Max Werner - Kayak (Dutch band, 1974) (cropped)

Max Werner (born 29 December 1953 in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

) is a Dutch vocalist, musician, and drummer. He was the lead singer,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

, and

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

of the progressive art rock band

Kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

. In 1972, Werner co-founded the band along with keyboardist

Ton Scherpenzeel Ton Scherpenzeel (born 6 August 1952) is a Dutch keyboardist, composer, lyricist, and founding member of progressive rock band Kayak, together with Pim Koopman and Max Werner whom he met whilst at the Hilversum Muziek Lyceum (Hilversum College o ...

, guitarist

Johan Slager Johan Slager (born 8 June 1946, Amsterdam) is a Dutch musician best known as the original guitarist of rock band Kayak. He co-founded the band along with Ton Scherpenzeel, Pim Koopman, and Max Werner in 1972. He left the band in 1982 after ni ...

, and drummer

Pim Koopman Wilhelmus Frederikus "Pim" Koopman (11 March 1953 – 23 November 2009) was a Dutch musician best known as the drummer and percussionist of rock band Kayak. Biography Born in Hilversum, Koopman co-founded Kayak in 1972, along with Ton Sche ...

. He sang lead vocals (and played

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

) on Kayak's first five albums. He later switched to drums until the band split up in 1982. In 1999, he returned as singer for the Kayak album ''Close to the Fire''. After a short tour in 2000, he had to leave again due to health problems. Werner also recorded four solo albums. In May 1981, he scored a hit single with "Rain in May", which peaked at No. 6 in the Netherlands and was a huge success in certain other European countries as well. In June of that same year, the song also peaked as high as No. 74 on the American ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

charts. In September 1981, the song peaked at No. 2 in Germany. In April 2005, Werner performed the song on the German TV show ''Die Hit-Giganten – die 30 größten Hits und Interpreten der coolen Achtziger.''

Discography

Studio albums with Kayak

(as lead singer): * '' See See the Sun'' (1973) * '' Kayak II'' (1974) * ''

Royal Bed Bouncer ''Royal Bed Bouncer'' is the third album by Dutch progressive rock band Kayak, released in 1975. Their progressive approach from the first two albums was mixed with a more basic pop/rock sound. Nine of the ten songs were written by Ton Scherpenz ...

'' (1975) * ''

The Last Encore ''The Last Encore'' is the fourth album by the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. It was originally released by Mercury Records in 1976 and issued on CD in 1995, with a re-release by Universal in 2002. The songs "Still My Heart Cries For You" and ...

'' (1976) * ''

Starlight Dancer ''Starlight Dancer'' is a 1977 album by Dutch progressive rock band Kayak (band), Kayak. It was produced by Jack Lancaster and Kayak. The North American release is very different from the original Dutch/European release with the same title. In fa ...

'' (1977) * ''Close to the Fire'' (2000) (as drummer): * ''

Phantom of the Night Phantom of the Night is the sixth studio album by Dutch Progressive rock band Kayak. "Ruthless Queen" was released as a single, becoming the band's biggest hit, nearing the top of the charts in the Netherlands. In the United States, the LP (with ...

'' (1979) * ''

Periscope Life ''Periscope Life'' is the seventh album by the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak, originally released on LP in 1980. The first CD issue (1993) had 2 bonus tracks. In 1998, the album (without the bonus tracks) was part of the Double CD ''3 Origina ...

'' (1980) * ''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

'' (1981) * '' Eyewitness'' (1981) ("Live" studio album)

Solo albums

* ''Rainbow's End'' (1979) * ''Seasons'' (1981) * ''How Can It Be... Like This?'' (1988) * ''Not the Opera'' (1995)

Singles

* "Rain in May" (1981) * " Summer in the City" (1981)

References

;Sources
Line-up page on the Kayak official website
1953 births Living people Dutch rock singers People from Hilversum Dutch rock drummers Male drummers Kayak (band) members {{drummer-stub