Ro-D-Ys

Even relative to some other mid- to late-'60s Dutch groups (like the Outsiders, Les Baroques, and Q 65), the Ro-d-y-s [sic] have a fairly low profile beyond their native Holland, even to collectors of 1960s Continental European rock. But the group did release quite a few records on the large Philips label between 1966 and 1969, including nine singles and two LPs. Stylistically, they favored, like many Dutch groups, a very British-influenced sound with a slightly raw and sardonic edge, though with less distinction than the groups mentioned earlier. At various points, their songs (all written by lead singer and guitarist Harry Rijnbergen) incorporated prominent streaks of mod rock, soul, and late-'60s British pop-psychedelia, the lyrics often informed by archly phrased anti-establishment youth viewpoints. Some idiosyncratic Continental influence also seeps in with some of the unusual choices of instrumentation within rock arrangements, including xylophones, whistles, bicycle bells, bagpipes, and accordions. When the Ro-d-y-s broke up at the end of the 1960s, some of the members, including Rijnbergen, were in another Dutch band, Zen.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo