Urban Dance Squad

Having performed at the 1990 and 1994 editions of Pinkpop, the energetic Urban Dance Squad playing a steady crossover-mix of musical styles including a little bit of reggae, heavy rock, hip hop and rap was one ofHolland’s most exciting live acts.

 

Founded in the city of Utrecht in 1986, UDS became a source of creative musical inspiration for other bands such as Fishbone and Rage Against The Machine. Having attracted plenty of positive attention due to the driven live performances, the band released their first CD, named “Mental floss for the globe” in 1989, which was well-received and rightfully awarded with the Dutch Edison Award.

The Urban Dance Squad’s outstanding live act gained international attention during their first Pinkpop gig in 1990, which also featured the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In addition, the band toured the US, played at the prestigious Music Seminar in New York and featured as the opening act for several Living Colour concerts.

Their second album: “Life ‘n perspectives of a genuine crossover” was released in 1991 and again awarded with the Edison Award. However, due to a conflict with their American label, the album wasn’t commercially successful.

When DJ DNA left the group in 1993, the other members continued performing live at the popular Pukkelpop and Torhout-Werchter festivals in Belgium. Because of the line-up’s change, Urban Dance Squad adjusted their sound on the third album: “Persona non grata”, which mainly featured standard rock tracks. But this CD as well was well-received by the fans.

In 1994, UDS played for the second time at the Pinkpop festival together with their musical admirers, Rage Against The Machine. DJ DNA rejoined the Urban Dance Squad in 1998, resulting in a brand-new album: “Artantica”, from which the track “Happy Go Fucked Up” became a minor hit. In February, 2000 the band decided to quit.

In 2006, the compilation CD “The Singles Collection” was released and UDS shortly reunited, playing at the summer festivals Pukkelpop andLowlands. The band still has an army of devoted fans purchasing original merchandise such as cool Urban Dance Squad T-Shirts with the band’s classic logo, which can be ordered online through Thanx.nl Mail Order. Price for both UDS girlie shirts and men’s t-shirts is €21.50

This Black Classic UDS Logo Girlie Shirt is one of the three items that are still in stock…

 Useful Online Resources

Rock Star Portrait Drawings

 

Pinkpop Stage-Manager’s Memories (Part 4)

Willem Venema remembers….

‘Just once a year, during Pinkpop, it is great seeing the combination of modest bands and mega acts all fitting on that same stage. Why 50,000 people can get so enthusiastic, lying in the mud for three days while washing away loads of beer trying to feel like they won’t be able to the rest of the year is something I don’t understand. I never went to Lowlands or Pinkpop, simply because my mother wouldn’t let me!

Even going to a small gig at one of Amsterdam’s clubs was out of the question.Amsterdam was similar to Sodom & Gomorra as too many lazy hippies smoked too much weed there. However, seemed she was right!

Still I went seeing Ten Years After at the ‘Concertgebouw’, it was aloud bringing your own case of beer along and you could almost float on the clouds of smoke created by the hundreds of marijuana-smoking visitors. OK, having seen this I could understand my mother’s worries…

Telling my mother I had dancing lessons, I’ve been to several other concerts such as the Q65 at the market square in Eindhoven. Anyway, such events weren’t professional concerts. Not that long ago my parents still couldn’t believe that with organising concerts I could earn a living. When I bought my first car they believed the money for it was earned legally…’

Lifelike Charcoal Pencil Drawings from Photos

Stay Tuned for Part 5 !!!

Pinkpop Live Performances Videos

Performing for more than 56,000 music fans at Pinkpop 1992 one year after the release of their successful debut album, Pearl Jam with its energetic vocalist, Eddie Vedder, proved to be an outstanding live band. Fortunately the singer survived a dangerous dive into the enthusiastic crowd!

Although high on loads of coke, melancholy New Yorker, Willy de Ville and his band played a number of cool melodic love songs during their Pinkpop 1982 performance.

 

Holland’s only rock bitch, performing for the first time at a big festival, at Pinkpop 1998 Anouk proved to be a new exciting live act

Just before going onstage a nervous Sting says that the band never played for such a huge crowd. With 50,000 visitors, Pinkpop 1979 was sold out. Sting admitted that this legendary Pinkpop performance largely contributed to The Police’s international breakthrough.

More Pinkpop Live Videos Coming Soon!!

Pinkpop Stage-Manager’s Memories (Part 3)

 

 Willem Venema remembers….

‘Working with Jan Smeets wasn’t always easy. For many years, Smeets was used running the festival entirely by himself without having to compromise. The past decades Mojo has become specialised organising certain sections, such as ticket sales, constructing toilets, coordinating security and handling logistics. Until recently I handled a large part of Pinkpop’s production. I considered the sections stage, PA, light and a part of backstage as my responsibilities.

As we have today a special unit handling production, I think the time has come to let others take care of this job. How much fun it might be, decent bread can only be baked with the finest flower, produced by the best farmer, the tastiest milk from the healthiest cow, and so on. A perfect Pinkpop festival can be realised when all of the businesses’ experts work together.’

‘The difference between a regular concert and a festival is that the festival takes place only once. A pop concert will be every evening the same. Concerts in Amsterdam’s huge Ahoy hall are the less exciting. Regarding this level you’ll notice the necessity of professionalism, which requires a lot of routine.

Mega acts work without the slightest bit of spontaneity. When I did the first gig of The Pixies at the small venue, het Paard van Troje, in The Hague, there was a two-man crew, a chauffeur and tour manager. The last time they came with 28 men, while the band even hadn’t brought along a PA. But the number of people standing onstage was the same.

Compared to this it is much more enjoyable doing John Mayall. He just stands with four people onstage, and only needs four flight tickets. Despite his age, he cleans his own backline. He says: I work 200 days a year. These 200 days I earn enough to live where I want to live, perform the way I want, make my own record deals and contracts.

