After the first few years of irregular concerts the band recorded their debut album, simply called ‘the Nits’. It featured nice little pop songs, but most songs weren’t particularly remarkable. The songs were well-constructed, but the production was flat and the songs were deeply rooted in the ‘60s and ‘78s. The future typical Nits style is mostly absent, but there were exceptions. They wrote pretty simple pop songs, mostly guitar based. There's a lot of not so great songs on the album, but some gems are hidden between the mediocre stuff. For example fantasies & factories, london letters, the original version of Tutti Ragazzi, Yes Or No, Caravan and the single b-side Ronald Razorblade. New wave influences weren’t there yet, so the sound of this album is very different from the follow-up album ‘Tent’. The Nits don’t really count this as on of their albums. They hate the production ands they find several songs under par. It was therefore never released on CD, which is a real shame. Although it isn’t the best music by the Nits it still very nice and it’s a historical recording.
The tour that followed this album was very long, about a year and a half from January 1978 to June 1979. They played almost exclusively in the Netherlands. The band still weren’t professional musicians, but that can’t be heard from their performances. The songs were well-rehearsed and there was a large variety in the setlists. There used to be only one recording of 5 songs of possibly a radio or TV performances and one song from the LP ‘Keihard en Swingend’, which featured live songs by new artists. This has changed though, since a few more recordings and even full concerts became available (thanks to Tom Telman!). One concert from early in the tour and one towards the end. Also a tape containing studio outtakes and live tracks surfaced. This is a tape the Nits probably used for private enjoyment and the songs range from 1978-1980, including some live tracks from the debut album tour.
This is the original Nits. These four members founded the band in 1974 and would be together until Alex left in 1981.
Henk Hofstede: lead and backing vocals, keyboards, guitar.
Michiel Peters: lead and backing vocals, guitar.
Rob Kloet: drums, backing vocals.
Alex Roelofs: bass, backing vocals.
Guest:
Paul Telman: guitar. As indicated on the photo from the concert at Boddy's Paul joined the
band on guitar. How often this happened or what songs he played I don't know. I'm not even
sure if this photo is from this tour or even older than that..
From what I have seen from the Nits book and other photos the early concerts didn't have an elaborate stage setup. Just the band on a stage. Sound and light were already handled by the Telman brothers, so that probably was ok.
This tour featured several songs from their debut album, some new songs from the upcoming ‘Tent’ album, a few unreleased Nits originals and a lot of covers, mostly from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Although the songs were decently played, it was obvious the band was growing into their own style and sound. A lot of songs are rather simple rock and roll or pop songs. New wave influences entered towards the end of the tour, replacing the rock and roll sound for several songs. At the song list I will describe the songs for the early concert (Boddy's, Amsterdam, 1978) and after this compare the later performance (Leiden, 1979) with this. Also, if a song was present on the private mix tape I will also mention it. Of the concert at Paradiso on January 13th 1978 a setlist, but no recording, is available. Thanks to Clemens van Driel for sending this to me (and to Walter Schäppi for redirecting it to me as well).
Boddy's:
This song from the debut album was played similar to the original. Both Henk and Michiel played guitar on this one. Michiel did the lead vocals, but Henk’s backing vocals sometimes overwhelmed his lead. It started out with the rock guitar theme. Further in the song they used cleaner guitar sounds. Michiel played a guitar solo. The rock theme returned a few times. This part was also the best thing about this mostly rather unremarkable tune. It’s not bad, but not great either.
Leiden & radio/TV performance:
No big differences from the Boddy's version.
Paradiso setlist:
This song supposedly was played twice, according to the setlist. If this was a mistake, or if they split the song into two parts I don't know.
Boddy's:
This debut album song about a girl named Amarilla was played rather good. It’s a typical slow, romantic ballad. Henk started the song alone with a bluesy electric piano intro. After a while the bass and the drums entered and Henk began to sing the lyrics. Michiel sang backing vocals and played soft guitar touches and melodies throughout the song. The song was quite subtle, but for the bridge it gained a bit more power and the guitar became a bit more pronounced. The music returned to the slow part and Henk played a very cool bluesy solo on the electric piano, which also included a short drumbreak. The song returned with the chorus and the bridge. Unfortunately the Boddy's version is cut before the end.
