Herman Brood

Hermanus "Herman" Brood (Dutch pronunciation: [ɦɛrˈmaːnɵs ˈɦɛrmɑn ˈbroːt]; 5 November 1946 – 11 July 2001) was a Dutch musician and painter. As a musician he achieved artistic and commercial success in the 1970s and 1980s, and was called "the greatest and only Dutch rock 'n' roll star". Later in life he started a successful career as a painter.

Known for his hedonistic lifestyle of "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll", Brood was an enfant terrible and a cultural figure whose suicide by jumping from a hotel roof, apparently influenced by a failure to kick his drug and alcohol habit, strengthened his controversial status; according to a poll organized to celebrate fifty years of Dutch popular music, it was the most significant event in its history.

Herman Brood was born in Zwolle, and started playing the piano at age 12. He founded beat band The Moans in 1964, which would later become Long Tall Ernie and the Shakers. Brood was asked to play with Cuby and the Blizzards, but was removed by management when the record company discovered he used drugs. For a number of years Brood was in jail (for dealing LSD), or abroad, and had a number of short-term engagements (with The Studs, the Flash & Dance Band, Vitesse).

In 1976, Brood started his own group, Herman Brood & His Wild Romance, (and started work with photographer Anton Corbijn)[citation needed] initially with Ferdi Karmelk (guitar), Gerrit Veen (bass), Peter Walrecht (drums), and Ellen Piebes and Ria Ruiters (vocals). They played the club and bar circuit, first in Groningen (the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands.) In 1977 the band released their first album, Street.

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