Q65: Discography 1966 - 2002

 

Q65 was a Dutch garage rock and psychedelic group formed in 1965, that is often considered one

of the more prominent bands associated with the Nederbeat rock wave that took place in the Netherlands in the 1960s. Apparently, it was Roelofs who came up with the catchy band name Q65, based on two Stones classics: Susie Q and Route 66. However, Q66 did not sound appealing enough, so it was changed into Q65. The Den Haag (The Hague) group Q'65 played raw garage-style music and were often compared to their English counterparts, The Pretty Things.
                  

They were renowned for their ramshackle English lyrics and funny pronunciation of singer Wim Bieler.They evolved from Leadbelly's Ltd., whose drummer was Jay Baar. At some point Dihl Bennink

(later in the Tee Set) was also a member of that band. In 1964, Wim Bieler became the lead singer. Then guitar players Joop Roelofs and Frank Nuyens joined in and in (surprise!) 1965 they changed their name to Q'65. From auditions for a bass player Peter Vink was chosen as he could play the bass lick from The Zombies' "She's Not There".
                      

In early 1966, they debuted with the Peter Koelewijn-produced "You're The Victor", which narrowly missed the Top 10. They tried to draw attention to the release of "The Life I Live" by sailing to England

in a rubber motor boat, but a popular magazine revealed pictures where the band was towed by a ship full of photographers. Also some of the band members got seasick and spent most of the crossing lying in a bunk aboard the larger vessel. But the stunt worked out well in the end, as they got back into the rubber boat close to Scheveningen beach, where a crowd was awaiting them. "The Life I Live" proceeded to reach #5 in the charts.
                  

Later that year, they released their first album, "Revolution", which over the years has become an internationally acclaimed garage-rock classic. It included original material, but also covers like Otis Redding's "Mr. Pitiful" and blues classics "I'm A Man" and the 14-minute plus "Bring It On Home",

characterized by Bieler's moaning "Peeeeeeeeeeeee-buh!" ("baby"). The standard of playing was quite amateurish (not one good guitar solo on the enitre album), but in hindsight the Q epitomised everything that made garage rock attractive. In late 1966, they had another hit with "I Despise You", the flipside of which, the ballad "Ann", would become one of the most requested songs in radio programs and as such has become one of the band's classics (it was even re-released as an A-side after the band split). In 1967, dissension set in.
                   

Some members (especially drummer Jay Baar) were heavy drug users and also the alcohol intake of the band was legendary. In late 1967 they split up after the last three singles had failed to repeat the success

of their string of hits from 1966. The best record from the period is the EP, “Kjoe Blues”, which showed they could play the blues like a (freak)beat group, but lacked the instrumental dexterity of bands like the Bluesbreakers or Fleetwood Mac. Jay Baar was arrested in a drug bust and went to jail. Willem Bieler joined the army, Peter Vink formed Big Wheel and Joop Roelofs went to work as a social worker. In 1968, Jay Baar and Frank Nuyens formed Circus.
                    

In 1969, Phonogram released the LP, “Revival”, which contained Q'65 hits, album tracks, the outtake "Fairy Tales Of Truth" (apparently a Circus track sung by Willem Bieler) and three tracks by Circus. The renewed interest in Q'65 led to an offer by Negram Records and the band decided to reform in early 1970. Original members Bieler, Roelofs, Nuyens and Vink were joined by drummer Beer Klaasse (ex-

Groep 1850 and Big Wheel) as Jay Baar was playing in Tantalus by now (and the Q didn't want to risk another drug bust anyway). In the following years the band released two albums and the single, "Sexy Legs", was a small hit, but they never reached the heights of the '66-'67 era. Slowly the band started to fall apart: Frank Nuyens left in 1971 to record a solo album as Rainman. He would later appear in Red White & Blue, Cuby + Blizzards and The Freelance Band. He was replaced by Joop van Nimwegen (ex-Ex). Then Wim Bieler left to form his own band called Dambuster. Johnny Frederiksz (ex-George Cash) came in as a singer and the band name was changed to Kjoe (Dutch phonetic for Q). In 1974, the band called it a day.
                   

