EINDHOVEN – “Do not take life too seriously, you will not survive anyway.” This statement by Armand characterized his view of the world. The Eindhoven singer died Thursday at the age of 69. He will be especially remembered as a protest singer who scored a big hit in the hippie era with ‘Am I min. What made this song a timeless success? And who sings from Eindhoven in the emotionally charged love song?
‘Am I min is reportedly about Marijke, a girl from Roosendaal where Armand could not deal with. The class difference was too great, the parents of Marijke were rich so that their relationship had no chance. So it went in the sixties. Armand here was so frustrated that he decided to dedicate a song.
‘Am I less because your parents have more moolah than mine
Am I less because your dad in a bigger cart rides than mine ‘
“Mary did not notice boys of 15
The rumor is that singer Peter Koelewijn had a weakness for Marijke from Roosendaal, and those feelings resulted in his song “Mary” is also one heck of a hit. Koelewijn left Friday at Omroep Brabant know that there is nothing wrong with that story. “Armand was six years younger than me, a big difference in that time. Marijke and I cal ordered a year. I can not imagine that it fell on 15 boys.”
Choking straitjacket
The original text was’ Am I less’ ‘Am I a beast, but when Armands mother during a training session called up if he not something decent could write, Armand applied this text. Furthermore, the song was so much the Armands ‘food’ was ‘eaten’ and he sang ‘bugger but’ instead of ‘go away’. Statements that are really at the time not done were. Moreover, he broke with his in-laws and the suffocating straitjacket, things that for many young people in the hippie era were very recognizable.
Your mother that I had to listen to her stupid shit
About the Study your brother
And your father who was such a successful businessman
In other words, “what are you a farmer ‘
The controversial song appeared in 1966 as b- side of a single. Five months after the release date was “Am I min turned for the first time at Radio Veronica. The song hit and ended up in the top 40. In the end, it was fourteen weeks in the charts. Armand also performed at the opening for The Rolling Stones.
We turned the gray slide
Cor Geers, organizer of the festival Blomme Kinders in Roosendaal where Armand close was involved, had the single as a teenager in the house. “My brothers and I turned the picture completely gray. It was a protest song in which the difference in class between a girl of better descent and a simple boy was very sharp put down.”
According to Geers were the problems Armand in love field against bumped universal. “The priest, the doctor and the school principal were the notables of the time. They had respect, not the rest.”
“The people are just cattle
Historian Harry Knipschild quotes on his website in an interview that the music magazine Kink in 1967 with Armand. The interviewer asked the singer why it took so long for “Am I less” became a hit. “The rabble had to learn to listen to Dutch texts,” was his reply. “Now they are used to it and they buy my records. They trudge like cows behind each other. The people are just cattle.
The singer was a big fan of hallucinogenic drugs. Reason for record company Phonogram to put him on the side. Armand stopped making music, went to hard drugs and fell into a deep valley. Two years later he brought back music, but the success of ‘Am I min he equaled ever again.
Modified: Friday, November 20th, 2015 – 19:24
Author: Karin Kamp
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