Teach-In was a Dutch band, best known for winning

Eurovision Song Contest 1975 The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song " Waterloo" by ABBA. Organised by the European Broadcasting Un ...

with the song "

Ding-a-dong "Ding-a-dong" (original Dutch title: "Ding dinge dong", as it was introduced in the titles when broadcast) was the title of the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975. It was sung by Teach-In, representing the , and was written by Di ...

". The band was founded in 1967 and parted in 1980. Throughout this time there were several changes in line-up.

History

The group was formed in 1967 in

Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...

. The first lineup: Hilda Felix (vocals), Henk Westendorp (vocals, later in Superfly), John Snuverink (vocals, guitar), Frans Schaddelee (bass), leader Koos Versteeg (vocals & keys) and Rudi Nijhuis (drums). In 1971, only Koos and Rudi remained in the group, and the rest of the band comprised

Getty Kaspers Gertrude "Getty" Kaspers (born 5 March 1948) is an Austrian-born Dutch singer. She was the lead vocalist of the Dutch band Teach-In, with which she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song "Ding-a-dong". Career Early career Kasper ...

(vocals, in 1976 solo as ''Getty''), John Gaasbeek (bass, already in 1964 in the Stora Combo (later known as Orkest Freddie Golden, he also left in 1976), Chris De Wolde (guitar) and Ard Weenink (also until 1976). A recording contract was signed with

CNR Records CNR is a Dutch audio and video label. It was founded in 1937 as CNR Records by Cornelis Nicolaas Rood, who made his fortune as a producer of lampshades and other lighting materials. Rood regarded his record label merely as a hobby, but things ch ...

and

Eddy Ouwens Eddy Ouwens (born 30 May 1946, Rotterdam), also known as Danny Mirror, is a Dutch musician and record producer. Overview He was a founder member in 1966 of the Rotterdam-based group, Eddy Nelson & the Eddysons. After a few hits he left to work ...

became their producer and co-composer. Their first single was "Spoke the Lord Creator" (originally a song by

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

), released in 1972, which didn't chart. In 1974 the band had three top 15 hits in the Netherlands: "Fly Away", "In the Summernight" (which even did reach number 5 in a South African charts) and "Tennessee Town". In March 1975, Teach-In participated in the

with the song "

" (written by Will Luikinga and Eddy Ouwens) and won. Teach-In broke an Eurovision convention that favours songs performing later in the program by winning the contest despite performing first. This was a first for the competition and was repeated a year later by

Brotherhood of Man Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me". Created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer Tony Hiller, Brotherhood of Man was initia ...

in the 1976 Eurovision Contest. This feat has only been repeated by one further act; the

Herreys Herreys (), sometimes Herrey's or Herrey, is a Swedish pop group, consisting of the three brothers Per Herrey (born 9 August 1958), Richard Herrey (born 19 August 1964), and Louis Herrey (born 3 November 1966). They won the Eurovision Song Con ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. "Ding-a-Dong" had a chart entry in nearly every

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an country, as well as a number 22 placing in the USA on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart. In the Netherlands it reached number 3 in the charts. In October 1975 "Goodbye Love" became another Dutch top 10-hit. "Rose Valley", released in February 1976, reached just the top 20. Tensions due to the busy concert scheme made Getty Kaspers leave the band, after which she pursuited a solo career. Also John Gaasbeek and Ard Weenink quit. Hans Nijland (bass, in 1977 replaced by Nick De Vos), Betty Vermeulen (vocals), Marianne Wolsink (vocals, ex-Head) were included as new members. The group's next single "Upside Down" reached number 2 in the Netherlands. In 1978 the

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rage nearly destroyed Teach-In's popularity. A new look and sound had to be adopted and "Dear John" became a top 10 hit in October. In 1979 a theme song for a Dutch TV charity show supporting

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

hit the top 10. 1980's single "Regrets" proved to be the group's swan song as the group disbanded soon after. In 1997, news came that the original line up (with Getty Kaspers) had re-recorded some of their old hits and had plans to tour again. In June 1979, two ex-members of the group, Getty and John Gaasbeek, joined by Wilma van Diepen, formed the ''Balloon'' trio. Later on, Getty tried a new solo career, recording a couple of discs including the Getty Album (features De Eerste Liefde is Een Feest with lyrics in Dutch, originally När du tar mig i din famn/The Queen of Hearts by

Agnetha Fältskog Agneta Åse Fältskog (born 5 April 1950), known as Agnetha Fältskog (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and musician. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 self-titled debut album. She later achieved internatio ...

in Swedish and English). Her vocals can also be heard on

Rick van der Linden Rick van der Linden (5 August 1946, Badhoevedorp, North Holland - 22 January 2006, Groningen) was a Dutch composer and keyboardist. Van der Linden first gained fame as a member of Ekseption, but he played in several other bands including most no ...

's Cum Laude album and on recordings made by

Radio Veronica Radio Veronica was an offshore radio station that began broadcasting in 1960, and broadcast offshore for over fourteen years. It was set up by independent radio, TV and household electrical retailers in the Netherlands to stimulate the sales ...

. The band reunited to sing "Ding-a-Dong" at a show in Maastricht on 31 August 2007. The band reunited to perform at the final of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2021 The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's win at the with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was set to host the , ...

as an interval act.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Notes

References

External links

{{Authority control Dutch pop music groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1975 Eurovision Song Contest winners Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1980 Nationaal Songfestival contestants