Batmobile (band)
| Batmobile | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Netherlands |
| Genres | Psychobilly, rockabilly |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Labels | Count Orlok |
| Associated acts | The Gecko Brothers Cactus Cowboy Triple Dynamite |
| Website | batmobileforever |
| Members | Jeroen Haamers Eric Haamers Johnny Zuidhof |
Batmobile is a Dutch psychobilly band from Rotterdam and Breda, formed in 1983. They were the first band not from the United Kingdom to perform at the influential psychobilly club, Klub Foot and are considered the seminal Dutch psychobilly band.
Batmobile was formed as a hobby in 1983. The band continues today with the founding lineup of Jereon Haamers on vocals and guitar, Eric Haamers on bass, and Johnny Zuidhof on drums. The band played only covers of early rockabilly and rock and roll by Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Chuck Berry, and Johnny Burnette. The band is named after the Batmobile, the car driven by Batman. The name was suggested by Zuidhof who presented the idea for the name during band practice. The band began playing various gigs at bars and one time, while playing a bar in a rural area, the band received a bad response from farmers who were at the bar. The band began playing covers extra fast, in a punk rock style to get everyone's attention. Bar staff and some patrons enjoyed the music and the band started playing psychobilly shows. Their debut self-titled EP was released in 1985 on Rockhouse/Kix4U.
The band's first major gig outside of the Netherlands was at Klub Foot in London in 1986. They were the first band not from the United Kingdom to play at the club. They played with Demented Are Go and Torment. That same year, Zuidhof and the band's sound engineer, Eddie, created Count Orlok records after a lawsuit with their then current label, Rockhouse/Kix4U. That label failed to pay the band royalties and Batmobile ended up suing the label. They won in court and their contract ended, hence the founding of Court Orlok. Count Orlok released the band's first full-length album, Bambooland in 1987. The band toured Switzerland, West Germany, England and Austria.
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