Tag: Teach In

Chanson & Pop

Claude from Enkhuizen will represent our country in May at the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland. On Wednesday, his French/English song C’est la vie was leaked via the internet, and on Thursday the 21 year-old artist presented his self-written lyrics to the cameras and the song was played on many radio stations.

The big question: does Claude have any chance at the festival?

“Certainly,” responds Edsilia Rombley. She was twenty years old when she represented our country at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest in England with the song Hemel en aarde. She became fourth. In 2007 she participated again, but did not qualify into the final. I am a fan of Claude,” Edsilia says. “His voice and charisma make him a great artist. I give him a great chance in Basel because his song C’est la vie suits him perfectly. That way the audience will see a real performance, an act that you believe in.” It is a good song. Very catchy. With that combination of English and French he immediately appeals to a large audience. There is a dash of drama in the music and at the same time it is easy to sing along. Whether he will win, I find it hard to say, because I don’t know the other entries, but I really think that Claude can finish high.” 

Does she have any tips for Claude as an expert by experience? “Go with the idea that your life doesn’t depend on it. That puts things into perspective. Realize that it is an honor that you can do it and enjoy it.”

In 1994, Willeke Alberti represented our country at the festival in Ireland with the song Waar Is De Zon. We scored four points. She is very enthusiastic about Claude. “He is cheerful, talented, modest and spontaneous. That is why this boy deserves a large audience. The song is also really good. It makes you happy. And joy and positive sounds are exactly what the public needs in this day and age.”

Ronnie Tober participated for our country in the Eurovision Song Contest in London in 1968. His rendition of the song Morgen earned one point. Yet his performance at that time was an impetus for his career, he says.

Such a big event is simply fantastic to experience, you want that for every young artist. With his open mind and his beautiful voice, Claude will qualify. The song is a good mix of a chanson and a melodious pop hit. That combination will certainly appeal to a large audience, so I think he will end up high.”

Getty Kaspers was the singer of the group Teach-In, who won the festival in 1975 with the song Dingedong. She also thinks that Claude has a chance to be a top 5 winner with C’est la vie, she told the ANP. The song offers a lot of joy.” The power is that the audience can sing along, she thinks.

I think that Europe at this moment, in this world, needs a Claude and a C’ést la vie“. Source: Jan Vriend, Noord Hollands Dagblad.

Ding-a-Dong 50

The fiftieth anniversary of the song Ding-a-Dong will be celebrated in May 2025 with a special musical. Singer Getty Kaspers is among those working on the show. Her band at the time, Teach-In, won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975 with Ding-a-Dong.

According to producer Hoftheater Studios, the play is “an ode to the Eurovision Song Contest and the iconic winning song”.

In the musical, a presenter launches a new television format in order to find the perfect Dutch Eurovision candidate. But the road to success turns out to be much more difficult than expected. Kaspers plays the chairman of the jury for the program.

Nurlaila Karim and Thomas Cammaert can also be seen in Dingedong – The Eurovision Musical. Cornald Maas can be heard as the voice-over.

Kaspers went into the studio for the show to record a new version of the song. The singer will release this new version in March. The show will also feature other songs that have represented the Netherlands over the past decades.

The premiere of Dingedong – The Eurovision Musical is on Saturday 10 May 2025. The show will be performed six times in the ‘Theater aan het Spui’ in The Hague. Source: nu.nl

Eurovision 1976

On this day in 1976, the 21th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest took place in The Hague, Netherlands, following the country’s victory at the 1975 contest with the song Ding-a-dong by Teach-In. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting(NOS), the contest was held at the Nederlands Congrescentrum and was hosted by 1957 Dutch Eurovision winner Corry Brokken.

Eighteen countries took part in the contest with Sweden, Malta and Turkey opting not to return to the contest after participating the previous year. Malta would not return to the contest again until 1991. On the other hand, Austria and Greece returned to the competition, having been absent since 1972 and 1974 respectively.

United Kingdom won the contest this year with the song Save Your Kisses for Me by Brotherhood of Man. The song went on to become the biggest selling winning single in the history of the contest and won with 80.39% of the possible maximum score and an average of 9.65 of 12; a record under the voting system introduced in 1975.

Eurovision 1975

The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country’s victory at the 1974 contest with the song Waterloo by ABBA. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union(EBU) and host broadcaster Sveriges Radio(SR), the contest was held at Stockholmsmässan on this day in 1975, and was hosted by Swedish television director Karin Falck. It was the first time that the contest had taken place in Sweden.

Nineteen countries participated in the contest, beating the previous record of eighteen, that was first set in the 1965 edition. France and Malta returned after their one-year and two-year absences, respectively. Turkey made its debut, while Greece decided not to enter after its debut the year prior.

The winner of the contest was the Netherlands who won with the song Ding-A-Dong, performed by Teach-In, written by Will Luikinga and Eddy Ouwens, and composed by Dick Bakker. The country would not win again until 2019.