Henny Vrienten

Henny Vrienten (27 July 1948 – 25 April 2022) was a Dutch musician best known as the singer and bassist of the popular 1980s ska pop band Doe Maar.

Subsequently, Jansz asked Vrienten to join his band Doe Maar, but the songwriter declined, thinking that a Dutch-language group playing for fun would not survive.

The follow-up, "Smoorverliefd", missed the Top 40, but with the 1982-released "Doris Day", Doe Maar broke through and become key figures of the New Dutch Wave explosion.

In between tours of Belgium and the Netherlands Antilles, Vrienten recorded his first Dutch-language solo album and second overall, Geen Ballade, which he released in March 1984, a few weeks before Doe Maar played two farewell shows for the live broadcast.

Instead of embarking on a solo tour, Vrienten decided to explore new territory: he wrote TV and film scores, including for the Dutch Sesame Street, and produced music for other artists.

The expected Doe Maar revival never happened, and in early 1992, Mijn Hart Slaapt Nooit, Vrienten's third studio record, was released.

At the end of the year, all Doe Maar members reunited to support the 1960s outfit CCC Inc., which featured Ernst Jansz and Joost Belinfante, at their 25th-anniversary concert.

In 2010, Vrienten appeared in Ali B op volle toeren, a programme in which young Dutch rappers exchange songs with established artists.

In 2014 and 2015, he released two solo albums and went on tour, accompanied by his son Xander (Jett Rebel's bass-player at the time) and the three-piece rock band My Baby.

Paul Santos, 1977
Doe Maar, 1982
Farewell concert, 1984