Peter Vink formed Finch with van Nimwegen, the band that would record two albums of instrumental rock and draw worldwide attention. During the legendary The Hague Beatnach on 13th June 1980, the original line-up of Bieler, Roelofs, Nuyens, Vink and Baar played together for the last time. Their

performance was awful, in fact, so bad, their two tracks selected for the resulting 2LP had to be re-recorded in the studio. Yet offers to tour started pouring in. But Nuyens and Baar declined, so the band got in former Finch members Joop van Nimwegen and Fred van Vloten. The latter was then replaced by 1970-1974 Q drummer Beer Klaasse. This line-up balanced between the oldies circuit and club gigs. One of the highlights was a tour with their alter egos, The Pretty Things, in 1987. Slowly members started drifting out again and by 1988 the line-up was Bieler, Roelofs, Rinus Hollenberg, Rene van Spanje, Rick Finck and Rob Louwes. By the end of the decade the Q had dissolved.
              

In 1990, Jay Baar died (his age was unknown, presumably he was born in 1947). In 1997, Willem Bieler, Frank Nuyens and Joop Roelofs started playing together again and did some unplugged gigs. An acoustic CD, "Trinity", was released. The band then attempted a Q'65 revival in 1998, but Joop Roelofs

opted out, declaring he was "too old to be on a stage in leather trousers pretending to be young". He sold all his guitars, but still appears whenever there's a meeting of 1960s beat musicians. So they recruited Eric van de Berk (keyboards), Dick Schulte Nordholt (bass, ex-Meteors and Gruppo Sportivo, died 2006) and ex-Cuby + Blizzards and Solution drummer Hans Waterman. When Wim Bieler died in 2000, aged 53, from a heart attack, it was the end of Q'65. In 2008, the three living members, Roelofs, Nuyens and Vink, appeared together during a ceremony to present the restored Jay Baar drum kit, known from the "Revolution" album cover, to the Rock Art museum.

ALBUMS

                             

Revolution (Decca QL625363, 1966)
Revival (Decca XBY846515, 1969)
Afghanistan (Negram NELP075, 1970)
We're Gonna Make It (Negram ELS914, 1971)
Trinity (Mohican MH001/Munich, 1997)
Singles A'S & B'S (Hunter Music – HM 13952, 2002)

MEMBERS

                             

Beer Klaasse
Frank Nuyens
Hans Waterman
Jay Baar
Joop Roelofs
Joop van Nimwegen
Peter Vink
Richard Schulte Nordholt
Wim Bieler

Q65 - REVOLUTION 1966

                        

Q65 were among only a handful of non-English speaking bands of the mid-'60s whose talent rivaled second-tier groups such as the Pretty Things in the search for a rock-oriented update of Chicago blues. What set them apart, and what makes Revolution very reminiscent of Back Door Men by the Shadows of Knight, is the broad range of music performed above and beyond the basic R&B. The band played

acoustic as well as hard psych numbers along with the standards, and experimented with harmonium and other instruments to make Revolution more interesting than the average garage release. Despite the eclecticism, their blues interpretations work best, from the nice take of "Spoonful" to the groundbreaking 13-minute cover of "Bring It on Home," the real missing link between the rave-ups of the Yardbirds and the post-Cream jam bands of the late-'60s. Like many great bands of that era, Q 65 peaked in 1966-1967, and then fell into disarray after Bieler was drafted.

Q65 – Revolution
Label: Mercury – 275135-9
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue 2010
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1966
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock

TRAXS

                  

01. The Live I Live (Frank Nuyens, Jay Baar, Joop Roelofs, Peter Vink, Wim Bieler) 03:21
02. I Got Nightmares (Jay Baar, Joop Roelofs, Peter Vink, Wim Bieler) 02:28
03. Just Who's In Sight (Frank Nuyens, Jay Baar, Wim Bieler) 03:10
04. Mr. Pitiful (Otis Redding, Steve Cropper) 02:21
05. I'm A Man (Bo Diddley) 04:38
06. Middle-Age Talk (Frank Nuyens, Jay Baar, Wim Bieler) 02:29
07. Summerthoughts In A Field Of Weed (Frank Nuyens, Jay Baar, Wim Bieler) 02:26
08. Down In The Bottom (W. Dixon) 01:43
09. Get Out Of My Life, Woman (Allen Toussaint) 02:27
10. Spoonful (W. Dixon) 03:29
11. Sour Wine (Frank Nuyens, Jay Baar, Wim Bieler) 02:57
12. Bring It On Home (W. Dixon) 13:45

LINE - UP

Peter Vink - Bass Guitar, Body Percussion
Jay Baar - Drums, Percussion, Washboard, Harmonium
Joop Roelof - Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Rhythm Guitar
Frank Nuyens - Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Flute, Saxophone, Harmonica
Willem Bieler - Vocals, Harmonica, Maracas, Tambourine, Handclaps, Sounds

