Klein Orkest

Klein Orkest was a Dutch musical group, founded in 1978. Klein Orkest was founded from a failed Cabaret band, Groot Orkest, and initially performed mainly in abandonded buildings and garages. The lyrics were written by Harrie Jekkers and Koos Meinderts. Jekkers had already released the hit "O, o, Den Haag" under the pseudonym Harry Klorkestein (an anagram of Klein Orkest). Klein Orkest also produced an album of children's songs, "Roltrap naar de maan". For this album, Klein Orkest received an Edison Award in 1986. Some songs from the album were also performed in appearances on "Sesame Street".
The group ceased to exist in 1985, but reunited between 2017 and 2019 for two theatre tours.
==History==
===The beginning===
In 1977, the members were part of a cabaret band with the name "Het Groot Orkest". This band did not get off the ground and four of them leave to form the band "Het Klein Orkest", later shortened to "Klein Orkest". This band was especially successful in the underground scene. Their song "Tivoli-Lied" was written in 1979, after a fire in Tivoli, a popular music venue in Ultrecht.
===Breakthrough===
In 1982, their first successful single was released: "Laat Mij Maar Alleen". They also did a Hague tour with O, o Den Haag.
The band got its first record deal from this song, on the condition they would rerelease the song on their first album. Here, the band disagreed with the label, as the song had a very different atmosphere from the rest of the songs. A compromise was reached: O, o, Den Haag did appear, but on a single under the psuedonym "Harry Klorkestein". Jekkers was also responsible for the vocals on the single. On television and at gigs, their sound engineer Henny de Jong played Klorkestein, so as not to reveal the true artists. The song was soon being played on all radio stations in the Hague.
With Koos Werkeloos in 1983, the band got their second hit single. The song managed to attract attention because of its bold lyric subject matter (die politieke Haagse maffia die blijft maar korten op de minima. / the political Hague mafia who keep skimming off the top).
The band's popularity peaked with the song Over de muur was released in 1984. It was written at the height of the Hollanditis, on the eve of the pacifist demonstration on 29 October 1983 in The Hague. The four band members never expected the song to be successful, but were asked to play it on the main stage when they arrived at the demonstration. There, it ended up being broadcast live on the radio. The single became the biggest hit for the band and to this day still turns up annually among the top 100 songs in the Top 2000 in the Netherlands.
===After the breakup===
In 1985, Klein Orkest broke up. The band performed at its last performence on the 8th of September that year. Jekkers then refocused on theatre and his solo career.. Nieuwenhuijsen was also active on the editorial board of the KRO's Radio 3 programme Leidsekade Live!.
===Reunion===
In the 2017-2018 theatre season, the band made a comeback tour,https://www.ad.nl/dossier-den-haag/in-gesprek-met-gezellige-solist-harrie-jekkers~abf4b455/ Last paragraph. Archived on 22 October 2021. titled 'Later is allang begonnen en vroeger komt nog 1 keer terug (Later has long since begun and earlier is coming back once more). This was a nod to the song Later is allang begonnen from the 1984 album of the same name. The group consisted of almost the same lineup, however Smit had been replaced by Henk Jan Heuvelink on keyboard. Due to its success, the tour was extended for another season.
In November 2019, thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Klein Orkest played Over de muur once more on the TV programme De Wereld Draait Door.
==Lineup==
* Harrie Jekkers (guitar and vocals)
* Niek Nieuwenhuijsen (drums and vocals)
* Chris Prins (Bass guitar)
* Léon Smit (keyboard and vocals) (until 1985)
* Henk Jan Heuvelink (keyboard and vocals) (from 2016)
==Covers and other versions==
* In live versions of O, O, The Hague, Jekkers often makes a nod to current events. The phrase "that New Babylon, by the way, did it really have to come?" is used for this purpose. In various live versions, "New Babylon" has already been changed to "that new tram tunnel", "that new island off the coast" and "those big pyres on the beach"https://www.nu.nl/jaarwisseling/5659178/nablussen-vreugdevuur-scheveningen-gaat-nog-uren-duren.html. Archived on 22 April 2021.
* Over honderd jaarwas covered in 1994 by Stampvast and in 1996 by Tim Immers.
* O, o, Den Haag was covered by de Kraaien en Kleintje Pils
* In 2012 O, o, Den Haag was played live in the Netherlands by Coldplay . Notably, they sang in Dutch, although with an English accent.
* The song Laat Mij Maar Alleen was covered in 2012 by the Achterhoek folk band Kènneh.
* The song Koos Werkeloos was covered by Glenn van Dijk in 2012.
* The song Over de muur was covered by Enge Buren in their song Vreemde vogels.
==Discography==
===Albums===
Album title 	Release date	Charting in the Dutch Album Top 100	Charting in the Dutch Album Top 100	Charting in the Dutch Album Top 100	Comments
Album title 	Release date	Date of entry 	Highest 	Weeks 	Comments
Het leed versierd 	1982 	24-07-1982 	21 	8 	
Later is al lang begonnen 	1984 	02-06-1984 	4 	18 	Nominated for an Edison
Roltrap naar de maan 	1985 	05-10-1985 	47 	7 	Won an Edison in 1986
Het beste van Klein Orkest 	1987 	- 	 	 	
Alles 	1996 	- 	 	 	
The Golden Years Of Dutch Pop Music	2018 	- 	 	 	
===Singles===
Single title 	Release date	Charting in the Dutch Top 40	Charting in the Dutch Top 40	Charting in the Dutch Top 40	Comments
Single title 	Release date	Date of entry 	Highest 	Weeks 	Comments
Roltrap naar de maan	1985 	 	 	 	B-side 'De Step'
Over de muur 	1984 	30-06-1984 	10 	9 	#9 in the Single Top 100. B-side 'Achter Elke Deur'
Over de muur 	1989 	23-12-1989 	25 	4 	Re-entry. B-kant 'Achter Elke Deur'
Over 100 jaar 	1983 	- 	 	 	B-side 'Paarse Overall'
Leve het nijlpaard 	1986 	 	 	 	B-side 'De Dromedaris'
Laat mij maar alleen	1982 	24-07-1982 	27 	4 	#17 in the Single Top 100. B-side 'Het Leed Versierd'
Koos Werkeloos 	1983 	30-07-1983 	17 	5 	#14 in the Single Top 100. B-side 'De Laarzen'
Het Tivoli-lied 	1979 	- 	 	 	Protest song with RK Veulpoepers BV. B-side 'Unie Van Utrecht Eén Grote Poppenkast En Het Lied Van De Hoge Heren '
Ellie 	1982 	- 	 	 	B-side 'Vrienden'
De Leugenaar 	1985 	 	 	 	B-side 'Ze Ziet Me Niet'
Alles over jou 	1984 	- 	 	 	B-side 'Later Is Al Lang Begonnen'
Category:band
Category:Dutch musical groups
Category:Musical groups established in 1978
Category:Cabaret