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Eighties

Singing in Dutch is associated with Levenslied during the seventies. This changes in the eighties. One of the new artists to mix pop with Kleinkunst and Levenslied is singer Benny Neyman who has a hit in 1980 with Ik weet niet hoe (I don’t know how). Around 1982 a whole new wave of pop musicians makes the scene, mixing reggae, new wave and Kleinkunst, all singing in Dutch. Groups like Doe Maar, Toontje Lager, Het Goede Doel, Frank Boeijen (groep), De Div and Het Klein Orkest take the Dutch music scène and hitparade by storm.

A little later is Amsterdam's bluesband De Dijk who started for a lengthy career that is still going strong. All this happened just before many clubs had to fold down their businesses due to subsidies which were terminated by the authorities. This had a negative effect on the punk and new wave acts following the British example like the Minny Pops, Ivy Green, Tröckener Kecks and Claw Boys Claw. They lost the venues in which they were allowed to grow and connect to Dutch kids. That punk is hard to kill however show acts like The Ex and The Heideroosjes who are up until this day alive and kicking.

Kleinkunst artists like Long and Van Veen stay popular during the eighties and get company from singers Mathilde Santing and Fay Lovsky. Out of the diminished club circuit only melodic pop outfit the Nits and singer Nadieh crossed over to a wider audience. In the hard rock fraternity Vengeance and Vandenberg followed the new wave of British heavy metal. A peculiar Dutch phenomenon in the eighties is the girl groups like the Dolly Dots. Six girls singing bubblegum pop (did anyone say Spice girls?). In 1986, Dutch rap duo MC Miker G & DJ Sven (Lucien Witteveen and Sven van Veen) had a top 10 hit across Europe with Holiday Rap, which sampled Madonna's "Holiday". Levenslied also gets a new impulse with artists like Andre Hazes, Koos Alberts and Drukwerk.