As some of you may know, legendary Dutch rock band Golden Earring (known internationally for their 1973 hit Radar Love) had to stop their activities very suddenly when their guitar player, George Kooymans, was diagnosed with ALS. Because of this, they never got to do a farewell tour or concert.
At some point in 2022 or 2023, some people decided to try and organize a fan tribute concert, where 1,000 musicians would play some of their hits. Whoever wanted to participate had to send in a video of themselves playing Radar Love. They were looking for singers, drummers, guitar and, of course, bass players.
When I learned this, I basically thought “why not”, and decided to audition. I spent some time learning how to play Radar Love, but then forgot about it for a while. When I eventually checked what the deadline for the video submissions was, it was actually that very day: May 24th, 2023. So I spent a couple of hours feverishly practicing the song, recording it, recording a video, mixing everything together and uploading the video to the website. I wasn’t really satisfied with the result, but I had run out of time. Of course, later the deadline was extended, but I couldn’t be bothered to record everything again. And so the waiting began…
About one month later, I received an email saying that I had been selected! I don’t know if they thought I was good enough, or if I just sucked less than some of the other submissions, but either way, I was in! One of my proudest moments as an aspiring bass player so far!
Originally, the concert was supposed to take place in October 2023, but for whatever reason, it was postponed to Q1 2024, and then again to “after the summer vacations” in 2024. To be honest, I kinda lost my faith at some point and thought that the whole thing would eventually get cancelled. However! Recently, things started moving again, and now there’s an actual date: September 30th, 2024.
The concert will be hosted at Rotterdam Ahoy. According to the organization website, there will be about 75 drummers, 200 brass instrument players, 400 singers and 200 guitar and bass players. All musicians will be on the floor, and the audience will be seated around it. I expect/hope it will be a Rockin’1000-like experience. For each ticket sold, € 5 is donated to the Stichting ALS Nederland (Dutch - “ALS Foundation Netherlands”), a non-profit organization that funds scientific research into the causes of and possible treatments for ALS.
The plan is to play four Golden Earring songs:
- Back Home
- Twilight Zone
- Radar Love
- Buddy Joe
Of course, I have already started practicing. In the meantime, there will be three regional rehearsals, one of which I’m going to attend (June 30th), and then there will be a final rehearsal on the day of the concert itself. I can’t wait!
By the way, this is the organization website. Unfortunately, it’s in Dutch only, but if you’re interested, you might be able to use an online translator to read it:
Orange is the Dutch national color, and it’s suitably BassBuzzy, but I’d prefer to be wearing something a little more comfortable. Now if 
( sorry this will be the last time I , ll post something in dutch)
