Picture is one of the first Dutch
heavy metal bands. Formed in 1979,
they were especially popular in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy for their live performances, and still have a fan base in South America, Mexico and Japan.
Picture supported
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
,
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...
and
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
in the Netherlands. With Saxon, they did a full European tour in 1981. Later on they toured with
Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo are an Australian Pub rock (Australia), rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' R ...
in Germany and headlined tours in Italy and Israel.
Biography
Rinus Vreugdenhil and
Laurens Bakker originally got together in 1978 and started jamming with various musicians. It was not until 1979 that the classic lineup of Vreugdenhil, Bakker,
Jan Bechtum, and
Ronald van Prooijen came together.
Early on in Picture's career they were produced by Cat Music.
They worked with manager Henk van Antwerpen and were signed to
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...
. However, Picture felt their label were trying to steer them in a
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pop music, a musical genre
Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop! (British group), a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Album ...
direction and quit the label to sign with Backdoor Records, a subsidiary of
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens AG of Germany. It was a holding company f ...
.
The original line-up recorded their debut album, ''Picture 1'' and their second effort, ''Heavy Metal Ears'' in 1980 and 1981 respectively. To begin with, they gigged throughout the Netherlands and nearby Germany and built a following. In the meantime, they started composing their own music. Bechtum would usually come up with the riffs, then the other members would contribute their parts. After hashing and rehashing the songs, they became the titles that would appear on the first album, ''Picture I''.
As a bunch of young kids, they did not know much about the realities of recording. When the album came out, none of them liked the sound quality. As they grew in popularity, they returned to the studio to record ''Heavy Metal Ears'' and it was much of the same sound quality. It was not until they were a little older and wiser that they really got their sound in the studio with ''
Diamond Dreamer''. However, by this time, Ronald had left for personal reasons and they found
Israeli singer Shmoulik Avigal. Not only was the recording done much better, but Shmoulik had a different, and some say, more powerful voice. Many consider ''Diamond Dreamer'' as the band's best album.
After recording and touring with Shmoluik for the ''Diamond Dreamer'' album, he suggested they add a second guitarist to fatten their live sound and Chriz Van Jaarsveld was brought in. Though he was a technically proficient guitarist, he did not gel with Bechtum and things went downhill. Then Shmoulik got in a petty argument with their manager and was fired from the band. About this time, Bechtum had had enough and quit for personal reasons. To fill in the gaps, a new singer, Pete Lovell, was recruited along with a second guitarist, Henry van Manen. They went into the studio to record ''Eternal Dark''. This album was slicker than ''Diamond Dreamer'' and the two guitarists significantly altered the heavy sound of Jan Bechtum for a more technical groove that sort of worked, but started the trend for the final albums that veered away from the Picture sound. Around this time, Bakker could not take the rigors of touring or the stress of all their management troubles while supporting a wife and twins, so he left.
From that point on, the only remaining original member was Vreugdenhil. He continued for three more albums: ''Traitor'', ''Marathon'', and ''Every Story Needs Another Picture''. Many described them as going into hair metal, with commercial and anonymous songs. Vreugdenhil was particularly disgusted with ''Every Story Needs Another Picture'', as it was an album forced by the record contract, and it is rumored that the whole album was recorded by studio musicians with minimal participation from him.
Though Vreugdenhil continued long after the other original members had left, he was never able to steer the band back into a successful direction. He finally called it a day in 1987,
and got a "real" job. The original members tried a brief reunion in 1988.
In 2007, the classic lineup reunited for rehearsals. They still had that spark, and planned to cut a CD in 2008 and play some gigs around the Netherlands and Germany. Though Ronald van Prooijen helped out, singer Shmoulik Avigal was asked to participate as well as Pete Lovell, the singer on the ''Eternal Dark'' album.
