Dingeman Adriaan Henry van der Sluijs (; 28 December 1947 – 18 September 2024), better known by his stage name Dick Diamonde, was an Australian bass guitarist. He was a founding mainstay member of

the Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band which formed in Sydney in late 1964. They are best known for their 1966 hit single "Friday on My Mind", which is regarded as the first Australian rock song to achieve international success ...

. Diamonde, with the group, was inducted into the

ARIA Hall of Fame Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has inducted artists into its annual ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone ceremo ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Early years

Dingeman Adriaan Henry van der Sluijs was born in 1947 in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

, Netherlands. His father is Harry van der Sluijs (also seen as Vandersluys) and he has a younger sister. Diamonde emigrated with his family from the Netherlands to Australia when he was four years old. Diamonde was raised in a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

family, living in the suburb of Villawood near the migrant hostel of that name.

The Easybeats

Widely regarded as Australia's greatest pop group of the mid-1960s,

The Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band which formed in Sydney in late 1964. They are best known for their 1966 hit single "Friday on My Mind", which is regarded as the first Australian rock song to achieve international success ...

had their beginnings in Sydney's Villawood Migrant Hostel. All of the five founding members were migrants to Australia from Europe. In mid-1964 the group was formed by van der Sluys (renamed as Dick Diamonde) on bass guitar. He was joined by fellow Dutchman Johannes van den Berg (known as

Harry Vanda Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as Harry Vanda, is a Dutch-Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Easybeats who wi ...

) on lead guitar and vocals, George Young from Scotland on guitar and vocals, and two Englishmen: lead singer Stevie Wright (Yorkshire) and drummer Snowy Fleet (Liverpool). By October 1969, the Easybeats had disbanded and according to Young, Diamonde was "having a ball just being Dick." In that same month his mother reflected, "He has given up the faith ... We never encouraged him to follow this life. As Jehovah's Witnesses, we do not believe in creature worship ... It is not right the children idolize him." In September 1986, Diamonde participated in a reunion of the Easybeats for a series of concerts touring Australian capitals in the following two months. According to

Stuart Coupe Stuart Coupe is an Australian music journalist, author, band manager, promoter, publicist and music label founder. A renowned rock music writer, Coupe is best known for his work with Roadrunner (Australian music magazine), ''Roadrunner'', ''Rock ...

of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'' Diamonde had been "playing with a series of small-time bands up the north-east coast." The group was inducted into the

Death

Diamonde died on 18 September 2024, at the age of 76.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Easy'' (1965) * '' It's 2 Easy'' (1966) * ''

Volume 3 Volume Three, Volume 3 or Volume III may refer to: Music Albums * Volume 3 (She & Him album), ''Volume 3'' (She & Him album), 2013 * ''Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter'', a 1999 album by Jay-Z * ''Volume 3: A Child's Guide to Good and Evil'', ...

'' (1966) * ''

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

'' / ''Friday on My Mind'' (1967) * ''

Vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

'' / ''Falling Off the Edge of the World'' (1969) * ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' (1970)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamonde, Dick 1947 births 2024 deaths Australian bass guitarists Australian rock bass guitarists Australian male bass guitarists Dutch emigrants to Australia Entertainers from Hilversum Former Jehovah's Witnesses The Easybeats members