Thursday, August 20, 2020

ROTJOCH - Bad Boy 1981

Now a catchy record from our friendly neighbors: Rotjoch was founded in 1978 by singer/songwriter Ronald "Rebel" Welgemoed (vocals/guitar), Juan (guitar), Pim (bass) and William (drums); the band released its first single "Tomorrow" in 1981 on Polydor. It became a small hit in the Netherlands. Later that year they released a second single "Bad Boy" and an album with the same name. The album became a milestone in the powerpop genre. Although the single Bad Boy didn't sell many copies it became their most popular song after it was released on the album Powerpearls Volume 5 in 1999. In 1982 they released a third single "Baby Baby Baby" under the name Rebel on the French label VIP-Records. It didn't sell very well either but is now very popular amongst powerpop collectors, due to its rarity. A short time later Rotjoch split. Ronald kept on performing as Rebel and released two albums, "You're Already Listening" in 1989 en "The Morning Sun" in 2007. A few years ago Ronald tried to organize a Rotjoch reunion but it was very hard to get them all together at the same time. He recorded some new songs with leadguitarist Pim Bilderbeek that may be released in some time but the reunion didn't work out. Ronald had written a lot of new songs for Rotjoch so he decided to start the new Rotjoch with some new members which he met at local jamsessions, Juan Carlos Gieling on guitar and Pim Meester on bassguitar. He asked drummer Bryan Hahury, with whom he was playing for about four years in the band Crosstown, to join the band. Together they recorded four songs in the Bandstart Studio in Naarden, The Netherlands. Two of those songs are released on a single, "Sexy" and "Say No More". Some new songs are recorded now with a new drummer, William van Veenendaal. They are released on an EP containing the songs "Nobody Knows", "Silly Questions", "Odd Or Even" en "We're Not Gonna Take It Anymore". Then they recorded twelve new songs in the Dubcellar Studio with technician Robert Curiel. The songs are now on the album "Here To Stay" that was released in April 2019 by record company Helena Music Records. You can listen to the album on our audio page. All the songs are mastered by Kevin Metcalfe, known for his work (among others) with Bowie, Queen and The Who. On our shop page you can find links to sites where you can buy or stream our album. Rotjoch recently released the (down-load only) single "Night Winds" coming from the album "Here To Stay"



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