After the smoke cleared in 2008, a permanent lineup was established with Bechtum, Vreugdenhil, Bakker, Rob vanEnkhuizen, and Lovell. They are currently playing throughout
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
to very enthusiastic crowds. A limited edition live album was recorded at various venues and was released by the band. Plans were to release another album in 2009 with new songs, two of which have appeared on the limited edition CD.
The album ''Old Dogs, New Tricks'' was released on 1 October 2009, on the MarsMountains label. It contains 12 songs of all new material, released 30 years from when the band first formed.
On 18 December 2009, Bechtum announced his departure from the band. He was replaced by Peter Bourbon. In early 2010, van Enkhuizen decided to leave Picture. His replacement is Gert Nijboer. In 2011, Nijboer was replaced by American Mike Ferguson.
The lineup solidified with the two new guitarists and they began working on their new album which was released in spring 2012. ''Warhorse'', written by all band members, brought Picture back into the limelight. They began touring again. Due to logistical problems, Peter Bourbon had to leave, but that spot was soon filled by another Dutch guitarist, Len Ruygrok. After a few months he decided to leave and former member Andre Wullems came back. The band continues to tour and solidify their reputation in the world of heavy rock and metal.
On 23 March 2016, Pete Lovell announced by Facebook his departure from the band to form his new band Lovell's Blade. Also, Andre Wullems and Mike Ferguson will join the new band. But all the so-far-planned gigs of Picture in 2016 were to be respected and performed by Pete, Andre, Rinus, Laurens and Mike. Nearly a day later, Rinus and Laurens announced that Picture would continue with the original members of the first line-up ever.
With
Jan Bechtum and
Ronald van Prooijen they start a classic line-up tour in 2017 and will celebrate the 40th year in existence in 2018! Guitarist Appie de Gelder is added as second guitarist to the line-up to make a richer live sound. They played the
Sweden Rock Festival
Sweden Rock Festival is a rock festival outside the town of Sölvesborg in Blekinge in southern Sweden. The festival offers the best possible mix of classic rock, hard rock, metal, blues and related genres.
The first version of the festival, k ...
in 2017 for the second time since 2008. The 40th year in existence is celebrated with a live CD, ''40 years Heavy Metal Ears''.
In 2019, a new studio album ''Wings'' is released worldwide through Pure Steel Records. It contains ten new songs and is the tenth studio album of the band.
In February 2020 has been announced that a new singer, the Italian Phoenix Reborn took Ronald's place.
In 2020, the Corona pandemic limits the future of the band. Shows that will hopefully be done end of 2021 will be done by vocalist and old friend of the band Peter Strykes.
After a considerable period as a substitute guitarist, it appears during the corona pandemic that Jan Bechtum's hand is causing too many problems, even after surgery. Jan Bechtum has to resign from the band but stays musically active, writing new songs and recording at home.
This marks the official return of Len Ruygrok as a band member. April 9, 2021 Len Ruygrok will play his first gig at Blast From the Past @ Kuurne (BE) as an official band member.
The new line-up is strong and that will not go unnoticed. The powerful vocals of Peter Strykes and the new (old school) sound of Len Ruygrok ensure that the band is touring again. In the period 2021 - 2023, the band will visit European countries such as Greece, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Poland and 2023 will also end with a 14-day tour through the cities of Sau Paulo, Limeira, Curitiba and Londrina in Brazil.
