Ben Essing (22 April 1934 – 15 February 1994) was a Dutch

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

from

Blokker, Netherlands Blokker is a village in the northwest Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West Friesland. History and geography Blokker consists of two parts: Westerblokker in the municipality of Hoorn, and Oosterblokker in Drechterla ...

. The son of the town's mayor, he was instrumental in getting a number of international acts to play in the local auction hall where ordinarily produce was sold, most notably

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, who played two shows there during their 1964 world tour, their only concerts in the Netherlands.

Biography

Essing was born in Dirkshorn, a small village near

Schagen Schagen () is a city and municipality in the northwestern Netherlands. It is located between Alkmaar and Den Helder, in the region of West Friesland (region), West Friesland and the province of North Holland. It received City rights in the Nethe ...

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

. His father was a ''gemeentesecretaris'', formerly the head of a municipality's civil servants, and later became mayor of Blokker. In 1956, he was a law student and the president of the local Catholic youth club; to raise money for the club he got the

Dutch Swing College Band The Dutch Swing College Band (DSCB) is a traditional dixieland band founded on 5 May 1945 by bandleader and clarinettist/ saxophonist Peter Schilperoort. Highly successful in their native home of the Netherlands, the band quickly found an in ...

, at the time the best-known Dixieland band in the country, to play in ''Op Hoop van Zegen'', Blokker's auction hall—his father was the president of the auction. In years following, other major acts to play there included

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

Victor Silvester Victor Marlborough Silvester OBE (25 February 190014 August 1978) was an English dancer, writer, musician and bandleader from the British dance band era. He was a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first half ...

, and

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, in 1959, was perhaps the biggest international artist Essing got to play in Blokker until The Beatles, as a fundraiser for the youth club's club house. Essing, only 25 at the time, raised money from local farmers to pay Armstrong, who canceled two shows elsewhere to come to Blokker and was apparently quite touched by the idea. He commented afterward, "They didn't seem to know my music, but they were terribly grateful that I came. Man, I hope those kids get their clubhouse". Armstrong and his orchestra played for four hours but were asked to stop: it was getting late and the town did not have accommodations for the ten thousand people who had come from all over the Netherlands and Belgium. His biggest coup was, undoubtedly, engaging The Beatles for two shows on 6 June 1964. As part of their 1964 world tour, which supported the release of '' A Hard Day's Night'', they spent three days in the Netherlands, a stay that included a (playback) concert for television and a boat tour of the Amsterdam canals. For this leg of the world tour

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

, who had collapsed during a photo shoot, had been replaced by

Jimmie Nicol James George Nicol (born 3 August 1939) is an English drummer and business entrepreneur. He is best known for sitting in for Ringo Starr in the Beatles for eight concerts of the Beatles' 1964 world tour during the height of Beatlemania. Elev ...

. Essing paid 40,000 guilders for the band to play two shows, of 24 minutes and 8 songs each. The event continues to live on in the local imagination: a Beatles in Blokker monument was raised in 1999, and in 2014 the fiftieth anniversary was celebrated with an exhibition. After The Beatles, Essing founded a booking agency for dance orchestras in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

, and had a brief and disappointing career in real estate. He returned to booking shows and organizing events, including a number of very successful fundraisers for Dutch television. After being implicated in supposed irregularities with the proceeds from such an event in 1974, he left the Netherlands for Belgium, returning for another event in 1989. When he died in Alkmaar in 1994, he had been mostly forgotten.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essing, Ben 1935 births 1994 deaths Impresarios People from Harenkarspel People from Hoorn