While labeled as a new wave band, the director of Wild Romance's record label, Ariola, disputed this categorization when first promoting the band to the American audience in 1979, saying it came about "because he [Brood]'s a European artist".
The band got its name from the lyric "...and I lost my mind in a wild romance" which they heard on the American jazz and blues singer, Mose Allison’s 1957 recording of the song Lost Mind, which was written by Percy Mayfield in 1951; both Brood and manager Koos van Dijk were fans of Allison.
[citation needed] The best known lineup of the band, which lasted between November 1977 and October 1979, was:[citation needed] Following this a number of musicians, including Bertus Borgers on saxophone, joined, left and rejoined the band, however the success of the late 1970s was never repeated.
The major incarnations of the band were:- The first incarnation of the band was: In 1978, at around the time of the Shpritsz tour, the lineup was: This incarnation of Herman Brood & his Wild Romance scored the hits "Saturday Night", "Still Believe" (with Bertus Borgers on saxophone), "Never Be Clever" and "I Love You Like I Love Myself".
1986 saw the return of Lademacher and the lineup at this time was: The last incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2001 consisted of: In 1982 Cees "Ani" Meerman and Fred Van Kampen formed the band "The Managers".