MP3 @ 320 Size: 146 MB
Flac  Size: 253 MB

Q65 - REVIVAL 1969

                    

After the success of the album, 'Revolution', and the hits that we wrote afterwards, the amount of work that we had in the club circuit became overwhelming. Despite our popularity, the seeds of unrest had been sown in our ranks, and we were constantly at loggerheads with eachother concerning the bands

musical feature. It was only a matter of time before all hell broke loose: Willem Bieler didn't want to carry on performing hits in the club circuit, and refused to postpone his impernding stint as a soldierm courtesy of National Service; Frank Nuyens, Joop Roelofs and Jay Baar wanted to pursue a much less superficial musical direction, and we still had to go into studio to record a new single. 'World Of Birds' became the next single, and it too reached the National Top 40.
               

It was on the way to a gig in Germany that I was informed of the new plans for our band. In retrospect it's always possible to relativise a decision taken a long time ago, but still today, as in 1968, I thought it

was stupid to change a formula which had proven so successful. I think with hindsight that I was I was correct. When because of private circumstances (the 'Opium Laws') I was taken out of circulation for a couple of months, the band Circus was set up. Formed with the intention of picking up on Q's succes, something whichjust didn't happen, Circus became a real hippy band who used oil projectors and strange lyrics. Strangely enough a new Q65 album managed to emerge from this period, which was just as well seeing as we were still committed to a recording contract.
               

After a year of uncertainty, our producer, Hans Van Hemert, began putting together the album 'Revival'. Because Circus had eventually, after several line up changes, split up we decided to release the album

under the name of Q65. We used several re-mixes of Q65-songs and three Circus songs. On 'Voluntary Peacemaker' Hans Van Hemert was responsible for the lead vocals, and uniquely, on 'Riding On A Slow Train' it was Jay who sang the lead. ' Fairy Tales Of Truth' sees Willem Bieler once more in action.
There are also 7 bonus tracks on this CD. Some of these tracks wew used as B sides, and some of them come from EP 'Kjoe Blues'.

I wish you lots of listening pleasure.
Peter Vink (Q65's bass guitarist)

Q65 – Revival
Label: Pseudonym – CDP 1048 DD
Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered 1997
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1969   
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock

TRAXS

                 

01. Cry In The Night   2:16
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar, W. Bieler
02. No Place To Go   3:10
Producer – Peter Koelewijn
Written-By – C. Burnett
03. It Came To Me   2:35
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar, W. Bieler
04. I Was Young   2:37
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar, A.J. Roelofs, P. Vink, W. Bieler
05. World Of Birds   3:28
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar, W. Bieler
06. So High I've Been, So Down I Must Fall   3:11
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar, A.J. Roelofs, P. Vink, W. Bieler
07. Sundance   4:39
Piano, Organ – Marco Klein
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar
08. Voluntary Peacemaker   5:02
Lead Vocals – Hans Van Hemert
Piano, Organ – Marco Klein
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar
09. Ridin' On A Slow Train   4:14
Lead Vocals – Jay Baar
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar
10. Fairy Tales Of Truth   5:51
Mellotron – Paul Natte
Piano, Organ – Marco Klein
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar

BONUS TRAXS   
       
11. And Your Kind   3:11
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar, W. Bieler
12. I Despise You   2:25
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar, W. Bieler
13. Where Is The Key   2:20
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar, A.J. Roelofs, W. Bieler
14. Ain't That Loving You Baby   2:20
Written-By – J. Reed
15. Ramblin' On My Mind   4:50
Written-By – R. Johnson
16. 80% O   2:47
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar, A.J. Roelofs
17. Mother Mutha's Great Sundance   4:23
Written-By – F. Nuyens, J.W. Baar
18. Untitled    0:57

LINE - UP

Willem Bieler - Vocals
Frank Nuyens - Guitar
Joop Roelofs - Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Peter Vink - Bass Guitar, Contra-Bass, Harmonium
Jay Baar - Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Track 9)

GUESTS
Hans van Hemert - Vocals (Track 8)
Marco Klein - Piano, Orgel Tracks 7, 8, & 10)
Paul Natte - Mellotron (Track 10)

MP3 @ 320 Size:  MB
Flac  Size:  MB

Q65 - AFGANISTAN (NEGRAM YEARS 1970 - 1971) 1992

                  