Leiden:
This version had an extra guitarsolo after Henk’s piano solo. It was rather short though. This version wasn’t cut on the tape and the nice segue into the next song (Yes Or No) was present. Amarilla featured the lyrics ‘some people say yes when they mean no /many girls say no when they mean yes’, after which the fast intro from ‘yes or no’ fitted perfectly.
Paradiso setlist:
The song is spelled 'Ammarilla' on the setlist. It is on the list of unplayed songs.
Boddy's:
This instrumental guitar tune, originally recorded by the Shadows and written by J. Ingmann, was not played in Amsterdam.
Leiden:
This started with a long drum intro with some guitar noises over it. After a while the guitar melody started, probably played by Michiel, who used a rather clean guitar sound. Henk played rhythm guitar and made little guitar noises throughout the song. The drums and bass provided a steady groove. This song is definitely much better than the other Shadows cover, kon tiki! They play the song very faithful to the original. Some nice 'hesitant' breaks were played. The song fades out on the tape of this concert just before the end of the song.
Paradiso setlist:
This song is on the list of the songs that weren't played. See the Nits Demos Section.
Paradiso setlist:
This song is mentioned among the non-played songs. See the Nits Demos Section.
Amsterdam:
This was not played in Amsterdam.
Leiden:
This was a fast and rather hectic song written by Michiel. It started with a fast guitar theme, that returned a few times later in the song. The backing of the intro were some rhythmic pulses. The band fully joined, keeping up the fast tempo. Henk played piano and Michiel sang the lead vocals. In the chorus both Henk and Michiel sang the lyrics together. The chorus and in the instrumental part Henk switched to a more synth sound. He played a carnival like solo with this. Michiel followed this with a guitar solo. This song was quite a happy sounding pop tune, but it was never officially released.
Boddy's:
This was one of the best songs from the debut album and the live version was very good as well. It started with a very nice ‘synthy’ electric piano. The full band entered after a while of just Henk playing. For the rest of the song Henk used a more normal piano sound. The song was very up tempo and had several little rhythmic breaks. The song was very well constructed and it had a good bridge. Michiel sang backing vocals and played a good guitar solo, using a very nice sound. The ending of the song was rather dramatic. Michiel and Alex sang the word ‘caravan’ over and over again, while Henk almost shouted the same word at the appropriate spots. One more return to the chorus was done before the song ended.
Leiden:
The version in Leiden had the same construction, except the intro was more synth-like. Henk’s electric piano sound was distorted during the intro, giving it an somewhat alienating effect.
Boddy's
This is an unreleased Nits song of which also a demo exists (see Nits demos section). It was very ‘70s sounding in an XTC or Eagles style. It had both Henk and Michiel on guitar. Henk sang lead vocals. Michiel probably started it, soon joined by Henk’s guitar and Alex’ subdued bass. Rob’s drums entered a little bit later. After the only chorus a fast drumbreak introduced a long instrumental section. Which featured a rhythm guitar in disco style. This sounded rather good. Two guitar solos were played, maybe one by each guitarist. The instrumental part became much wilder in its second part before it ended.
Leiden:
This song wasn’t played in Leiden.
Boddy's
This song is a very special case in he Nits discography, since it’s the only officially documented proof of their disco influences of the late ‘70s. The song consisted of two parts as is indicated in the title. Both parts shared some themes and transformed fluently into each other. The song started out with Michiel playing a melodic and typical ‘70s guitar sound. Henk played mostly rhythm guitar, with a few touches spread around, especially during the vocal parts. The music behind Henk’s vocals was somewhat bluesy, but in the choruses the backing became pure disco. This was most clear in Rob’s fast cymbal work. After the ‘dancing girl’ part a long instrumental part was played that connected it with ‘red cat’. The song had already become more and more disco and during the instrumental part this was very clear. It featured some hyperactive guitar solos by both Henk and Michiel. The ‘red cat’ part was about ‘black music’ being better than ‘white music’. Michiel switched to a more rock-like sound on his guitar, but the song was still very much disco. He also provided backing vocals, together with Alex. A return to the instrumental part marked the end of this rather long song.
Leiden & radio/TV performance:
The song was played in the same fashion, but the instrumental middle part was much shorter.
Paradiso setlist:
This was the first song and it explicitly motes: no guitar solo. So this would probably mean a similar version to the one in Leiden.
