Doe Maar

Doe Maar is a Dutch ska band with punk and reggae influences. Their career ran from 1978 to 1984 and they were one of the most successful pop bands in Dutch history. Doe Maar translates as Go Ahead or Just do it, a phrase mostly used in a deprecatory, sulky manner.

Doe Maar was formed in 1978 by Ernst Jansz (CCC Inc., Slumberlandband). Piet Dekker, with whom Jansz played in The Slumberlandband (1975) and The Rumbones (1977), introduced him to Jan Hendriks and Carel Copier, spring 1978 at the farm of Gé van de Donk, their later sound engineer. Recordings from this meeting exist on which they played, without any rehearsal, all the Dutch-language songs Jansz had written at that time. Copier came up with the idea of the name after hearing the never officially recorded song Doe Maar. When Jansz was asked to form the resident band of that year's Festival of Fools he added five more members to the band: singers Truus de Groot (later Nasmak), Anouk Strijbosch and Wim van Oevelen (the later tour manager of the band), and clowns Mart de Corte and Jan Bogaerts.

Afterwards the 9-piece line-up was again reduced to four: Ernst Jansz (Born: May 24, 1948; keyboards, sax, percussion), Jan Hendriks (Born: September 20, 1949; guitar), Carel Copier (drums) and Piet Dekker (bass).

Piet Dekker turned out to be a songwriter as well. One of his songs appeared in 1979 on a sampler-album (Uitholling Overdwars) made up of new Dutch-language bands. They also released their self-titled debut on Telstar omitting the sampler-track Blozen (Blushing); along with the ska- and reggae-influences in Hé hé, Als de morgen komt (When Morning Comes), Regen (Rain), Je liet me staan (You Left Me), Er verandert nix (Nothing Really Changes), that later permeated their best known stuff, there were also punk, rock ‘n roll and calypso influences on this first album. The critics weren't impressed.

"I fail to see how this lot will make a positive contribution to the future of Dutch music". Muziek Expres January 1980

Entering the new decade, Doe Maar hit the bubbling-under charts with the Caribbean-/Indonesian flavoured Ik Zou Het Willen Doen (I'd Like To Do It) and the album sold 2000 copies. But it wasn't enough; after a fallout between Jansz and Piet Dekker (with the latter sent packing) the band seriously considered splitting up, but not before finishing their spring tour. Joost Belinfante (8 October 1946), an allround-freelance musician with whom Jansz used to play in CCC Inc and Slumberlandband, agreed to step in for the time being.

After completion of their spring tour, members of the band decided that they wouldn’t split up. Jansz asked Henny Vrienten, a professional musician and composer who had previously collaborated with Jansz, if he would join the band. Vrienten initially refused as he felt it wasn’t advantageous to his career, but later changed his mind. He would then contribute to the three last tracks on Doe Maar’s second album Skunk. He would eventually contribute to the songs 32 Jaar, Smoorverliefd, and De Laatste Keer.

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