Huysdens, Okkie (5th November 1947-6th September 2014)

Arranger, engineer, keyboardist, producer and singer-songwriter born Johannes Josephus Huysdens in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, who started out with the Rockin’ Jesters and the Spitfires before joining The Megas in 1965. He later joined Fab and Flashback and then Himalaya, which was the precursor to Heart (not to be confused with the American band of the same name). In 1975, several ex-Heart members, including Okkie, started up Limousine. They released a self-titled album in 1976, on which Okkie multi-tasked on bass, clavinet, synthesizers, and vocals. Shortly thereafter, he boarded Rainbow Train, and they did a ton of studio work for artists such as Peter Hollestelle and Anita Meyer, as well as releasing the 7” single, “Heaven on Earth”/”Here’s to the Business”.

In 1977, he engineered the Invaders Steelband long-play record, Gimme Dat. He sang background vocals and played keyboard on Frank Vandenkloot’s 1978 album, Heavy Days Are Here Again. In 1979, he contributed background vocals to Gerritsen en Van Dijk’s eponymous LP. Then he produced “De Motocross is O.H.I.O. (Onmundig Heavig in Orde)” which was a #28 hit in The Netherlands for a group called Normaal. In 1981, he produced their album, Springleavend, and sang the Paul McCartney parts on Stars On/Starsound’s famous Beatles medley, which went to #1 in The Netherlands and the States and #2 in the United Kingdom.

He and Pim Koopman began recording under the moniker of The President in 1983. Again, their inaugural LP, By Appointment of the President, found Okkie wearing several hats, as arranger, producer, singer-songwriter, and synthesizer and Wurlitzer piano player. One of the songs from the album, “You’re Gonna Like It”, barely stopped short of the top 40 in Holland. In 1985, he engineered and sang background vocals on Falco 3, which contained the hit, “Rock Me Amadeus”, and arranged and produced The President’s follow-up, Muscles. He was on both sides of the sound booth in 1986, engineering Man’s Ruin for Centerfold and performing on a couple of tracks on Amii Stewart’s solo debut, Amii. In 1988, he engineered Falco’s “Do It Again Remix/Wiener Blut Remix 12”, Samantha Fox’s “Love House (Sulphuric Mix)” and Suzi Quatro’s We Found Love.

In the early ‘90s, he produced a pair of 1^st Avenue albums, Daily Battle and Tears of Triumph. He also produced “She” for Pieter Boyle and sang background vocals on Wild Ride’s Tension & Desire. In 1996, he began an artistic collaboration with the progressive-metal band, Ayreon, and appeared as a guest vocalist on Actual Fantasy, Actual Fantasy Revisited, Ayreonauts Only, and The Stranger from Within. In 2000, he did the same on Vengeance’s sophomore effort, Wings of an Arrow. Of course, if you are longing for a blast from the past, you can also hear him on The Very Best of Stars on 45.

He passed away in Rotterdam in September 2014 when he was 66 years old.

Stars on 45 recordings
Medley: Intro “Venus” – Sugar Sugar – No Reply – I’ll Be Back – Drive My Car – Do You Want to Know a Secret – We Can Work it Out – I Should Have Known Better – Nowhere Man – You’re Going to Lose That Girl – Stars on 45 (Jeff Barry/Martin Duiser/Jaap Eggermont/Andy Kim/Robbie van Leeuwen/John Lennon/Paul McCartney)

Here he is as The President performing with Kayak on “You’re Gonna Like It”..

Sources:

Huysdens, Okkie (5th November 1947-6th September 2014)

Navigation