Paradiso setlist"
Between the non-played songs this title is mentioned. A demo exists (see Nits Demo page)
Paradiso setlist:
This song is on the Paradiso setlist at the non-played songs. See also the Nits Demos Section.
Paradiso setlist:
Another song that's on the list of non-played songs for the Paradiso concert. See the Nits Demos Section.
Paradiso setlist:
One of the best songs from the debut album, unfortunately I have heard no live version of it. However, this mellow song was among the non-played songs on the Paradiso setlist.
Boddy's:
This is a punk cover song. It's therefore not mentioned on the Paradiso setlist. It’s a fast rock and roll song, with both Henk and Michiel on guitar. The singing was done by Henk, with Michiel on backing vocals. It was sung in a rather silly voice. The lyrics weren’t very intelligent. The chorus was:
oh oh oh oh it’s my first time
oh oh oh oh please be kind
oh oh oh oh don’t hurt me
The rest of the lyrics weren’t much better than this.. After a few choruses and verses a bridge was played, before the song ended with one final chorus.
Leiden:
This wasn't played in Leiden.
Private Tape:
Very similar to the Boddy's version.
Boddy's
This song which would become a b-side in the Tent days wasn’t played at the Amsterdam concert.
Leiden:
This song is about a train accident in Great Britain, in which man people were killed. The lyrics are about some-one who lost his girlfriend or wife in this accident. In later years this song would always be connected to ‘So In Love’, from which it segued. For this concert it was also played after ‘So In Love’, but there was no segue. They were clearly two separate songs. It started with a relaxed version of the main guitar theme over the rhythm section backing with a steady bass and drums. The guitars, played by both Henk and Michiel, remained rather laid-back for most of the song. Michiel sang the lead and Henk sang backing vocals. Michiel played a short guitar solo, very similar to the one that’s on the original version. He used a nice sound for this and the music was a bit wilder than before. After a short drum-only part the band shifted into higher gear. A faster and more complex version of the main theme as played by both guitars This seemed to end the song, but after a few seconds after it ended the guitar theme was played again. This time it was even more fast. The whole band joined, but shortly after this the song really ended.
Paradiso setlist:
The song still has it's original title on this setlist: 'Went to the sea'. And it's played a few songs in front of 'so in love'.
Boddy's
The Amsterdam concert featured a large number of cover songs from the ‘50s and 60s. Almost all of them were rock and roll tunes. This was one of them. I don’t know who did the original, but it a typical up tempo rock and roll song. Both Henk and Michiel played guitar. Michiel sang the lead, while Henk did the backing vocals. A nice guitar solo was played. Towards the ending the song slowed down a bit. A demo recording also exists of this song.
Leiden:
This wasn’t played at the Leiden concert.
Boddy's / Private Tape
This is an unreleased Nits original. The title is given on the Paradiso setlist. On the cover of the Boddy's tape it simply is called 'Stop'. It had a bluesy intro. Michiel played the guitar melody over the bass drums and electric piano. He switched to rhythm guitar after the intro. Henk sang the lead vocals. In the chorus Michiel and probably Alex sang backing vocals. The chorus went as follows:
How can I stop (how can I stop)
my eyes from seeing you
How can I stop (how can I stop)
my hands from feeling you baby.
Rob played a disco-beat under this. Michiel and Alex also sang the rather silly high ‘shoo-doo-doo-doo-doo’s and other high vocal lines. The song featured a guitar solo and a long electric piano solo.
Leiden:
It was played similar to the Boddy's version.
Boddy's
This rock song is an unreleased song, written by Henk. It was played very regularly from the ‘prehistoric’ tours up until 1981, but it never made it onto an album, although demo versions exist. Henk sang lead vocals, but Michiel also had some lead spots: the ‘you’ve been acting so unkind’ lines. They both played guitar. It featured a nice bridge and instrumental part. Backing vocals were done by Michiel, Alex and Rob. It featured a nice guitar solo with a rough sound. It didn't have the 'Holiday On Ice'-like instrumental part at the end yet. This would become the standard ending of the song from the next tour on.
Leiden:
This was played similar to the Boddy's concert.
Boddy's / Private Tape
This rock and roll song by the Beatles from the 1963 album 'please please me' was played regularly as an encore in the early years of the Nits. It lasted until the Work tour in 1982. The song was played straightforward and very enthusiastically. Henk sang lead, Michiel sang backing vocals.
