Van Veen began his career in 1964 at Radio Veronica, an offshore radio station owned by Bull Verweij as a replacement for Tineke de Nooij, who was on maternity leave.

[2] After he left Radio Veronica, van Veen did commercial and voice-over work.

[3] Two years later, he released a Christmas album named "Ik Geef Je Mijn Woord" which failed to chart.

[4] In addition, he was cast in the Dutch version of the "War of the Worlds" radio drama in 1978.

[6] Van Veen noted that over the years the subjects of the poems grew with the age of the listeners.