The regrouped Q 65 shows far less immersion in (and devotion to) traditional blues, and they generally

play a lot louder. On about half of this album, it's as though they'd stopped listening to Howlin' Wolf and, instead, started absorbing Led Zeppelin, while other songs show off some psychedelic flourishes. The music is still blues-based at its roots -- and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is fine as a low-key exception to the rest of the original LP -- but some songs are ornamented with fine, elegant flute and lyrical acoustic and electric guitar breaks ("Baby Don't Worry," "Please Come Back to Me"), and a spaced-out mindset. Unfortunately, much of the material is rather non-descript rock & roll

-- some of it is energetic but little is innovative or fresh, and all of it is predictable, when it's interesting enough to make one care to anticipate anything about it; the rest just lays there. The 1992 CD compiles the contents of the original album with material off of its follow-up, We're Gonna Make It, along with a previously unissued, live, 14-minute rock & roll medley. The previously available live version of "On the Highway" is among the best cuts here, and accounts for half the value of this disc.
             

Q’65 – Afghanistan (Negram Years 1970-1971)
Label: Pseudonym – CDPR 1002 DD
Format: CD, Album, Compilation, Reissue, Remastered, Red Label CD 1992
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1969
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock

TRAXS

                     

01. Love Is Such A Good Thing    3:11
02. Injection    1:26
03. Baby Don't Worry    3:21
04. I'm Glad    2:41
05. Nobody Knows When You're Down & Out    3:38
06. Please Come Back To Me    3:05
07. We Are Happy    4:22
08. I Gotta Move    2:49
09. There Was A Day    2:44
10. Don't Let Me Fall    2:47
11. Crumblin'    2:58
12. Night    8:00
13. Sexy Legs    1:53
14. I Just Can't Wait    4:54
15. We're Gonna Make It    2:52
16. Saddy    2:43
17. On The Highway    6:52
18. Rock & Roll Medley    14:03

MP3 @ 320 Size: 189 MB
Flac  Size: 474 MB

Q65 - WE' RE GONNA MAKE IT 1971 (EXPANDED EDITION) 2020

                   

Q65 – We're Gonna Make It
Label: Pseudonym – CDP 1002 DD
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Unofficial Release 2020
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1971   
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRAXS

01. We're Gonna Make It   2:52
Written-By – Roelofs, Bieler
02. Baby Don't Worry   3:21
Written-By – Roelofs, Bieler
03. I Just Can't Wait   4:54
Written-By – Roelofs, Bieler
04. Saddy   2:43
Written-By – P. Vink
05. Please Come Back To Me   3:05
Written-By – Roelofs, Bieler
06. We Are Happy    4:22
Written-By – Nuyens, Bieler
07. I Gotta Move   2:49
Written-By – R. Davies
08. There Was A Day   2:44
Written-By – Roelofs, Bieler
09. Don't Let Me Fall   2:47
Written-By – Nuyens, Bieler
10. Crumblin'   2:58
Written-By – Nuyens, Bieler
11. Night   8:00
Written-By – Nuyens, Bieler
12. Sexy Legs   1:53
Written-By – Nuyens, Vink, Bieler

BONUS TRAXS

13. I Just Can’t Wait (Single Version)   3:38
14. Fighting Is Easy   3:10
15. Country Girl   2:59
16. Hoonana (Kjoe)   3:23
17. Troubles   3:34

LINE - UP

Frank Nuyens [aka Rainman] (guitar, saxophone, 1965-72, 1980-2000),
Joop Roelofs (guitar, 1965-72, 1980-99),
Peter Vink (bass, 1965-72, 1980-88),
Willem Bieler (vocals, harmonica, 1965-72, 1980-2000),
Beer Klaasse (drums, 1969-72)

MP3 @ 320 Size: 142 MB
Flac  Size: 377 MB

Q65 - TRINITY 1997

          

Q65 – Trinity
Label: Mohican Productions – MH001
Format: CD, Album
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1997
Genre: Rock
Style: Blues Rock

TRAXS

                

