Het Vrije Volk - 10/5/1983

First single for Spot the Loony

"singer John Roos, who, according to stories, is not entirely accountable during performances"

From our reporter HARRY MULDER 

ROTTERDAM - The Rotterdam band Spot the Loony recently interrupted their performance in Naaldwijk to bring out champagne and cake. It was the 100th performance of the successful seven-man formation within one year. The band from Rotterdam-Zuid is very popular in the so-called alternative circuit and tours the youth centers and welfare organizations in the Rotterdam region. Due to the cutbacks, these institutions no longer have the money to contract relatively expensive bands (a disco is cheaper). Pop groups complain bitterly because they are "not offered any performances." Spot the Loony has not been bothered by this in the past year. Two or three performances a week is no exception for them. "What we have to think about this is not entirely clear to us," says singer John Roos, who, according to stories, is not entirely accountable during performances. And that always spills over to the audience, which is why we own the place nine out of ten times.

        With his arm leaning on the traffic column, John de Roos lets himself be photographed with the other Loony members and Tjeerd van Zanen (producer)

In January of this year Spot the Loony was the guest of the “VARA's popkrant" (radio programme promoting Dutch talent). In addition to extra performances, the radio broadcast (Playing What A Fool, Mental Masochism and Don't let them do it to you) also resulted in contacts with record companies. One of those contacts led the Loony to go into the studio to record their first single "What a fool", "The band is more than a hobby for everyone," explains John Roos. "We are completely obsessed with it. In our youth we didn't play football but played with our instruments. We are all old friends who built Spot the Loony brick by brick. " The band has handled things well since its inception a year and a half ago. They have not invested in tons of sound equipment but built them up bit by bit. The band is housed in a foundation for business reasons.

Humo Swing

“Humo-swing” is how the band members describe the style of their music. They just try to play as many music styles as possible and don't want to be pigeonholed. "Every performance is a party for us and for the audience" says John Roos. "At the end of the performance the whole hall is swinging and we actually play for it. We have not earned a dime from all those performances. All the money is put back into the band. Even all our time disappears in the band, Yes, if you are after the white picket fence dream; you should not play in a pop group. ” There are about thirteen people per performance Including roadies, technicians and drivers. A large band requires a lot of organizational skills. Meetings are therefore just as normal as rehearsals. Rehearsing takes place in the Spot the Loony café on the Beijerlandselaan. The Loony is probably the only group in the Netherlands to which a café is named.

Dogs

The Loonys write all the songs themselves, singer John de Roos usually provides the lyrics. "Those lyrics are just as easily about drooling dogs as they are about romantic relationships. I am a taxi driver and then you experience a few things." A mediocre band Is usually good for the bar turnover of a venue owner. When boredom strikes, people quickly go for a beer during a performance. During Spot the Loony performances, less than usual is donated. The audience continues to listen to the music with fascination and looks out for the strange antics of John Roos, „But afterwards we usually drown our wages, so that the venue owner has nothing to complain about. We like a nice beer, After all, it should all remain fun

The orginal Volkskrant 1983 newspaper clipping (in Dutch)

The press annoucement of the first single - What A Fool (in Dutch)