Leiden:
This song wasn’t played in Leiden.
Paradiso setlist:
This song is mentioned among the songs that weren't played in Paradiso. See the Nits Demos Section.
Paradiso setlist:
This song that is unknown to me is mentioned on the list of unplayed songs at the Paradiso concert.
Boddy's
This was one of the new songs that would later be released on the Tent album. This song stands out between the most of the other songs I've heard from this tour, because it features the fuller Tent sound, instead of the light poppy songs from the Nits album or the standard rock and roll tunes. It was started on the electric piano by Henk. The rest of the band soon joined him. Henk sang lead vocals. Michiel provided backing vocals and plenty rhythm guitar and melodies. He also played a guitar solo, using a typical rock sound. The song featured nice playing and singing. The main difference with the later released version were the lyrics. While all the released lyrics were present, the live version also had some extra parts. After the 'she had a mirror to look behind' the following lines came:
you should see her now
you should see him now
oh will you stay at home
These lined returned a few times. And there was an extra verse at the end:
'I'm in the bedroom' she said
on the night they met
and there are roses in my head
and now there's dark (corners) inside the rooms
where they used to sleep
and she couldn't cry and she couldn't weep
Leiden & radio/TV performance:
It was played in the same way as in Boddy's, except that the 'you should see her now' lyrics had been dropped. The other extra verse was still present though.
Boddy's
This cover song was a typical fast ‘50s rock and roll , written by Richard Penniman (better known as Little Richard). The chorus consisted of the line ‘you keep on knocking but you can’t come in’. Henk and Michiel sang the lyrics together. There were two guitar solos in it. The song segued into another rock and roll song: ‘something else’.
Leiden:
This song wasn’t played at the Leiden concert.
Boddy's:
This wasn’t played at the Boddy's concert.
Leiden / Private Tape:
It doesn’t get more cheesy than this in all the concerts I’ve heard from the Nits. The song is a cover of the guitar instrumental by the Shadows. The intro sounded all right, but very soon it shifted in an easy listening thing. Michiel probably did the main guitar melody, while Henk played backing rhythm and touches on his guitar. The rhythm section wasn’t really remarkable as well. Although it’s interesting to hear the Nits play this kind of music, I’m glad they didn’t do it more often..
Boddy's
As it would always do in the period up until 1981, this unreleased Nits song segued straight out of ‘Monotony’ with an a capella intro, consisting of the whole band singing ‘lies lies’ several times. The song itself was a rock tune, sung by Henk. The intro and chorus were in the same tempo as 'monotony', but the verses were a bit slower. Alex, Michiel and Rob provided the high 'hoo-hoo' backing vocals. The end part had some rumbling drums in it.
Leiden:
This was played similar to the version at Boddy's.
Paradiso setlist:
It's not on that setlist! But 'Monotony' is. I think since they are so connected that this song didn't need to mentioned on the setlist, so it was probably played.
Boddy's:
This wasn’t played at the Amsterdam concert.
Leiden & Radio/TV performance:
This song is from the debut album. It's about a girlfriend who went away and didn't send letters anymore. A jumpy beat started it. The bass joined, equally jumpy. After a while a synth-line and guitar parts entered as well. Michiel sang the lead vocals. Henk sang backing vocals and later on in the song they sang the lyrics together. The synth kept on providing bouncy melodies. A very good bridge part was part of the song. Towards the end Michiel played a bluesy guitar solo, leading the band to an interesting instrumental ending. This isn't a bad song at all. The band must have thought so as well. They kept it for the next tour and reworked it with new lyrics for the New Flat tour in 1981. It was retitled 'Museum Square' then.
Paradiso setlist:
This rather mellow song was released on a single around the time of the debut album. On the Paradiso setlist it is among the songs that were played that night.
Paradiso setlist:
This song is mentioned between the unplayed songs. See the Nits Demos Section.
Boddy's:
The title of this German song, originally performed by Dravi Deutscher (written by Loose and Bruhn), translates into English as ‘marble, stone and iron breaks’. As Henk mentions before the song it’s a combination between a rock song and a ‘Schlager’, a typical German music style. Although this doesn’t promise much, it actually a rather nice song. Henk sang the German lyrics, and he even inserted a couple of lines in Dutch. Michiel did a few backing vocals. Just before the Dutch lyrics Rob inserted a nice short drumbreak. The verses were played and sung rather subdued, but the verses sounded quite jubilant. A few times the intensity of the music increased, while at others the music was quite suspensive.
