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He is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, mandolin player,
sitarist and producer born in The Hague, Netherlands.
He began his career as a member of The Atmospheres in 1962
before joining The Richochets.
The Ricochets evolved into The Motions, who he was a
member of from 1964 until 1967. With them he opened for the Rolling Stones in Scheveningen
and saw hits with his songs such as “It’s Gone”, “Everything That’s Mine”
and “Wasted Words”. His “My Love is Growing” which was
included as a B-side on one of their single releases was snapped up and
recorded by The Walker Brothers.
In 1967 he released “Let the Circle Be Unbroken” with
the group Six Young Riders and that same year he became put together Shocking
Blue where he held the position of lead guitarist and songwriter. They had national hits with “Lucy
Brown is Back in Town” and “Send Me A Postard” but when they released his
song “Venus” in 1969 it took them to the top of the charts all over the
world and earned them a gold record and the distinction of being the first
Dutch No. 1 in America. They
followed it up with the hit “Mighty Joe” but he became disillusioned with
the constant touring and left them in 1973. The group disbanded not too long after in 1974 but they
all got back together for a performance in 1984.
In 1974 he put together the rock-jazz group Galaxy Lin,
which released one album and had some solo success in the Netherlands. They stayed together until 1975. At the same time he also
produced Mariska Veres, who had been a co-member of Shocking Blue, on some
of her solo ventures.
In 1977 he put together the studio group Mistral where
Mariska Veres appeared as one of the vocalists. They released songs such as “Jamie”, “Starship 109” and You’re
My Hero” and were together at least until 1980.
In 1986, after he saw further success when the British
group Bananarama took “Venus” to the top of the charts all over the world
for a second time, he retired to Luxembourg.
In 1994 he came out of retirement when Shocking Blue
re-united and produced their new release “Body and Soul”. He returned home to The Hague in
1996.
Stars on 45 recordings
Medley: Intro “Venus” – Sugar Sugar – No
Reply – I’ll Be Back – Drive My Car – Do You Want to Know a Secret – We Can
Work it Out – I Should Have Known Better – Nowhere Man – You’re Going to
Lose That Girl – Stars on 45 (Jeff
Barry/Martin Duiser/Jaap Eggermont/Andy Kim/Robert Van Leeuwen/John
Lennon/Paul McCartney)
Radio Records RR 3810
ST-RR-39788-SP
Sources:
- http://www.alexgitlin.com/shocking.htm#robbie
- http://www.alexgitlin.com/motions.htm#ricochets
- http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_van_Leeuwen
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shocking_Blue
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3058897/bio
- http://www.discogs.com/artist/Robbie+van+Leeuwen?anv=Robert+Leeuwen
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3058897/
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