Rob de Nijs
Rob de Nijs was a Dutch singer and actor.
Life and career
De Nijs, supported by The Lords, won a talent contest in 1962 and in the same year released his first single, "Ritme van de Regen", which was a great success. The Lords signed in 1965 with another label, prompting De Nijs to part ways with them and embark on a joint circus tour with Johnny Lion. By 1967, De Nijs was a free agent; he performed at small venues and worked as a bartender for a living. His attempts to keep up with the zeitgeist, including "Bye Bye Mrs. Turple", failed; he only made the headlines by marrying his girlfriend Elly. De Nijs competed in 1969 the Dutch heat of the Eurovision Song Contest, and through musicals like Sajjuns Fiksjen he secured a role in the children's TV series and Hamelen in the latter of which he played Bertram Bierenbroodspot. Singer Boudewijn de Groot and songwriter Lennaert Nijgh helped him relaunch his singing career, and in 1973 he was back in the charts with "Jan Klaassen de Trompetter".The hits continued through 1975 and 1976, notably "Malle Babbe" and "Zet een Kaars voor Je Raam". In 1977 De Nijs released Tussen Zomer en Winter, a concept album chronicling the change from a hot summer's day to a cold winter's night, which starts with the hit song "Het Werd Zomer", a translation from the Peter Maffay song "Und Es War Sommer", and ending with "In De Winter", a translation of the Janis Ian song "In The Winter". The album also features translations of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" and The Beach Boys' "Disney Girls ".
De Nijs released Met Je Ogen Dicht in 1980, which included the top 10 hit "Zondag" and became the Netherlands' best-selling album of the year. He met Belinda Meuldijk, who gave up her own singing career to become his chief songwriter and later his second wife; they married in 1984 and had two sons. Their first collaborative works were collected on the 1981 album De Regen Voorbij. De Nijs had a Christmas No. 2 hit in 1985 with the peace anthem "Alles Wat Ademt" from the album Pur Sang; the English version, "Let Love Be The Answer", was later recorded by US-exile singer Joe Bourne for his album of translated cover versions, Bourne in Holland. In 1986, De Nijs released an album of covers from the 1950s and 1960s; it included his version of "Living Doll" shortly after the Comic Relief remake topped the charts.
De Nijs celebrated his silver jubilee in 1987. He re-recorded "Ritme van de Regen" for a Best Of album and made a guest appearance in television-series De Band as himself. He also released an album titled Zilver which mostly contained his interpretations of famous Dutch songs. Two years later he released De Reiziger, featuring the bilingual duet "Ik Hou Alleen Van Jou". In the same year he reprised his role as Bertram Bierenbroodspot for a Hamelen cast reunion. Stranger In Your Land followed in 1990, marking his first album of English originals and translations of "Zonder Jou", "Bo" and "Toerist In Het Paradijs" which became the title track. The former ended up as the B-side of the "Girls For Sale" single.
De Nijs appeared as a judge during the finale of the in 1992, where he also performed the VIP-version of Allemaal kabaal with 2 children's choirs. His career reached a new peak in 1996 when a remix of "Banger Hart" became his first No. 1 hit. De Nijs entered the first decade of the 21st century with a knighthood and released albums with translations of Christmas-songs and French chansons. Meanwhile, he separated from Meuldijk after twenty years; he married for the third time and became a father again. De Nijs was 70 when he welcomed his third son Julius.
De Nijs released Eindelijk Vrij in 2010, a daring album by his standards. He marked his 50th anniversary with a tour in 2012. Two years later, he released Nieuwe Ruimte with contributions from Jan Rot, Boudewijn de Groot, and. In 2016, De Nijs was honoured with the Radio 5 Oeuvre Award, followed by a tribute concert. His 2017 album Niet voor het laatst featured a duet with his son Robbert and renewed collaboration with Meuldijk.
De Nijs announced his retirement from performing in September 2019 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. A farewell tour and a new album were scheduled for 2020, but postponed because of the corona pandemic. That same year he appeared on the talkshow De Wereld Draait Door to perform two new songs. De Nijs played the first of his two remaining farewell shows in Belgium in 2021. His final farewell concert to the Dutch public took place on 22 June 2022, in Amsterdam. The broadcast of this performance drew 1.2 million viewers.
De Nijs died in Bennekom, Netherlands, on 16 March 2025, at the age of 82, from complications of Parkinson's disease.