Leiden:
This wasn’t part of the Leiden concert.
Paradiso setlist:
This song isn't the best one on the Nits album. According to the setlist it was played at the Paradiso concert.
Boddy's:
First I thought the title of this song was ‘No more schooldays’, because that’s what being sung most of the times, but 'Monotony' is the real title. The song is about boredom in school. This powerful rock song was played at almost all concerts up until 1981. It started with a strong and steady bass and drums intro. The guitar power chords entered after some time. Michiel sang Lead vocals. In the choruses and some other parts Henk sang backing vocals. They both played guitar. In later years this song would become somewhat tighter and more intense than this tour’s version. It always segued into ‘Lies’.
Leiden:
It was played the same way in Leiden as in Amsterdam.
Paradiso setlist:
At this concert this song is mentioned on its own, without 'Lies'. I think 'Lies' was connected to this song though. The band probably regarded those two songs as a unity. But I might be wrong...
Paradiso setlist:
This song is on the list of non-played songs at the Paradiso concert. See the Nits Demos Section.
Paradiso setlist:
This song is mentioned among the non-played songs. See the Nits Demos Section.
Paradiso setlist:
Another song from the unplayed list from the Paradiso setlist. See the Nits Demos Section.
Boddy's
This song would be on the upcoming Tent album, but a demo from the same period as the Nits album exist. This early version of the song sounded different to both though. The lyrics and the chords were the same, but it was played in strictly rock and roll style though, far removed from the later new wave version. It featured an electric piano, a steady beat, bass and guitar parts. Michiel sang the lead and Henk sang the backing vocals. Later in the song they sang lead together. The short guitar solo was played with a rough sound. I really like this version of this song.
Leiden:
Sometime during the tour the band rearranged this song into the new wave version, similar to the later Tent album version. This version was played at the Leiden concert. The electric piano had been replaced by a slower synth sound and the tempo of the song was brought down a bit. The rock influences had almost disappeared. During the chorus and bridge parts Henk played some nice melodies while he sang. The guitar solo had been replaced with a very short synth part.
Paradiso setlist:
This song is on the unplayed list of the Paradiso setlist. It's an o.k., but rather unremarkable song from the debut album.
Boddy's:
This was a very cool song. It was released on the b-side of the ‘Yes Or No’ single. It was better than a lot of the songs that ended up on the debut album. The song started with a bluesy intro, but it quickly shifted to pure pop after the first chorus. Henk sang lead vocals and played piano. Michiel provided guitar touches in the first part and backing vocals in the first part of the song. In the second half of the song the lead and backing vocals were changed between Michiel and Henk. This is the part which had ‘surfing, surfing on a big blue wave’ as one of the main lines. The song was indeed almost a Beach Boys-like surfing song in the second half. Henk played a carnival-like synth solo. A dramatic bridge brought the song back to the bluesy music. An a capella part was sung before the song ended. After a few seconds the band reprised the music of the second part for a while.
Leiden & TV/radio performance:
In Leiden this song had a vocal and synth intro. Henk shifted to piano further on in the song. The beginning was slightly slower. A guitar solo was followed by a 'carnival' synth solo with a rather extravagant sound. For the reprise part the Synth and guitar solos were played again.
Boddy's:
This song was originally released by the Flamin’ Groovies. It’s an up tempo guitar popsong. The fast intro was played by Henk and Michiel on the guitar, with the rhythm section backing them up. Both guitarists also sang the vocals together in some parts. Henk would sing alone in certain parts. Some short guitar solos were part of the song, probably both Henk and Michiel soloed in the instrumental section.
Leiden:
The song had a more powerful rock sound at the Leiden concert and it was played a little bit slower.
Boddy's
This wasn’t played in Amsterdam.
Leiden:
This was quite a nice unreleased Nits original. At the following tour it would be performed as an instrumental, but this tour it still had lyrics. A demo version also exits. They were rather silly. This is what I could make of it:
I am Rocky the Skateboard Boy.
Four (alligator) wheels under my toy,
blue-red, purple sole tennis shoes on my feet.
