She came, saw, conquered Texel

soundcheck with choir

On a cold (but luckily dry!) evening in March, Kayak played at the 'Groeneplaats' in the main village of the island of Texel: Den Burg. It was the first big performance of 'Cleopatra'. On lead vocals: Marjolein Teepen, Rolf Koster, Alexander van Breemen and Martin van der Starre (and Rob Vunderink...). A local choir and a couple of dancer completed the scene.

 

 

Below are some pictures that I stole from my mate Bob Dijksen. See more great photos on his Facebook-site!

SETLIST: The Living Isis, Alexandria, She Rules My World, Goodbye Pharos, Stranger In Rome, Hail!, She Came She Saw She Conquered, The Ides Of March, Philae, Tarsus, Whatever It Takes, The Crown Of Isis, The Inimitable Livers, Queen Of Kings, Actium, Larger Than Life, That Sacred Kiss, Alexandria Reprise

Marjolein Teepen

COLD!!!

Rolf Koster (right)

Alexander van Breemen

Martin van der Starre

Texel preparations

On friday 26 march, Ton Scherpenzeel (and drummer Sjoerd Rutten) were part of the 'opening festivities' on the isle of Texel, where they celebrated '600 years of city law'. Ton and Sjoerd (plus ensemble) performed a couple of songs from "The Lion's Dream" and they did a song together with a local choir.

And the next day was the day of the first big performance of "Cleopatra"...

After all these years: Kayak on Texel again....

In the 1970's, Kayak were regular guests on the Dutch isle of Texel, where they played at the Sarasani. Their first show there was on the 7th of july, 1973. Almost 42 years later, on 27 march 2015, Kayak will play on Texel again. In the centre of Den Burg, about 2 minutes from the Sarasani, Kayak and guests will perform excerpts from Cleopatra.

The 'guests' are Marjolein Teepen (of Nostradamus-fame), Martin van der Starre, Rolf Koster, Alexander van Breemen and a local 50-piece pop choir.

Ton rehearsing with the choir. Photo: Mediabureau Langeveld & De Rooy / Texelse Courant

One day before the Kayak show, Ton Scherpenzeel will play a special performance with medieval music, including material from his solo album The Lion's Dream.

Another new Kayak compilation CD

At the end of march 2015, Universal will release a double CD that focuses on Kayak's singles and b-sides. The title of the album is "A&B Sides And More". It is released in a series called "Golden Years Of Dutch Pop Music." The album also features Max Werner's biggest solo hit "Rain In May".

CD1
Lyrics, Try To Write A Book, Mammoth, Ballet Of The Cripple, See See The Sun, Give It A name, Wintertime, Alibi, We Are Not Amused, Serenades, Chance For A Lifetime, My Heart Never Changed, Still My Heart Cries For You, Raid Your Own House, Do You Care, Nothingness, Starlight Dancer, Irene, Want You To Be Mine, Golddust, Ruthless Queen, Ivory Dance

CD2
Phantom Of The Night, Ballad For A Lost Friend, Keep The Change, Winning Ways, Lost Blue Of Chartres, Theme From Spetters part 2, Anne, The Sight, Periscope Life, Astral Aliens, Total Loss, What's Done Is Done, Seagull, The Sword In The Stone, The King's Enchanter, Tintagel, Who's Fooling Who, Rain In May (Max Werner), In The Winter (Max Werner), Merlin

It looks like a rather complete collection of Kayak singles. Even "Keep The Change" is included, and I always assumed that that single was withdrawn. It is good to see "What's Done Is Done" released on CD again. It is certainly not my favourite Kayak track, but until now it was only available on the long deleted original CD of Periscope Life.

I only wonder why 'Merlin' is on this album???