Andy Tielman

[3] He is considered one of the most important figures in Dutch popular music,[4] and "defied the notion that early rock and roll was a phenomenon of white and black musicians from America".

Many Dutch musicians, including Jan Akkerman, Barry Hay, and Herman Brood have cited him as major influences.

By the time the Netherlands formally recognised Indonesia's independence in 1949, the Tielman siblings had become a household name; they even performed for President Sukarno at his palace in Jakarta.

The band began playing rock and roll music by Les Paul, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Bill Haley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent.

In the late 1950s anti-Dutch rules and regulations increased, leading up to an escalation of the Dutch New Guinea conflict; it was feared that the Bersiap violence would be repeated.

[9] Anti-Dutch sentiments also affected Indo celebrities, including the Tielman siblings, and when they were pressured into forgoing their Dutch nationality the family repatriated to the Netherlands.

They were able to slowly acquire a fan base among rebellious youth and fellow musicians; however, they were not appreciated by the Dutch establishment or mainstream press.

[11] On national radio and television influential opinion makers such as Mies Bouwman and Willem Duys criticised and dismissed the brothers' music.

In a later interview with Rolling Stone, George Harrison reflected on his Hamburg period, enthusiastically referring to "Andy, the Indo man".

[13] Although he enjoyed success in Europe, Tielman became upset over hysterical actions by fans, which included cases where women slit their wrists in front of the stage to get his attention.

"[14] In the late 1970s Tielman abruptly ended his music career and left his family and property to live as a hermit in the jungles of Kalimantan among the Dayak people.

For over a year the young German woman, who later became his wife, Carmen Tielman, stayed with him there until he decided to return to the "civilised" world and resume his career.

[citation needed] The same year he releases a solo album, entitled Now And Forever, followed in 1994 and 1995 by tours to the Caribbean and North America.

[13] Following the tsunami off Aceh in 2004, he made an appearance at the Dutch national benefit for the victims with two other Indo artists, Dinand Woesthoff (of Kane) and René van Barneveld (formerly of Urban Dance Squad), performing the traditional Indonesian songs "Rayuan Pulau Kelapa" and "Ole sio sayang e".

[17] In 2007 Tielman played with Chris Latul (formerly of Massada) in Utrecht, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Pelita Foundation, the longest running social service organisation for Dutch Indos.

[18] For the 50th anniversary of the single "Rock Little Baby of Mine" in 2008, the 50 Years of Nederpop Foundation in Groningen held a weekend long festival.

By 19 December he had recovered enough to give a short performance in Drachten,[13] and in March 2010 played a show at the Benidorm Palace in Spain, supported by other acts, such as Riem de Wolff of the Blue Diamonds.