Sunset Hawaii T-shirt,
it's yellow, green and it's dirty.
Helmet is up on my head,
it's red.
Skateboard Boy, a Skateboard Boy,
riding days up on my toy
Skateboard Boy, a Skateboard Boy,
riding days up on my toy
Riding (rules) up in L.A.,
I used to (guard) them every day.
I'm cool and clean like cornflakes
and O-J.
Kick dirt faster, rock hard slow
I'm on the (as) and here go!
I lost my helmet and my head
I'm dead.
Skateboard Kid, a Skateboard Kid
I like it and you like it
Skateboard Kid, a Skateboard Kid
I like it and you like it
--solo--
Skateboard Boy, a Skateboard Boy,
riding days up on my toy
Skateboard Kid, a Skateboard Kid
I like it and you like it
Skateboard rider in the rain
(Requishing) that summer game.
Skateboard Boy, a Skateboard Boy,
riding days up on my toy.
The music to this short, fast and poppy tune radiated fun. It started with just the bass and drums. The vocals were sung by Henk and later he also started to play his synth. Michiel did the backing vocals and played some surf guitar parts. A very chaotic synth solo was played. This sounded very pinball and siren like. According to Tom Telman this was a solo on a Korg guitar tuner. This song was very nice and deserves to be heard. LICE performed it, with lyrics, for the first time in 20 years in november 2000 at the Greatest Nits INC fan day to amazement of the audience and the present Nits members.
Boddy's:
This is an unreleased Nits song of which also a demo version exists. The most prominent lyric was: ‘I could easily fall in love with you’. The strange thing is that it absolutely isn’t a ballad as the title suggests, it’s more similar to an uptempo Beatle-esque pop song. Michiel sang the lead vocals in the first few lines but later he sang together with Henk. In the following tour Henk, who wrote the song, would take the lead vocals. The song had a nice bridge with a cool bassline and it had a guitar solo. This song was played regularly up until the New Flat tour. This very poppy song isn’t really special, but absolutely not bad.
Leiden:
At the Leiden concert both sang the lyrics from the start. The harmonies sounded a bit more varied than in Boddy's.
Paradiso setlist:
This is among the non-played songs. This is the source of the title 'a slick ballad' with the 'a'.
Boddy's / Private Tape:
This song was written by L. Williams and it was also recorded by the Beatles. It’s a fast rock and roll song in the style of the ‘50s and early ‘60s. Unlike most other similar tunes this tour Henk played the keyboards on this song instead of the guitar. The song had a steady groove and Michiel’s guitar played nice countermelodies to Henk’s hyperactive piano parts. Michiel took the lead vocals and he played a guitar solo over a fast backing, which featured Henk in frantic, Jerry Lee Lewis style piano playing. Even though it had a quite traditional sound, this song was one of the more interesting rock and roll songs the band played.
Leiden:
It was played similar to the Boddy's version, although Henk used more of a synth sound than a piano sound.
Boddy's:
From all the songs from the debut album, except Tutti Ragazzi, this song stayed a regular part of setlists the longest. It remained in the band’s repertoire until the New Flat tour in 1981. This is quite strange, because it definitely wasn’t the best song on the album. The reason it stayed was that it was linked to the much better song ‘Harrow Accident’, with which it formed a nice combo. For this tour it wasn’t yet connected with that song, but it stood entirely on its own. Both Henk and Michiel played guitar in this version that didn’t differ too much from the album version. The song is a rather unremarkable pop tune. It did feature a good guitar solo though, which was played by Michiel who used a very nice sound.
Leiden:
It was played the same way as in Amsterdam. Although ‘Harrow Accident’ already followed it this time, it still wasn’t connected to it.
Boddy's:
This rather cheesy song would end up as a b-side during the Tent period. Now it’s available as a bonustrack on the CD of that album. It has that rather ‘whiny’ sound that a lot of those ‘50s ballads have. It started with the drums and a rather distinct bass, which remained prominent throughout the song. After some time the guitar and the piano joined. Michiel did the lead vocals, while Henk sang backing vocals. The music remained rather constant throughout the song. The best part was Michiel’s laid-back guitar solo, which brought the song into a little bit wilder music. This was part of the long instrumental part that ended the song.
Leiden:
The intro was much shorter and it featured the full band from the beginning. The rest of the song was similar.
