Beef (band)
Beef is a Dutch band, formed out of an underground radio show called "The Chop Shop" in 1999. While generally classified as reggae, their music combines many different styles. History. Their early recordings, released only on cassettes (the 1.1Gr.Fm Sessions), have become collector items. The same holds for the 10 inch EP release "Babylon By Beef" (Drunken Maria, 1999). After the first full studio album, entitles "Flexodus" (Partners in Crime, 1999), record company PIAS picked up on the buzz, signed the band and had them record their self-titled second album in England. Under productional leadership of  singer Bitty McLean, "Beef!" was created. "Late Night Sessions", the first single from the album, reached out to an even bigger audience when airplay on radio and television took off. 2002 was the first year that the band was invited to the Nuit Tipique festival in Burkina Faso. Later, in 2005, they were voted "the most popular foreign band to attend the festival in the last 10 years" by the festival visitors. In the same year, the band also won the prestigious "Zilveren Harp" (Silver Harp) for their contribution to Dutch pop culture. Michel Schoots (Urban Dance Squad) was responsible  for the production of their third album "Last Rudy Standing" (PIAS, 2005). He took the band into the ICP studios in Brussels and on a different musical path. This resulted in an album with singles like "Cashing the Money" and "Last Rudy Standing". The latter was used by Amnesty International in their Control Arms campaign, in which the band took up the role as ambassador. 2007 started with the recording of a new studio album and a release of their live album "Last Rudies Live – The Singles" (the first release on their own label "Beef Foundation"). April 2008 saw the  release of the album; "The Original", an album where they had a lot more freedom and on which they expressed their own style more than ever before, as Pieter Both said on the popular Dutch TV show "De Wereld Draait Door". "The Original" featured a popular remake of Krezip's "I Would Stay" featuring their lead singer Jacqueline Govaert. Beef’s album, "Favorites" was released on 20 April 2009. To close a period of 10 years of performing, the band members selected their favorite songs and added two recordings that were previously unreleased on CD, to the track list. ("When  Doves Cry" and "She Loves Me"). After a break of 3 years Beef did a small club tour at the end of 2012.