Vitesse (band)
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Founder | Herman van Boeyen |
| Defunct | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam , Netherlands |
| Products | Rock music, albums, singles |
Vitesse was a rock band originating from the Netherlands, established in 1975 by drummer and vocalist Herman van Boeyen. The group featured a rotating lineup of musicians, notably including Herman Brood. Remaining active until 1994, Vitesse secured several hit singles during the early 1980s and became known for their dynamic live shows.
History
The band came together in Amsterdam in 1975 with Van Boeyen, Brood handling vocals and piano, Rob ten Bokum on guitar, and Peter Smid playing bass. That same year, they signed a deal with Reprise and released a self-titled debut album. The original members comprised Van Boeyen, Brood, Jan-Piet den Tex, Gerrit Veen, and Ross Recardi; shortly after, Brood left the group, taking Veen along.
Their follow-up albums, Rendez Vous (Negram, 1977) and Out in the Country (Negram, 1978), failed to achieve commercial success despite receiving favorable critiques. The 1979 release Rock Invader (Negram) marked an improvement with singles like "Rock & Roll Band" and "Whole Lot of Travellin'" entering the charts. The band developed a stronger fan base in Germany. EMI reissued these Negram albums in 2007.
After the breakup of Herman Brood's Wild Romance, Van Boeyen attempted to reunite with Brood for a new project; however, this collaboration was short-lived as Brood departed again, briefly accompanied by bassist Peter van Straten before returning. In 1980, Vitesse issued the Live album as a trio consisting of Van Boeyen, Van Straten, and Jan van der Meij—who soon left to create Powerplay.
In 1982, Vitesse achieved commercial success with a lineup featuring Otto Cooymans, Ruud Englebert, and Carl Carlton. Their singles "Rosalyn" and "Good lookin'" garnered notable attention. Albums Live in Germany and Incomplete Works & Other Hits reached #19 and #15 respectively on Dutch charts. The single "Julia" peaked at #30 in 1983. Following internal conflicts, Cooymans exited along with Englebert and Carlton. Subsequent releases Vanity Island and its title track did not perform well commercially, resulting in the loss of their contract with Philips Records.
Van Boeyen persisted with Vitesse primarily alongside German musicians after relocating to Germany. The 1990 single "Ever since I met you" found moderate success within Germany but failed to chart in the Netherlands. After the disappointing performance of the 1994 single "All of the time," Van Boeyen decided to dissolve Vitesse.
Albums
|- |align="left"|Vitesse||1975||-|||||| |- |align="left"|Rendez-vous||1977||-|||||| |- |align="left"|Herman Brood in Vitesse||1978||-|||||| Reissue of debut album |- |align="left"|Out in the country||1978||-|||||| |- |align="left"|Rock invader||1979||10-11-1979||29||6|| |- |align="left"|Live||1980||-|||||| Live recording |- |align="left"|Good news||1981||-|||||| |- |align="left"|Live in Germany||1982||11-09-1982||19||14|| Live recording |- |align="left"|Incomplete Works and Other Hits (You Always Never Knew You Would Like to Know Already About With)||1982||18-12-1982||15||10|| Compilation |- |align="left"|Vanity islands||1984||-|||||| |- |align="left"|Het beste van||1985||-|||||| Compilation |- |align="left"|Keepin' me alive||1985||-|||||| |- |align="left"|The best||1988||-|||||| Compilation |- |align="left"|Back on earth||1992||-|||||| |- |align="left"|Best of Vitesse||1997||-|||||| Compilation |- |align="left"|Good lookin||1999||-|||||| Compilation |}
Singles
|- |align="left"|"April wind"||1976||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"Do you wanna dance"||1976||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"You can't beat me"||1977||21-05-1977||tip16||-|| |- |align="left"|"Out in the country"||1978||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"We'll do the music tonight"||1978||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"Rock and roll band"||1979||06-10-1979||29||4|| Reached No. 36 on Single Top 100 |- |align="left"|"On the run"||1979||15-12-1979||tip18||-|| |- |align="left"|"Running and hiding"||1979||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"Goin' up"||1980||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"Whole lot of travellin'"||1980||23-02-1980||tip17||-|| |- |align="left"|"Can't keep a promise"||1981||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"Desire"||1981||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"Generator of love"||1981||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"Rosalyn"||1982||21-08-1982||9||7|| Peaked at No. 16 on Single Top 100 |- |align="left"|"Good lookin'"||1982||13-11-1982||4||9|| Achieved No. 4 on Single Top 100 |- |align="left"|"All my heart"||1983||-|||||| |- |align="left"|"Julia"||1983||14-05-1983|||30|||3||| Reached No. 30 on Single Top 100 |- |align="left"|"Transit lover"|||1983|||–|||–|||–| |-
| align= "left"| "Highway love" || 1984 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Keep up" || 1984 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Vanity islands" || 1984 || 07–07–1984 || tip11 || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Keepin' me alive" || 1985 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Lights in the air" || 1985 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Spanish heat" || 1985 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "You turn me on" || 1985 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "A dirty mind is a joy forever" || 1986 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "I don't lose a friend" || 1987 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Room to move" || 1987 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "The risin' yen" || 1988 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Dancin'" || 1989 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Ever since I met you" || 1990 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Happy" || 1992 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "What kind of man" || 1993 || – || – || No. 88 in Single Top 100 ||
|-
| align= "left"| "Mrs. Everlast" || 1993 || – || – || – ||
|-
| align= "left"| "All of the time" || 1994 || – || – || – ||
|}