About Q65

Q65 was a Dutch rockband formed in The Hague in early 1965. Before Q65, Peter Vink (bass) and Jay Baar (drums) played in another blues band called Leadbelly's Limited. In The Hague there were many Indonesian Dutch bands that played instrumental numbers in the 1950s. Their mysterious sound also influenced Q65. In the middle of 1965, they had some live gigs and were called the "Dutch Pretty Things" because of their Ugly sound. But Peter Vink said, "We were influenced by R&B, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding... not Pretty Things". They released their first single You're the Victor in February of 1966. It was frantic R&B punk with strange vocals and a harp. It was #11 on the charts and stayed there for 13 weeks. Their second single was The Life I Live where they established their sound. Then they were asked to play at clubs in London but were unable to get work permits; therefore, they only appeared at press and photo sessions. At the Scheveningen shore when they got back home,30,000 fans were waiting for them. 'Kjoe' had to run away to escape the enthusiastic fans. They had a gig at the pier which went well and garnered them a top 10 hit. In 1966 they released their first album Revolution (they chose the title because they felt it was a "revolutionary" album for them) which also included a fourteen minute version of Sonny Boy Williamson's Bring it home along with other Blues and R&B covers. The album also had the killer original tunes, I Got Nightmares and Sour Wine. This fab R&B punk album sold 35,000 copies. They joined The Small Faces, Spencer Davis Group, The Kinks, and The Pretty Things in Holland. In 1967 they released Kjoe Blues EP, including 3 blues covers and a original 80%O (it was an acid instrumental song about 80% Opium). They were into soft drag and their sound changed. Their lyrics had mysterious double meanings. In 1968 Wim was drafted into the Army which marked the end of Q65.