Group 1850 - Agemo's Trip To Mother Earth (1968 holland, astonishing psychedelic rock with experimental mood)

 Group 1850 was formed in The Hague, in November 1964, by Peter Sjardin. He was, in turn, discovered by Hugo Gordijn when he was playing with a band called The Klits in the basement of a bowling alley in Scheveningen. Says Gordijn: "The Klits played funny and different kind of music, very good in a comical sort of way."

When The Klits decided to work with Hugo as their manager, the band's name was changed to Groep 1850. Their first gig in March 1966 at the Scheveningen Casino impressed the crowd, the band's name immediately became known on the underground scene. Sjardin copies members of bands such as The Move and The Who by mutilating his keyboard on stage. Their music of that period is best described as avant-garde rock with psychedelic influences, and a comparison with The Mothers of Invention would definitely be in order.

Paul Acket released the first single on his Yep label, entitled, "Misty Night"; it sounded not unlike Q65 and the Pretty Things.  Radio Caroline gave the song lots of airplay, hence the band garnered even more attention in Holland. As a result, Hans van Hemert offered the band a contract. At the end of 1967, "Mother No-Head" was released; it became a hit song. A little detail: Van Hemert did the vocal part on this one!

This success landed the band their first tour of Germany. Sjardin remained the only member of the band to stay until the breakup in 1975. At a certain moment, something happened that caused the collapse of the band. Jaques Senf, Freddie Haayen, Beer Klaasse, Ruud van Buuren and Dean van Bergen were invited to join other bands. Beer went on to Q65 and Ruud joined Long Tall Ernie and the Shakers.  Martin van Duynhoven (drums) Dave Duba (guitar), Dolf Geldof (bass) joined Groep 1850 in their stead, while Dean van Bergen came back.

Group 1850 emerged from the renowned Dutch group Klits (short for 'clitoris') from The Hague. The line-up in 1965 consisted of: Peter Sjardin (vocals), Trevor Dirksen (guitar), Caspar Kiebert (drums), Chris Zieck (bass) & Jacques de Jong (guitar). On 1st January, 1966, the group renamed itself into Groep 1850. Their progressive music immediately revealed that the group was far ahead of its time!

In 1966, the line-up changed to: Peter Sjardin (vocals, flute, organ), Ruud van Buuren (bass, in 1969 to Livin' Blues), Daniel van Bergen (guitar & piano), Beer Klaasse (drums, ex-Kick & Defenders; in 1969 to Q65) & Rob de Rijke (bass, flute; ex-Subterraneans). In September 1967 they played at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, opening for the Mothers of Invention. The LP "Agemo's Trip To Mother Earth" was the first Dutch concept LP featuring works of poet Hans Wesseling (1968).

In 1968, the group disbanded for almost a year and then chose Amsterdam as the home base for their reunion. The new line-up consisted of: Peter and Daniel (who'd played with the Boots in the meantime) and some new members: Dave Duba (g, ex-Burning Sun), Dolf Geldof (bass, ex-Burning Sun) and jazz drummer Martin van Duynhoven (a.o. ex-Hans Dulfer). From 1971 onwards, Groep 1850 worked on and off.

In 1974 Groep 1850 disbanded once again, after working on the "Orange Upstairs" project. Two years later, a live LP was released by the ever-active Peter, with cooperation of Hessel de Vries, Neppy Noya, Arthur Ebeling (guitar) & Paul van Wageningen (drums).

After a call for autographs through the "Basta" magazine in 1979, the LP "Paradise Now" (earlier released by V&D) was re-released.  Soon thereafter, Peter formed a new group: S.T.S. (Sjardin's Terrible Surprise). Line-up: Ella Elbersen (v, to Herman Brood), Robbie Smit (v, to Herman Brood), Axel Westerduin (b, ex-Stock, replaced in 1980 Kees van Vooren, who went to Just Like Eddie), Mike Willis (g, ex-Eyes, replaced in 1980 Wouter Planteijdt, ex-Door Mekaar, to Herman Brood) and Wilfred Versnellens (dr). In 1981, the group name was changed into S.I.X. (Sjardin's Invisible X-factor). In 1982 an LP by Sjardin's Terrible Surprise was "posthumously" released.

by Adri Verhoef

Tracks
1. Steel Sings - 3:02
2. Little Fly - 4:17
3. I Put My Hands On Your Shoulder - 13:36
4. You Did It Too Hard - 2:10
5. A Point In This Life - 5:03
6. Refound - 3:02
7. Reborn - 3:11
8. I Know (La Pensée) - 3:12
9. I Want More (Fingertips) (P. Sjardin) - 2:04
10. Mother No-Head (H.V. Hemert, P. Sjardin) - 3:25
11. Ever Ever Green (P. Sjardin, H.V. Hemert) - 3:17
12. Zero - 3:29
13. Frozen Mind - 3:40
14. We Love Life - 4:29
15. Mother No-Head (French Version) (H.V. Hemert, P. Sjardin) - 3:25
16. Mother No-Head (Instrumental) (H.V. Hemert, P. Sjardin) - 3:25
All songs by Daniel van Bergen and Peter Sjardin unless as else written.

Group 1850
*Peter Sjardin - Flute, Organ, Vocals
*Daniel van Bergen - Guitar, Piano
*Ruud van Buuren - Bass
*Beer Klaasse - Drums

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