Herman Brood
| Herman Brood | |
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Herman Brood in 1979
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Hermanus Brood |
| Also known as | Rock 'n' roll junkie |
| Born |
5 November 1946 Zwolle, Netherlands |
| Died | 11 July 2001 (aged 54) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Genres | Rock and roll, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, painter, actor, poet |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1964–2001 |
| Labels | RCA Records |
| Associated acts | Wild Romance, The Moans, Long Tall Ernie and the Shakers, Cuby and the Blizzards, Stud, Jan Akkerman, Vitesse, Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich |
| Website | Official site |
Hermanus "Herman" Brood (Dutch pronunciation: [ɦɛrˈmaːnɵs ˈɦɛrmɑn ˈbroːt]; 5 November 1946 – 11 July 2001) was a Dutch musician and painter. As a musician he achieved artistic and commercial success in the 1970s and 1980s, and was called "the greatest and only Dutch rock 'n' roll star". Later in life he started a successful career as a painter.
Known for his hedonistic lifestyle of "sex, drugs and rock 'n roll," Brood was an enfant terrible and a cultural figure whose suicide, apparently caused by a failure to kick his drug and alcohol habit, only strengthened his controversial status. His suicide, according to a poll organized to celebrate fifty years of Dutch popular music, was the most significant event in its history.
Herman Brood was born in Zwolle, and started playing the piano at age 12. He founded beat band The Moans in 1964, which would later become Long Tall Ernie and the Shakers. Brood was asked to play with Cuby and the Blizzards, but was removed by management when the record company discovered he used drugs. For a number of years Brood was in jail (for dealing LSD), or abroad, and had a number of short-term engagements (with The Studs, the Flash & Dance Band, Vitesse).
In 1976, Brood started his own group, Herman Brood & His Wild Romance, (and started work with photographer Anton Corbijn) initially with Ferdi Karmelk (guitar), Gerrit Veen (bass), Peter Walrecht (drums), and Ellen Piebes and Ria Ruiters (vocals). They played the club and bar circuit, first in Groningen, In 1977 the band released their first album, Street.
The band now played all over the Netherlands, playing as many gigs as possible. And Herman's drug habit became public domain: In 1977 for instance the Wild Romance played a gig in a high school in Almelo, the Christelijk Lyceum; during the break Brood was caught on the toilet taking heroin or speed (there are different reports on the type of drug, but it is a well-known story amongst former students), the rest of the concert was cancelled, and this also was the last time a rock concert took place at this school for many years.
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