Golden Earring Calls It Quits After ALS Diagnosis Of Co-founder

Dutch rock band Golden Earring, known for their classics like “Radar Love,” “Twilight Zone”, and “When the Lady Smiles,” has officially announced its disbandment.

This sudden decision came with the news of the band’s guitarist and co-founder, George Kooymans, being diagnosed with ALS. “This is a death blow. We always said we would keep going until one of us fell over,” said Barry Hay to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.

“I didn’t expect George to be the first,” Hay added. “Kooymans was always the toughest of the four of us. You sometimes philosophize about that: who goes first? Then he was always at the back of the line. It sucks; we would have preferred a farewell tour, but unfortunately, this is what it is. Our last performance appears to have been in Ahoy in 2019. That was a great show with family and friends, but we would have preferred it differently.”

Kooymans founded the band, then called The Hague, along with teenage friend Rinus Gerritsen, joined by Hay, and Cesar Zuiderwijk to form what would be Golden Earring’s classic lineup. They have released over 25 albums, with 1973’s Moontan being the most successful record in the US thanks to the single “Radar Love”.

When asked if the group would find someone to fill Kooymans’ shoes, Zuiderwijk responded: “That will never happen. We are a group of friends of four men who are irreplaceable. A new band member? That wouldn’t fit.”