Bettie Serveert is a Dutch

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band. The name translates to "Bettie Serves", which is the title of a book written by Dutch

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player Betty Stöve, who made it to the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

Ladies Singles final in 1977.

Formation

The band is composed of Carol Van Dijk (or "van Dyk", born 22 April 1962, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia) (vocals and guitar), Peter Visser (guitar), Herman Bunskoeke (born c. 1961 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

) (bass) and Berend Dubbe (born c. 1961 in Deventer) (drums). The band originally formed in 1986, but its members split up for four years, following their first gig. They reformed in 1990, and released their debut album, '' Palomine'', in 1992. According to

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, the album was a ''"high point for European guitar music in an era dominated by the US and UK".''

Subsequent releases

In 1995, the group released their second album, ''

Lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are a group of Agnatha, jawless fish comprising the order (biology), order Petromyzontiformes , sole order in the Class (biology), class Petromyzontida. The adult lamprey is characterize ...

'', which was well received by critics. They subsequently obtained tour slots alongside bands including Belly,

Dinosaur Jr Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, the band was forced to change their name because of legal issues. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter) ...

Buffalo Tom Buffalo Tom is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986. Its principal members are guitarist Bill Janovitz who also sings the majority of lead vocals, bassist and singer Chris Colbourn, and drummer Tom Maginn ...

, Superchunk, Come, and

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

. After releasing the full-length album '' Dust Bunnies'' in 1997, Bettie Serveert released a cover album featuring songs from the band

Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionist Moe Tuc ...

. Dubbe left the band due to artistic differences and started his own band, Bauer. In July 2001, Van Dijk and Pascal Deweze of Sukilove released their self-titled album as '' Chitlin' Fooks''. They followed it with ''Did it Again'' in January 2003. A number of drummers, such as Reinier Veldman (who played the drums in the Bettie Serveert proto-band ''De Artsen''), stood in for Dubbe on their next album, '' Private Suit''. Stoffel Verlackt, Jeroen Blankert, and Gino Geudens played the drums on ''Log 22'' and ''Attagirl''. Bettie Serveert continues to tour extensively through Western Europe, Canada, and the United States. Their cover of the Bright Eyes track " Lover I Don't Have to Love" was featured in episode 18 of season 3 of the

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

show '' The OC''. ''Palomines title track can be heard playing in the background during episode 4 of ''

My So-Called Life ''My So-Called Life'' is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It aired on ABC from August 25, 1994 to January 26, 1995. Set at the fictional Liberty High Sch ...

''. The band also covered

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's " I'll Keep It with Mine" for the soundtrack of the 1996 indie film '' I Shot Andy Warhol''. Bettie Serveert released a digital only EP, ''Deny All'', on Second Motion Records, on 26 January 2010 in the United States. Their ninth full-length album, ''Pharmacy of Love'', was also given a US release by Second Motion on 23 March of that year. 2017 saw the release of ''Damaged Good'', again to positive reception. A pink vinyl version with a

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for gramophone record, LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½-inch 2.7-centimetresquare). ...

cover, limited to 1,000 copies, was released as part of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

that year.

Carol van Dijk

Carol van Dijk was born in Canada to Dutch parents. Her native language is English. Her family moved to Holland in 1969, and van Dijk struggled with the subsequent language barrier, in particular the Amsterdam variation of the Dutch language. Her voice has been praised for its beauty and clarity, as well as its unusual pronunciations.

Discography

Albums

*1992: '' Palomine'' *1995: ''

'' *1997: '' Dust Bunnies'' *2000: '' Private Suit'' *2003: '' Log 22'' *2005: '' Attagirl'' *2006: '' Bare Stripped Naked'' *2010: '' Pharmacy of Love'' *2013: '' Oh, Mayhem!'' *2016: '' Damaged Good''

Singles/EPs

*1992: "Tom Boy" (also on the soundtrack to

Amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

) *1993: "Palomine" *1993: "Kids Alright" *1993: "Palomine (new single edition)" *1995: "Crutches" *1995: "Something So Wild" *1995: "Ray Ray Rain" *1997: "Co-coward" *1997: "Rudder" *1997: "What Friends?" *1999: ''Our New Demo'' *2000: "White Tales" *2000: "Private Suit" *2003: "Smack" *2003: "Wide Eyed Fools" *2010: "Deny All" *2016: "Never Be Over"

Live

*1998: '' Plays Venus in Furs and Other Velvet Underground Songs''

Other

*1994: " For All We Know" from

the Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

cover-song compilation album '' If I Were a Carpenter'' *1996: " I'll Keep It with Mine," a

cover from the '' I Shot Andy Warhol Soundtrack''

References

External links

Bettie Serveert official siteFirst Look: Bettie Serveert – B-Cuz video premiere on jammerzine.com April 2020
{{Authority control Dutch indie rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam Beggars Banquet Records artists Second Motion Records artists Minty Fresh artists