01. Franky's Blues   2:56
Written-By – F. Nuijens, W. Bieler
02. Sexy Legs   1:55
Written-By – F. Nuijens, P. Vink, W. Bieler
03. The Life I Live   3:09
Written-By – F. Nuijens, J. Baar, J. Roelofs, P. Vink, W. Bieler
04. Sour Wine   3:31
Written-By – F. Nuijens, J. Baar, W. Bieler
05. Fighting Is Easy   2:56
Written-By – J. Roelofs, W. Bieler
06. Bring It On Home   3:30
Arranged By – F. Nuijens, J. Roelofs, W. Bieler
Written-By – W. Dixon
07. Spoonfull   2:11
Arranged By – F. Nuijens, J. Roelofs, W. Bieler
Written-By – W. Dixon
08. Dutch Mills   3:16
Written-By – J. Roelofs, W. Bieler
09. Middle-Age Talk   3:17
Written-By – F. Nuijens, J. Baar, W. Bieler
10. I Got Nightmares    2:33
Written-By – J. Baar, J. Roelofs, P. Vink, W. Bieler
11. Let's Roll    4:39
Written-By – R. Hollenberg, W. Bieler
12. We're Gonna Make It   2:42
Written-By – J. Roelofs, W. Bieler
13. No Home   3:30
Written-By – J. Roelofs, W. Bieler
14. Night   4:05
Written-By – F. Nuijens, W. Bieler

LINE - UP

Acoustic Guitar – Joop Roelofs
Congas – Ignas te Wiel (tracks: 5, 10, 11)
Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Slide Guitar – Frank Nuijens
Piano, Keyboards, Accordion – Erik Van Der Berk
Vocals, Harmonica, Percussion – Wim Bieler
Producer – Wim Bieler

MP3 @ 320 Size: 111 MB
Flac  Size: 304 MB

Q65 - SINGLES A'S & B'S 2002 (INCL. EP KJOE BLOES) UNRELEASED TRACKS & RARITIES)

             

Q65 – Singles A's & B's
Label: Hunter Music – HM 13952
Series: Popinstituut.nl
Format: 2 x CD, Compilation
Country: Netherlands
Released: 2002
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock

DISC 1.    A-SIDES

                     

  
01. Q65 – You're The Victor    2:25
02. Q65 – The Life I Live    3:19
03. Q65 – I Despise You    2:23
04. Q65 – From Above    2:48
05. Q65 – Ain't That Loving You Baby    2:16
06. Q65 – Ramblin' On My Mind    4:47
07. Q65 – So High I've Been, So Down I Must Fall    3:08
08. Circus – Medusa    3:30
09. Q65 – Ann    2:49
10. Q65 – Sundance    4:32
11. Q65 – Don't Let Me Fall    2:47
12. Q65 – Sexy Legs    1:54
13. Q65 – Love Is Such A Good Thing    3:10
14. Q65 – I Just Can't Wait    3:34
15. Q65 – Fighting Is Easy    3:06
16. Kjoe – Hoonana    3:20
17. Willem Bieler & Dambuster – Lady Of Love    3:49
18. Q65 – Let's Roll    4:00

BONUS TRAXS       
    
19. Q65 – Feel Her Still (Mono)    2:46
20. Circus – Ridin' On A Slow Train (Alternative Long Version)   5:21   
21. Q65 – From Above (Second Version)    2:54
22. Q65 – Ann (Alternative Take)    2:47

MP3 @ 320 Size: 178 MB
Flac  Size: 451 MB

DISC 2.  B-SIDES       

                       

01. Q65 – And Your Kind    3:09
02. Q65 – Cry In The Night    2:14
03. Q65 – I Was Young    2:34
04. Q65 – No Place To Go    3:06
05. Q65 – 80% 0    2:45
06. Q65 – It Came To Me    2:33
07. Q65 – Where Is The Key    2:18
08. Circus – Mother Motha's Great Sundance    4:20
09. Q65 – Sour Wine    2:55
10. Q65 – World Of Birds    3:24
11. Q65 - Crumblin'    2:57
12. Q65 – There Was A Day    2:44
13. Q65 – Night    8:01
14. Q65 – We're Gonna Make It    2:52
15. Q65 – Country Girl    2:55
16. Kjoe – Troubles    3:32
17. Q65 – Are You Home    2:34

BONUS TRAXS           

18. Q65 – Feel Her Still (Stereo)    2:46
19. Circus – Fairy Tales Of Truth (Alternative Version)    5:51
20. Willem Bieler – Happiness    3:12
21. Q65 – I Was Young (Without Backing Vocals)    2:34
22. Q65 – From Above (Alternative Take)    2:54

NOTES
                    

(CD1) tr. 5 - 6, (CD2) tr. 4 - 5: EP Kjoe Blues  

MP3 @ 320 Size: 180 MB
Flac  Size: 449 MB