Golden Earring was a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Tornados. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on the Dutch chart, reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, and went to number thirteen on the United States chart, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. During their career they had nearly 30 top-ten singles on the Dutch charts and released 25 studio albums.
The band went through a number of early personnel changes until settling on a stable lineup in 1970, consisting of Rinus Gerritsen (bass and keyboards), George Kooymans (vocals and guitar), Barry Hay (vocals, guitar, flute and saxophone), and Cesar Zuiderwijk (drums and percussion), which remained unchanged until the band broke in 2021 when Kooymans was diagnosed with ALS. A number of other musicians also appeared in short stints with the band over its history.
Also Known As: The Tornados
Members:
Rinus Gerritsen - bass, keyboards, guitar, harmonica (1961-2021)
George Kooymans - guitar, vocals (1961-2021)
Barry Hay - vocals, guitar, flute, saxophone (1967-2021)
Cesar Zuiderwijk - drums, percussion (1970-2021)
Former members:
Fred van der Hilst - drums, percussion (1962-1965)
Hans van Herwerden - guitar (1962-1963)
Peter de Ronde - guitar (1963-1966)
Frans Krassenburg - vocals (1964-1967)
Jaap Eggermont - drums, percussion (1965-1969)
Sieb Warner - drums, percussion (1969-1970)
Bertus Borgers - saxophone (1973-1976)
Eelco Gelling - guitar (1973-1975, 1976-1978)
Robert Jan Stips - keyboards, synthesizers (1974-1976, 1977-1978, 1980, 1982, 1986)
John Lagrand - harmonica (1979)
Genre(s):
Hard rock,
progressive rock
Active From: 1961-2021