Di-rect
| Di-Rect | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | The Hague, Netherlands |
| Genres | Rock, pop rock, alternative rock, pop punk |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Website | www.di-rect.nl |
| Members | Marcel Veenendaal (lead vocals) Frans "Spike" van Zoest (guitar and vocals) Jamie Westland (drums) Bas van Wageningen (bass) |
| Past members | Tim Akkerman (vocals and guitar) Vince van Reeken (keyboards) |
Di-rect is a rock band from The Hague, The Netherlands, which was formed in 1999. The current line-up consists of Jamie Westland (drums), Frans "Spike" van Zoest (guitars), Bas van Wageningen (bass) and Marcel Veenendaal (lead vocals).
Di-rect began in October 1999 when 15-year-old Jamie Westland asked his father Dick to help him set up a band. Three other teenagers joined him, the oldest 19 with Tim Akkerman as a frontman. Within a few months Di-rect had completed a five track demo which included the song "Just the Way I Do". 3FM radio DJ Rob Stenders saw them play live and was impressed by them. He played a song from their demo on national radio, and this generated considerable interest by record companies. Two months later Di-rect signed with Dino Music/EMI.
In 2001 they released a single of "Just the Way I Do" followed by their debut album Discover. The album reached the top 100, with three further singles "My Generation" (a The Who cover), "Inside my Head" and "Free" charting in the Dutch top 40.
In February 2002 the band received a Hitkrant award for Best Dutch Rock Act and in April they were nominated for four TMF awards. They were also invited to appear at the Pinkpop and Parkpop festivals, where they played to audiences of 60,000 and more than 400,000 respectively.
In January 2003 their debut album Discover turned gold, and a few weeks later the band got an Edison award for best single 2002 ("Inside My Head"). In April 2003, before the release of their second album Over the Moon, Di-rect released 2 singles: "Adrenaline" and "She". "Adrenaline" became a top 10 hit in the Netherlands and "She" reached 2nd place in the charts. Just before the release of Over the moon, Di-rect received 2 TMF awards, for Best Rock Act and Best Video (for "Adrenaline"). The album went gold in the Netherlands. In the summer of 2003 the band gained an advertising deal with Pepsi and later that year they released a single called "Name of the Game" in cooperation with Pepsi. Their photo appeared on 8,000,000 Pepsi bottles. Two further singles from their second album also reached the top 40; "Rollercoaster" and "Don't Kill me Tonight". In April 2004 they received another TMF award for best video clip for "Rollercoaster".
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