Van der Linden finished his studies two years later and in 1965 passed exams at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, winning honours in piano, organ, harmony and counterpoint.

While still a student he took a job in a nightclub bar, playing foxtrots, boogie-woogie, ragtime, film soundtracks, blues, tango, pop, Strauss waltzes and cabaret tunes while studying the classical masters during the day.

After graduation, van der Linden joined the Occasional Swing Combo, a professional jazz septet which played extensively.

In 1968, van der Linden attended a Rotterdam concert by The Nice, Keith Emerson's neo-classical rock trio, where they played a version of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.

Van der Linden left Ekseption in 1974 to form Trace, a smaller rock trio along the lines of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

He performed session work with artists such as Jan Akkerman, Joachim Kuhn, Deep Purple, Phil Collins, Vangelis, Jack Lancaster and Brand X.

Van der Linden is quoted as saying that this was his favourite period of his music career as these band members worked well with each other and created a family-like atmosphere.

On 17 May 1989 van der Linden married Inez Zwart who was also a band manager and singer in Ekseption as well as in many of Rick's solo works.