Catapult were a
Dutch glam rock band active between 1973 and 1979.
The band formed in the Summer of 1973 when during a holiday in the Spanish resort of
Lloret de Mar
Lloret de Mar (; ) is a Mediterranean coastal town in Catalonia, Spain. It is south of Girona and northeast of Barcelona. With a population of 38,402 in 2021, it is the second largest town in the Selva comarca of Catalonia.
Lloret de Mar attra ...
, Geertjan Hessing, Erwin van Prehn, Aart Mol and Cees Bergman decided to form a band.
The four were veterans of the Dutch rock scene but had achieved little success up to that time. Later that year keyboard player Michael Eschauzier joined them. The band's name was suggested by
Golden Earring vocalist
Barry Hay
Barry Andrew Hay (born 16 August 1948) is an Indian-born Dutch musician; he was the lead vocalist and frontman of Dutch rock band Golden Earring from 1967 until their disbandment in 2021.
Biography
Hay was born in Faizabad, India, to a Dutch- ...
.
They released their first single, "Hit The Big Time", produced by ex Golden Earring drummer
Jaap Eggermont early in 1974 and it reached no. 16 on the
Dutch Singles Chart.
Keyboardist Eschauzier was replaced in April 1974 by
Elmer Veerfoff. The band had several hit singles between 1974 and 1975, the most successful being "Let Your Hair Hang Down" which reached no. 5 on the Dutch Singles Chart. As glam rock became less popular Catapult's fortunes took a downturn and they split up in 1979.
The band continued to work together though, forming a production company called "Cat Music" and recording as
Rubberen Robbie
Rubberen Robbie is a Dutch band (or "comedy act") from Leiden, Netherlands, best known for a parodic medley of Dutch-language songs that was a number-one hit in the Netherlands in 1981. It is the continuation of a successful 1970s glam rock outfit ...
with some success in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Cees Bergman died at the age of 65 on 21 September 2017.
References
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Musical groups from North Holland