Golden Earring

Golden Earring
Background information
Also known as	The Golden Earrings (1961–1969)
Origin	The Hague, Netherlands
Genres	Hard rock Progressive rock Psychedelic rock Nederbeat
Years active	1961–present
Labels	Polydor, Universal
Members	Rinus Gerritsen George Kooymans Barry Hay Cesar Zuiderwijk
Past member(s)	Fred van der Hilst Hans van Herwerden Peter de Ronde Frans Krassenburg Jaap Eggermont Sieb Warner Bertus Borgers Eelco Gelling Robert Jan Stips John Legrand Philip Van Boom
Website	www.goldenearring.nl

Golden Earring is a Dutch rock band. They began in 1961 in The Hague; named the Golden Earrings. In 1969, they became just Golden Earring, (dropping the "s").^[1] They gained worldwide fame with their hit song "Radar Love" in 1973. The single was number one on the Dutch charts, in the top ten in the United Kingdom and number thirteen on the American music charts.^[1][2]

"Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984 were also hit singles.^[1] During their career they had nearly 30 top-ten singles on the Dutch charts. Over the years they produced 25 studio albums. All musicians in the band have been members of the band since 1970. Other musicians, however, have come and gone during all these years.

In March 2009, Golden Earring celebrated its comeback in the United Kingdom with two concerts in Ipswich and London. Golden Earring's newest studio album was recorded live in a studio in London. It was released in May 2012. The album, named Tits 'n Ass, went to number one in the Dutch album charts.

Golden Earring went on their first major US tour in 1969 and 1970. Between 1969 and 1984, the band completed thirteen US tours.

Golden Earring enjoyed a brief period of international stardom but were unable to get further chart success until 1982's "Twilight Zone". This was followed by "The Lady Smiles" in 1984.

The Russian rock band Aria made a successful cover version of a single, "Going To The Run". From 1992 to 2004 the band released three acoustic live "unplugged" albums which were successful. Since 1992, the band has performed popular acoustic unplugged theater-shows. The acoustic albums feature unplugged versions of famous hits of the band.

"Radar Love", from the album Moontan, became a hit in both Europe and the US in 1973. The album Moontan itself was awarded a gold record in the States. This is the band's best known song. There have been more than 200 cover versions of this classic rock song. It was voted "best car song ever" by readers of USA Today in 2005 and second-best "greatest driving song" in a poll of BBC's programme Top Gear.

George Kooymans, the band's vocalist and guitarist, wrote "Twilight Zone". It was released in 1982 and brought Golden Earring more success. This song also had one of the first music videos. It was aired on the new music television channel, MTV, which began in 1981. This helped "Twilight Zone" become a Top Ten hit in the States. The song was inspired by the popular TV series The Twilight Zone.

"When the Lady Smiles", from the album News, was the next international hit in 1984. It became a top hit in Europe and Canada with the help of a music video. It was not as successful in the States. The music video was banned from MTV because it showed nudity and the rape of a nun.

The complete discography of Golden Earring is 25 studio albums, 8 live albums, 2 compilation albums, and 74 singles. This is a list of the studio albums:

• Just Ear-rings (1965)
• Winter-Harvest (1967)
• Miracle Mirror (1968)
• On the Double (1969)
• Eight Miles High (1969)
• Golden Earring (1970)
• Seven Tears (1971)
• Together (1972)
• Moontan (1973)
• Switch (1975)
• To the Hilt (1976)
• Contraband (1976)
• Grab It for a Second (1978)
• No Promises...No Debts (1979)
• Prisoner of the Night (1980)
• Cut (1982)
• N.E.W.S. (1984)
• The Hole (1986)
• Keeper of the Flame (1989)
• Bloody Buccaneers (1991)
• Face It (1994)
• Love Sweat (1995)
• Paradise in Distress (1999)
• Millbrook U.S.A. (2003)
• Tits 'n Ass (2012)

• Official Golden Earring website
• Radar Love