De Spelbrekers (''The Spoilsports'') were a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

singing duo, consisting of Theo Rekkers (24 April 1924 – 20 April 2012) and Huug Kok (19 February 1918 – 27 October 2011). They were known for their participation in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1962 The Eurovision Song Contest 1962 was the 7th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, following the country's victory at the with the song "Nous les amoureux" by Jean-Claude Pascal. The contes ...

, representing the Netherlands.

Career

1940s and 1950s

Rekkers and Kok met during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

at a munitions factory in Bremen,

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, where they were working as forced labourers. They formed De Spelbrekers in 1945, after the war had ended.Musiek Centrum Nederland biography (Dutch)
/ref> Their recording career began in 1950, and they released numerous singles during the decade, the most successful being "Oh wat ben je mooi" which reached #5 in the Dutch charts in 1956.

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1962, De Spelbrekers took part in the Dutch national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, and won with the song " Katinka". They went on to participate in the

, held in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...

on 18 March. In a field of 16 contestants, "Katinka" was one of four songs (the others being the entries from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

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) which failed to score. This was the first year in which any songs had failed to register at all on the Eurovision scoreboard. Nevertheless, "Katinka" proved a success within the Netherlands, and has gone on to become one of the country's better-remembered and recognised Eurovision entries.Dingadong.nl

Later career

The duo never managed to recapture the success of "Oh wat ben je mooi" and "Katinka", and after years of releasing further singles to ever-declining interest, they decided in the mid 1970s to move into music management, their clients including

André van Duin André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variat ...

, Ben Cramer and

Saskia & Serge Saskia & Serge are a Dutch vocal duo consisting of singer Trudy van den Berg (born 23 April 1947, Grootebroek) and singer-guitarist Ruud Schaap (born 22 March 1946, Den Helder). They are known for their participation in the 1971 Eurovision S ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spelbrekers, De Dutch musical groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1962