The remaining 150 days belong to me. I have much more respect for his way of doing things than those artists, having transported themselves like slaves from continent to continent while spending huge amounts of money in order to stay two hours in a six-star rated hotel.

Such artists reveal a lot of wastage, like a sandwich from which the butter and dressing has been eaten. I prefer those new little bands. They arrive in Holland freshly, ready giving all they have trying hard to win the game. This is much more fun than an army with 80 trucks and thousand tonnes of equipment, invading the Feyenoord Football Stadium in Rotterdam….’

Go to Part 4 !!!  

Pinkpop Stage-Manager’s Memories (Part 2)

 

 

 

 

Willem Venema remembers…

‘The main Dutch papers almost never wrote reviews on hard-rock bands, and if they did showing the simplicity and ridiculousness of their musical style was the usual story. Due to the artists’ macho behaviour and the fans’ herd-instinct, nothing seemed easier than writing the genre down to the ground.

We gave the hard-rockers their own event through the first edition of the Aardschok (earthquake shock) festival in Zwolle. For all those involved, this was a satisfying situation. For us as well, as organising hard-rock concerts was much more fun than organising pop concerts. Hard-rock bands were extremely motivated showing their tricks live onstage. That time there were a number of arrogant pop-musicians that played with their backs to the public.

I can mention some ignorant groups that didn’t deserve becoming so successful. A band like The Clash made a sport out of it to create problems at every gig, mostly fuelled by large quantities of cocaine. Many bands from that generation never reached the finish, because they weren’t able to adjust themselves to such an enormous design. The only acceptable acts were Talking Heads and The Police. The Simple Minds and U2 generation passed by the rest.

‘In 1986 I’ve heard that the Torhout/Werchter festival in Belgium wasn’t interested contracting The Cure. This really surprised me. I called The Cure’s manager telling him Pinkpop would be very glad to have the band. Next I made an offer that the band couldn’t refuse!

When Pinkpop boss, Jan Smeets, heard about this he almost went nuts. This offer was similar to that of the entire program from 10 previous Pinkpop editions! That year Pinkpop had a double stage. Two stages were needed because due to the short time, The Cure could never make a change-over including a technically extremely complicated and advanced lightshow.

Pinkpop 1986 was the year of several important organisational decisions. Jan Smeets kept a sort of program veto, mainly in terms of financial issues, but he wasn’t responsible anymore for the festival’s line-up. This year we did send the English PA system home. From now on Dutch companies would be hired providing sound and light.

As Pinkpop 1986 attracted thousands of new visitors, Smeets didn’t complain. We agreed on the establishment of a joint-venture. Jan Smeets became Pinkpop’s general director, while Mojo/Double would be entirely responsible for the musical presentation.

Short Introduction to Pinkpop

I coordinate the program and make notes of program meetings. Together with Smeets, I make a time schedule. I also present the promotional speech. Jan’s job is selling Pinkpop to the public.’

Go to Part 3 !!!!   

Pinkpop Stage-Manager’s Memories (Part 1)

For years Willem Venema was Pinkpop’s stage-manager and as managing member of Double You Concerts as well as Mojo, since 1986 he’s also one of the staff members being responsible for the festival’s program. In this article Venema shares some of his remarkable memories.

‘In 1980 everything was possible at the Pinkpop office. One of their organisational exorbitances was that every hotel accommodating artists had a special caretaker. The caretaker’s job was to ‘protect’ the hotel’s policies and ensuring the musicians would arrive on time for their Pinkpop gig. I was caretaker for a few years and right from the start experienced some weird situations.

ZZ Top demanded Pinkpop caps and Pinkpop towels, otherwise they wouldn’t perform. Pinkpop boss, Jan Smeets, told the band there weren’t any caps left. I went into the audience, did put some cash in their hands and grabbed the caps from several visitors’ heads. Next, gave the Pinkpop caps to ZZ Top and directed the happy trio to the stage.’

‘In 1985 Pinkpop’s decreasing popularity reached its ‘peak’. Due to the lack of vision, the festival’s line-up had become a mixture of musical styles. Contracting hard-rock acts resulted in a negative atmosphere.

Huge crowds of hard-rock fans had been drinking all day and by the time their act was ready to play, entire divisions made their way through the audience trying to get as near to the stage as possible.

It was the time that stupid people kicked on hard-rock, while pop music was preferred by the intelligent audience. However, this was the Dutch press’ and public’s opinion during the mid 80s…        

Go to Part 2 !!!!

Rammstein’s Bombastic Pinkpop 2010 Performance

Combining heavy industrial rock with dance beats, the German band Rammstein headlined the first festival day of Pinkpop 2010. The band’s spectacular performance included all the usual ingredients, such as fireworks, fire and lots of makeup. The music inspired by the band’s favoured themes: violence, hate, pain and sex were played with almost frightening perfection.

Performing their hits was all it took getting much of the audience’s full attention, while the impressive and bombastic show of fireworks also made the spectators occupying the rows in the festival field’s back dropping their jaws.

Not one band member smiled even once, giving Rammstein that deadly serious almost depressive vibe. However, the band itself probably laughs all the time about their weird attitudes and stage acts. It’s all about keeping their tough macho image intact.Till Lindemann of Rammstein

All elements of Rammstein’s live show are exciting only for those spectators seeing them for the first time. This explains why the band never allows TV cameras to capture their performances. All that fire, the sex scene, the acting person out of the audience reaching the stage and then suddenly starts to burn; regarding these acts it seems that the German band keeps on repeating itself…  

€ 20,00

Still in stock, the Pinkpop 2010 ‘Earth Positive’ art shirt.