Beginnings
The band formed in the 1970s, and rode to national popularity playing''10 Mistakes'' & ''Back To 78''
Their first single was "Out There In The Jungle" (From ''Copy Copy'' to ''Sing Sing''
From 1980 to 1984 the band released the albums ''Copy Copy'' (1980, with Deaf School's Bette Bright on vocals), ''Pop! Goes the Brain'' (1981) and ''Designe Moderne'' (1982), which brought a shift of success to mainly Germany, Italy and Spain. "Happily Unemployed" (1982) became a radio hit in Germany. In the mid 80’s "Rhythmisaconstantbeat" (1981) was used in a radioshow called Supergarcía on Antena3 in Spain. It was hosted by journalist José María García who was very popular at the time. ''Sombrero Times'' followed in 1984 and was the band's first album released by an independent label. It featured the singles "Two Tickets To Rio" and "Radar". After splitting up for a couple of years, the band returned with compilation album ''Back to 19 Mistakes'' in 1988, which was preceded by their popular''Topless 16'', ''Rock Now Roll Later'' & ''The Secret of Success''
After releasing ''Married with Singles'' in 2000, a compilation album with all the singles and b-sides from 1976 to 1988 (plus two new songs "Click Here" and "I Don't Think So"), the original band re-united for a handful of dates, including a high-profile show at Sail 2000, which was broadcast on TV. In 2004 the band released the album ''Topless 16'' featuring 16 new songs, including the single and video "Superman Is Back," referencing both the iconic movie hero and their own classic ''10 Mistakes'' song "Superman." The album - their first with new songs only since ''Young & Out'' in 1991 - featured Gert Jan Konink on bass. Other songs and live favourites included "Ray of Light," "Your Words Are Free" and "Non Stop Girl." The band filmed a video for "I Worry Everyday", which was released on YouTube in 2022. It was followed in 2006 by ''Rock Now, Roll Later,'' a compilation album featuring the band's singles from 1989 to 1996. It included two new songs: live favourite "DoReMiFaSoLaTiDo" and "Green Utopia Bay," one of their best songs ever, according to Vandenburg. In July 2006, the Japanese girl band,''10 Mistakes'' re-release & farewell tour
In 2012 – 35 years after the original release – the band re-released their debut album ''10 Mistakes'', with five additional songs. A theatre and club tour followed in 2012-2013. During the shows the complete album was performed, combined with other Gruppo Sportivo classics and cover songs that inspired ''10 Mistakes''. On December 28, 2013, the band performed its last show at The Patronaat in Haarlem, Holland.''Dig It Yourself'' and ''Back to '78'' re-release
In 2014 Gruppo Sportivo went hiatus ('studio only band' according to Vandenburg). In June 2015 Vandenburg (aka Van DeFruits) released his solo album ''Dig It Yourself'', which included "Gimme Your Love," "Grow Grow Grow," Nine Inch Nails re-make "Various Methods of Escape" and "Groovin'," a song he originally wrote with the late Dutch singer''The Golden Years Of Dutch Pop Music'' and new studio album ''Great''
While the band posted pictures from an apparent recording session for a new album a new compilation album was released: ''The Golden Years Of Dutch Pop Music - Gruppo Sportivo''. The 2-CD album consists of A and B side singles covering 1976 ("Out There In The Jungle") to 1991 ("She Was Pretty"). The album entered the Dutch Album Top 100 at #85. Early 2018 a reunion tour was announced with a new album - titled ''Great'' - planned for late April 2018. On April 6 new single "(This Is a) Normal Song" - a re-make of the song that was added to the re-release of ''Ten Mistakes'' as a bonus track - was released. Spotify selected it for their New Alternative playlist. On April 20 new album ''Great'' was released to very positive reviews in ''Algemeen Dagblad'', ''OOR'' magazine, ''Musicmaker'', ''Noordhollands Dagblad'' and ''Writteninmusic'' among others. Highlights mentioned were "Cruisin'," "Normal Song," "Oh Caroline," "Cockroach" and the band's most personal song to date called "Over The Hill." ''Great'' entered the Dutch Album Top 100 at #46, the band's first chart entry with an album of new original songs since ''Copy Copy'' in 1980. It entered the Album Top 40 the week after on the back of more raving reviews in ''OOR'' ('Great is Gruppo's best album since Back To 78') and ''Telegraaf'' a.o. To celebrate the release of ''Great'' classic albums ''Back To 78'', ''Copy Copy'', ''Pop! Goes The Brain'', ''Design Moderne'' and the Hans Vandenburg/Gruppo Sportivo-project ''Buddy Odor is a Gas!'' (by The Buddy Odor Stop, featuring the still occasionally performed "Cats Hiss") were finally released digitally on Spotify, Deezer and iTunes/Apple Music, followed in June by ''Sombrero Times'', ''Young & Out'' and live album ''Sing Sing''. The ''Great'' tour, during which the whole of the new album was performed plus a selection of favourites from both audience and band, was met with critical acclaim as well. On Friday July 13 the band released the second single from the ''Great'' album, "Cruisin'." It was released as a single mix plus two remixes by DJ Mark van Dale were released.''What Else Can I Do?'' and ''Posthumourly''
