quit the label to sign with Backdoor Records, a subsidiary of Phonogram Records. The original line-up recorded their debut album and their second effort, Heavy Metal Ears in 1980 and 1981 respectively.
They started gigging throughout the Netherlands and nearby Germany and built a following. In the meantime, they started composing their own music. Jan would usually come up with the riffs, then the other members would contribute their parts and after hashing and rehashing the songs, they became the titles that appeared on the first album, Picture I.
After gaining record label interest, they went into the studio. As a bunch of young kids, they didn’t know much about the realities of recording. When the album came out, none of them liked the sound quality. As they grew in popularity, they went in to record Heavy Metal Ears and it was much the same. It wasn’t until they were a little older and wiser that they really got their sound in the studio with Diamond Dreamer. However, by this time, Ronald had left for personal reasons and they found Israeli singer, Shmoulik Avigal. Not only was the recording much better done, but Shmoulik had a different and some say, more powerful voice. Many say Diamond Dreamer was the band’s best album.
Touring was a hit or miss prospect. The record company did not want to put up enough money to really get behind the band and some great opportunities were missed. Despite all, Picture developed a large fan base covering much of Europe and South America.
Band consensus confirms their best gigs were touring with Saxon while the worst was when they played with Rose Tattoo, during the Heavy Metal Ears period. They were not happy with the road crew, plus they were more popular in Germany than Rose Tattoo and some of the band felt they were sabotaged.
After recording and touring with Shmoluik for the Diamond Dreamer album, he suggested they add a second guitarist to fatten their live sound and Chris van Jaarsveld was brought in. Though he was a technically proficient guitarist, he just didn’t gel with Jan and things went downhill. Then Shmoulik got in a petty argument with their manager and was fired from the band. About this time, Jan had enough and quit for personal reasons. To fill in the gaps, a new singer, Pete Lovell was recruited along with a second guitarist, Henry van Manen. This album was slicker than Diamond Dreamer and the two guitarists significantly altered the heavy sound of Jan Bechtum for a more technical groove that sort of worked, but started the trend for the final albums that veered away from the Picture sound. Around this time, Laurens could not take the rigors of touring or the stress of all their management troubles while supporting a wife and twins, so he called it a day.
From that point on, the only remaining original member was Rinus. He soldiered on for three more albums, Traitor, Marathon, and Every Story Needs Another Picture. Many described them as going into hair metal, very commercial and with anonymous songs. Rinus is particularly disgusted with Every Story Needs Another Picture, as it was an album forced by the record contract and it is rumored the whole album was recorded by studio musicians and minimal participation from him.
Though Rinus soldiered on long after the other original members had left, he was never able to steer the band back into a successful direction and finally called it a day and got a "real" job.
The original members tried a reunion in 1988 and the chemistry was still there. Unfortunately, management reared it’s ugly head and unknown to the band, their manager was asking an outrageous amount of money for them to play, so they never got any gigs after their one reunion concert. To have this happen after being burned by management the first go-around was just too much, and once again, they called it a day.
As of late 2007, the classic lineup reunited for rehearsals. They still have that spark and plan to cut a CD in 2008 and play some gigs around the Netherlands and Germany. Though Ronald van Prooijen is helping out, singer Pete Lovell (vocalist on Eternal Dark and Traitor) will be their established singer. Rob van Enkhuizen (guitarist on Marathon) also joins the band to boost the live performance.
2. Picture is the solo moniker used by David Kyhlberg from enigmatic Swedish production duo, Sail A Whale. His solo music is deeply engaging and dramatically constructed. Brushed with midnight blues and electric purples, it's a summer sky bright with constellations. The tracks are built from a pastiche of electronic elements sourcing sounds of strings, synthesizers and percussion instruments.
Fear
Picture Lyrics
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Last night, I walk along the street, I saw a stranger coming near,
I felt I felt a terrible heat, it fill my body with fear.
Oh oh oh...
The air, the air was trembling, it was, it was so weird,
The air... Was glowing, and then it disappeared.
It frightened me so, had no place to go,
Oh oh oh...
Last week, I laid in bed, felt a strange thing in my head,
There's growing, there's growing something inside, I was afraid, I wanted to hide...
Last night, walked along the street, I saw a stranger coming near,
I felt, I felt a terrible heat, it fill my body with fear.
Wooh oh whoh, oh oh...
The lyrics to Picture's song "Fear" portray the experience of the singer encountering a stranger on the street and feeling a sense of unease and dread. The repetition of the phrase "oh oh oh" reinforces the ominous and foreboding tone of the song. The first verse describes the physical effects of fear on the singer's body, with the heat filling their body and causing trembling of the air. The second verse talks about a feeling of something growing inside the singer's head, which leads to a sense of wanting to hide.
The chorus repeats the experience of encountering the stranger and feeling the heat and fear again. The use of short, staccato phrases such as "had no place to go" and "spit it out" add to the urgency and panic of the situation. Overall, the lyrics suggest that fear is a powerful and visceral emotion that can take hold of a person and cause them physical discomfort and distress.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night, I walk along the street, I saw a stranger coming near,
The songwriter describes walking outside and seeing an unfamiliar person in close proximity.
I felt I felt a terrible heat, it fill my body with fear.
The songwriter experiences a sense of dread and anxiety.
The air, the air was trembling, it was, it was so weird,
The atmosphere felt unusual, shaky, and unsettling.
The air... Was glowing, and then it disappeared.
The air was shining and then abruptly stopped glowing, creating a sudden shift in atmosphere that was scary.
It frightened me so, had no place to go,
The fear was so intense that it left the songwriter feeling trapped and helpless.
I want to scream and shout, want to spit it out, oh yes, spit it out.
The songwriter wants to express their fear through vocal expression and physical actions.
Last week, I laid in bed, felt a strange thing in my head,
The songwriter lies in bed and feels an unfamiliar sensation in their mind.
There's growing, there's growing something inside, I was afraid, I wanted to hide...
The songwriter senses a growing fear inside themselves that makes them want to disappear or seek refuge.
Last night, walked along the street, I saw a stranger coming near,
The songwriter repeats the opening lines to reinforce their encounter with a stranger and the fear it caused.
I felt, I felt a terrible heat, it fill my body with fear.
The fear remains inside the songwriter and continues to overwhelm them.
Wooh oh whoh, oh oh...
The songwriter concludes with a repeated vocalization of fear, indicating that the emotion still lingers.
Contributed by Adrian G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.