Members

Current
* Peter Strykes – vocals
*
Len Ruygrok – guitars
* Rinus Vreugdenhil – bass
*
Laurens Bakker – drums
* Appie de Gelder – guitars
Former
*
Jan Bechtum - guitars
*Rob van Enkhuizen – guitars
*Andre Wullems – guitars
*
Ronald van Prooijen – vocals
*Shmoulik Avigal – vocals (died)
*Bert Heerink – vocals
*Michel Zandbergen
*Pete Lovell – vocals
*Phoenix Reborn – vocals
*Chriz Van Jaarsveld – guitars
*Henry van Manen – guitars
*Harry Bruintjes – guitars
*Peter Bourbon – guitars
*Gert Nijboer – guitars
*Ronald de Grauw – keyboards
*Jos Adema - bass
*Mark Maas - drums
*Jacques van Oevelen – drums (died)
*Mike Ferguson – guitars
*Arie van der Graaf – guitars
Timeline
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Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar
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id:Keyboard value:purple legend:Keyboard
id:Lines1 value:black legend:Studio_album
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bar:Phoenix text:Phoenix Reborn
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bar:Jan text:Jan Bechtum
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bar:Henry text:Henry van Manen
bar:Rob text:Rob van Enkhuizen
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bar:Jaques from:09/14/1983 till:11/25/1987 color:Drums
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bar:Ronald from:01/01/1979 till:10/25/1981 color:Vocals
bar:Shmoulik from:11/23/1981 till:08/25/1982 color:Vocals
bar:Pete from:08/25/1982 till:02/19/1985 color:Vocals
bar:Bert from:03/03/1985 till:11/25/1987 color:Vocals
bar:Grauw from:02/20/1986 till:11/25/1987 color:Keyboard
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bar:Laurens from:12/25/1987 till:10/27/1988 color:Drums
bar:Ronald from:12/25/1987 till:10/27/1988 color:Vocals
bar:Jan from:01/01/1996 till:12/16/1999 color:Guitar
bar:Jos from:01/01/1996 till:12/16/1999 color:Bass
bar:Mark from:01/01/1996 till:12/16/1999 color:Drums
bar:Michel from:01/01/1997 till:12/16/1999 color:Vocals
bar:Rinus from:01/01/2007 till:end color:Bass
bar:Laurens from:01/01/2007 till:end color:Drums
bar:Pete from:01/01/2007 till:01/04/2016 color:Vocals
bar:Jan from:01/01/2007 till:06/11/2009 color:Guitar
bar:Rob from:01/01/2007 till:07/11/2010 color:Guitar
bar:Peter from:06/11/2009 till:04/11/2012 color:Guitar
bar:Gert from:07/11/2010 till:02/11/2011 color:Guitar
bar:Mike from:02/11/2011 till:01/04/2016 color:Guitar
bar:Len from:04/11/2012 till:05/09/2013 color:Guitar
bar:Len from:04/09/2021 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Andre from:05/11/2013 till:01/04/2016 color:Guitar
bar:Jan from:01/04/2016 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Appie from:01/06/2016 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Len from:01/04/2016 till:01/06/2016 color:Guitar
bar:Ronald from:01/04/2016 till:01/02/2020 color:Vocals
bar:Phoenix from:02/02/2020 till:05/10/2021 color:Vocals
bar:PeterS from:05/12/2021 till:end color:Vocals
Discography
Albums
*''Picture 1'' (1980)
*''Heavy Metal Ears'' (1981)
*''Diamond Dreamer'' (1982)
*''Eternal Dark'' (1983)
*''Traitor'' (1985)
*''Every Story Needs Another Picture'' (1986)
*''Marathon'' (1987)
*''Live 2008'' (2008)
*''Old Dogs, New Tricks'' (2009)
*''Warhorse'' (2012)
*''Live – 40 Years Heavy Metal Ears 1978–2018'' (2018)
*''Wings'' (2019)
*''Live in Sao Paulo'' (2021)
Other
*80 Demo'' (demo, 1980)
*''Eternal Dark/Into the Underworld'' (single, 1983)
*''Limited Edition EP'' (EP, 1985)
*''Fantasies/Traitor'' (single, 1985)
*"We Just Can't Lose" (single, 1987)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Picture
Musical groups established in 1979
Dutch heavy metal musical groups
1979 establishments in the Netherlands
Musical groups disestablished in 1987
Musical groups reestablished in 1996
Musical groups disestablished in 1999
Musical groups reestablished in 2007