Golden Earring

Golden Earring are a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague by 13-year-old George Kooymans and his 15-year-old neighbour, Rinus Gerritsen.  Originally called The Tornados, the name was changed to Golden Earrings when they discovered that The Tornados was already in use by another group. The name Golden Earrings was taken from a song, originally sung by Marlene Dietrich in 1947 and a hit for Peggy Lee in 1948, with which they opened their concerts.  They later dropped the “s” from their name in 1969 to simply, “Golden Earring.

Golden Earring embarked on their first major US tour in 1969 – 1970, and were among the first European bands to do so. Due to American influences, their music evolved towards hard rock, and they performed along with Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Between 1969 and 1984, Golden Earring completed thirteen US tours. During this period, they performed as the opening act for Santana, The Doobie Brothers, Rush and .38 Special. In the early seventies, when Radar Love was a hit, they had KISS and Aerosmith as their opening act.

They enjoyed a brief period of US stardom but were unable to secure further chart success until 1982′s Twilight Zone. After a disappointing reaction in the US to When the Lady Smiles in 1984, Golden Earring turned their focus towards Europe where they continue to attract standing-room-only crowds. Golden Earring have recorded over 30 gold and platinum albums and singles. A number of artists like U2, White Lion, R.E.M. and Bryan Adams have covered their international hit and rock classic Radar Love. In total, over 200 covers exist of this song.

Golden Earring is perhaps the oldest rock band in the world that is still performing.

Twilight Zone

Lead vocals on the song are performed first by George Kooymans (who speaks the lines up to, and including, the line “the gun is still warm”), then by Barry Hay who sings the rest of the song. If the first 5 or 6 seconds of the song is played in reverse, the words “Sirens in my head, my whole life spins into” can be heard which are from two lines and chords later in the song. The full lines, “Yeah, there’s a storm on the loose, sirens in my head” and “Cannot decode – my whole life spins into a frenzy” are partly masked because the vocal track is being played at a much lower volume than the reversed chords are.

The following video was filmed at Rockpalast in 1982, the first time the song had ever been played.  The song hadn’t been released yet, and George Kooymans introduces it as “When the Bullet Hits The Bone”.

http://djallyn.org/media/golden-earring-twilight-zone.flv

Somewhere in a lonely hotel room
there’s a guy starting to realize
That eternal fate has turned it’s back on him
It’s two a.m.

It’s two a.m. the fear has gone
I’m sitting here waitin’ the gun still warm
Maybe my connection is tired of taken chances
Yeah there’s a storm on the loose sirens in my head
I’m wrapped up in silence all circuits are dead
I cannot decode
my whole life spins into a frenzy

Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
The place is a madhouse
Feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go
Now that I’ve gone too far
Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
The place is a madhouse
Feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go
Now that I’ve gone too far
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

I’m falling down a spiral
destination unknown
A double crossed Messenger
all alone
I can’t get no connection
I can’t get through
Where are you
Well the night weighs heavy on his guilty mind
This far from the borderline
And when the hitman comes
He knows damn well he has been cheated
And he says

Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
the place is a madhouse
Feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go
Now that I’ve gone too far
Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
The place is a madhouse
Feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go
Now that I’ve gone too far
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone

Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
The place is a madhouse
Feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go
Now that I’ve gone too far
Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
The place is a madhouse
Feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go
Now that I’ve gone too far
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

When the bullet hits the bone uh-huha
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone uh-huha
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone uh-huha
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone uh-huha
When the bullet hits the bone

• Audio from the 1984 album, The Continuing Story of Radar Love:

Tagged as: Golden Earring

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Golden Earring are a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague by 13-year-old George Kooymans and his 15-year-old neighbour, Rinus Gerritsen.  Originally called The Tornados, the name was changed to Golden Earrings when they discovered that The Tornados was already in use by another group. The name Golden Earrings was taken from a song, originally sung by Marlene Dietrich in 1947 and a hit for Peggy Lee in 1948, with which they opened their concerts.  They later dropped the “s” from their name in 1969 to simply, “Golden Earring.

Golden Earring embarked on their first major US tour in 1969 – 1970, and were among the first European bands to do so. Due to American influences, their music evolved towards hard rock, and they performed along with Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Between 1969 and 1984, Golden Earring completed thirteen US tours. During this period, they performed as the opening act for Santana, The Doobie Brothers, Rush and .38 Special. In the early seventies, when Radar Love was a hit, they had KISS and Aerosmith as their opening act.

They enjoyed a brief period of US stardom but were unable to secure further chart success until 1982′s Twilight Zone. After a disappointing reaction in the US to When the Lady Smiles in 1984, Golden Earring turned their focus towards Europe where they continue to attract standing-room-only crowds. Golden Earring have recorded over 30 gold and platinum albums and singles. A number of artists like U2, White Lion, R.E.M. and Bryan Adams have covered their international hit and rock classic Radar Love. In total, over 200 covers exist of this song.

Golden Earring is perhaps the oldest rock band in the world that is still performing.

Radar Love

http://djallyn.org/media/golden_earing-radar_love.flv

I’ve been drivin’ all night, my hand’s wet on the wheel
There’s a voice in my head, that drives my heel
It’s my baby callin’, says: I need you here
And it’s half past four, and I’m shifting gear
When she’s lonely and the longing gets too much
She sends a cable comin’ in from above
Don’t need no phone at all
We’ve got a thing that’s called Radar Love
We’ve got a wave in the air
Radar Love
The radio’s playing some forgotten song
Brenda Lee’s “Coming on Strong”
The road’s got me hypnothised
and I’m speeding into a new sunrise
When I get lonely, and I’m sure I’ve had enough
She sends her comfort, comin’ in from above
Don’t need no letters at all
We’ve got a thing that’s called a Radar Love
We’ve got a line in the sky
Solo
No more speed, I’m almost there
Gotta keep cool, now gotta take care
Last car to pass, here I go
And the line of cars drove down real slow
And the radio played that forgotten song
Brenda Lee’s “Coming on Strong”
and the newsman sang his same old song
One more radar love’s gone
When I get lonely, and I’m sure I’ve had enough
She sends her comfort, comin’ in from above
Don’t need no letters at all
We’ve got a thing that’s called a Radar Love
We’ve got a line in the sky
We’ve got a thing that’s called a Radar Love
We’ve got a thing that’s called a Radar Love

Tagged as: Golden Earring

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