Early August, 2018, Spotify released its official ''This is Gruppo Sportivo'' playlist, featuring 45 tracks from ''Ten Mistakes'' (1977) all the way to ''Great'' (2018) and everything in between. On November 17 the vinyl version of ''Great'' was released, with a new tracklisting, including two new songs: "What Else Can I Do?" and "Moments Like This." On April 5, 2019, Gruppo Sportivo released "What Else Can I Do" as a single, accompanied by the band's first new music video in 13 years. It was featured in several popular playlists on Spotify including New Music Friday and New Alternative. In the same month the band kicked off the GREAT Tour 2019 in Drachten. The tour included a high profile show at Parkpop Saturday Night before it wrapped up in Zoetermeer in July. During the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 they wrote and recorded a song in celebration of 40 years of Parkpop called "Smartphonesong," since it was entirely recorded on smartphones. Due to popular demand it was rush-released on all digital platforms. On July 17, Hans Vandenburg released his solo album ''Posthumourly'', featuring the single '"Mr. Smile," "I Don't Know" and "When You Grow Old" a.o. He also featured solo versions of Gruppo Sportivo songs "Find The Summer" and "Told You So," and a mellow version of his 1994 ''Commercial Break'' song "This Day Is Fine." On December 18, 2020 the band released the single and video "Rudolph Het Rendier," a Dutch-language Christmas version of the 1979 The Buddy Odor Stop / Gruppo Sportivo song "Cats Hiss." Spotify included the single in its popular New Music Friday playlist. In 2021 Hans Vandenburg released four albums on streaming platforms: Dierenpark's ''Riep Kwaad Neushorn'', his solo album ''Shake Hands With Vandenburg'' from 1996, follow-up ''Shake Hands With Vandenburg Again'' - featuring his projects with The Wishing Well, De Bloedverdunners and The Downloadables - and his children's album ''OK iPad'', featuring a re-working in Dutch of Gruppo Sportivo classic ''The Bottom Of The Class'' from ''Back To 78''.''The 2022 Gruppo Sportivo Spotify Tour''
In July 2021 the band announced the Spotify Tour 2022. During the tour, Gruppo Sportivo played their 25 most streamed songs in reverse order. The tour started on March 18, 2022 in Almere. The band also shared photos from the studio together with producer Robert Jan Stips, who also produced ''Ten Mistakes'', ''Back To 78'' and ''Pop! Goes The Brain'' amongst others. Together they were working on a single called ''Rock City'', which was released on September 9, 2022.Personnel
Current members *Hans Vandenburg – guitar, vocals (1976–1979, 1980–present) *Peter Calicher – keyboards, vocals (1976–1979, 1980–present) *Max Mollinger – drums, vocals (1976–1979, 1980–present) *Tim Barning – bass (2017–present) *Inge Bonthond – vocals (1991–present) *Lies Schilp – vocals (1983–present) Former members *Eric Wehrmeyer – bass (1976–1979; reunion – 2000) *Josee van Iersel – vocals (1976–1979; reunion – 2000) *Meike Touw – vocals (1976–1979; reunion – 2000) *Joris Lutz – bass (2010–2013)Discography
Gruppo Sportivo
*''Rare Tracks'' - Polydor (1976/77) *''10 Mistakes'' - Ariola (1977) *''Back to 78'' - Ariola (1978) *''Mistakes'' - Sire (1979) *''More Mistakes'' (7") - Sire (1979) *''Buddy Odor Is a Gas'' - Pye (1979) *''Copy Copy'' - Ariola (1980) *''Pop! Goes the Brain'' - Ariola (1981) *''Rhythm Is a Constant Beat'' (12") - Ariola (1981) *''Design Moderne'' - Ariola (1982) *''Sombrero Times'' - Ariola (1984) *''Back to 19 Mistakes'' - BMG/Ariola (1988) *''Sucker of the Century'' - JAWS Records (1989) *''Young and Out'' - Dutch VAN CD Box(1992) *''Sing Sing (Live)'' - Dutch VAN (1993) *''Second Life'' - Amsterdamned Records (1997) *''Married with Singles'' - Pseudonym Records (2000) *''Topless 16'' - Pias (2004) *''DVD Career Movies'' (2006) *''Rock Now, Roll Later!'' - Pias CD2007) *''The Secret of Success'' - T2 Entertainment (2011) *''The Golden Years Of Dutch Pop Music - Gruppo Sportivo'' - Sony/Universal (2017) *''Great'' - Redline Music (2018) *''Vinylly - The Best Of 1978-1991'' (Vinyl ony) - Sony/Universal (2019)Hans Vandenburg
*''Buddy Odor Is a Gas'' - Pye (1979) *''Hans Vandenburg's Commercial Break'' - VAN Records (1994) *''Shake Hands with Vandenburg'' - VAN Records (1996) *''Ouwe Hans Dierenpark - Uit het Leven Gegrepen'' - VAN Records (1998) *''Dierenpark - Sliptong'' - Suburban (2002) *''Dierenpark - Tot Ziens, Bedankt, Het Beste van Dierenpark Live!'' - My First Step Records (2006) *''Hans Vandenburg - Dig It Yourself'' - My First Step/Suburban Records (2015) *''Hans Vandenburg - Zijn 20 Mooiste Demo's'' - My First Step Records (Cassette, 2016) *''De Bloedverdunners - Ah Oh Wee''- My First Step Records (USB stick, 2017) *''Posthumourly'' - Suburban/My First Step Records (Vinyl, digital, 2020) *''Dierenpark - Riep Kwaad Neushorn'' - My First Step Records (2021) *''Shake Hands With Vandenburg Again'' - My First Step Records (2021) *''OK iPad'' (children's music) - My First Step Records (2021)References
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