Boddy's:
This is an old rock and roll song, originally done by Eddie Cochran (written by Cochran & Sheeley). Henk sang the lead and Michiel sang backing vocals, both played guitar. The song segued straight from another typical rock and roll song: ‘Keep On Knocking’. Michiel’s vocals mainly consisted of the brilliant line: ‘oo-ooh, wah wah’… The song was played very enthusiastically. A long guitar solo ended the song. In the beginning this solo was a little bit unremarkable, but the tempo increased and the solo turned out alright in the end.
Leiden:
In this concert the song didn't segue from ‘Keep On Knocking’ or any other song. It was played completely on its own. But for the rest it was quite similar.
Boddy's:
This is the same song as 'how can I stop', but on the tape inlay card with the Boddy's tape it's titled 'Stop'.
Paradiso setlist:
This song from the debut album was mentioned among the songs that were played in the Paradiso concert.
Boddy's / Private Tape
Another song that would be released on Tent (with a shortened title), but of which a demo from the Nits period exists. This started out with a fast drums only intro. The guitar, bass and the vocals started after a while, soon followed by the keyboards. This was a very ‘driving’ version of the song. It sounded a bit rushed, but it was still very nice. Early in the song Michiel played a guitarsolo. The backing vocals were very likely done by Alex, who also sang some high vocals. The nice percussive synth sound that is on the album version was missing in the live version.
Leiden:
This version was somewhat different from the Amsterdam version. The intro consisted of synth effects over a bass and drums backing. The rest of the song was similar, but less ‘driving’ and more laid-back.
Paradiso setlist:
Unfortunately none of the tour tapes or demos from this period have this song on it. It is mentioned on the setlist for the Paradiso concert among the unplayed songs. It's the same song as the one later released on Urk. At one of the Hat/Urk concerts Henk introduced it as 'one of the first songs we wrote'. I'm very curious how it sounded in 1978 and how it compared to the 1988-1989 version. Joke is credited as one of the songwriters on that version, so I guess a lot of stuff changed on the song.
Boddy's
This song was recorded during the same sessions as the debut album. Although it didn’t end up on the album, it did end up on a single, together with the other non-album track ‘Looking For A Friend’. The song is a moderate tempo rock tune, with both Henk and Michiel on guitar. They both also sang the lyrics together, their harmonies sounded fine together. At several points the song had a little build-up in intensity, which sounded quite nice. There was a guitar solo and a nice bridge consisting of bas, drums, vocals and guitar touches. It also had an instrumental section. Although this song isn’t really special, it’s still nice to hear it in a live version.
Leiden:
This wasn’t played at the Leiden concert.
Boddy's
Judging on the style of music and lyrics I guess this was an unreleased Nits song. Michiel sang lead vocals and played guitar, including a solo. Henk played the electric piano and sang backing vocals. The music was jumpy, not too different from other Nits songs of that period. It would have fitted nicely on the debut album or on the Tent album think. The song had some bluesy touches, but it was definitely pop. The main lines of the song describes the subject of the lyrics rather well: ‘you can see the world on your telly screen’ and ‘it never lets you down’. This is a rather nice song and it’s unfortunate that there aren’t any more versions available, although a very similar sounding demo exists.
Leiden:
This wasn’t played in Leiden.
Boddy's
This cover of the song by the Kinks is unfortunately cut on the tae. It only is about 30 seconds long. What I could hear was a guitar intro, some typical beat music and Michiel on lead vocals.
Leiden:
This was not part of the Leiden concert.
Boddy's & Keihard en Swingend:
This song is on both the debut and Tent albums and it shows very well the progress the band made in just one year. The version on the debut album is much less frantic than the Tent version. It had different lyrics and less synthesizer sounds than on the new Tent version. It was played very fast, with Henk leading the way with his fast piano parts. Alex’ bass playing was very good in this song. Michiel did various guitar touches and rhythm parts. He also sang backup to Henk’s lead vocals. The whole song Henk played the piano, except for the instrumental part. He then switched to the synthesizer sound that’s very prominent on the later Tent version, playing a solo with this sound.
Leiden:
This version already had the new Tent lyrics and the music was also much closer to that version. The intro consisted of a very fast marimba-like synth part, but for the rest Henk played mainly piano again. The marimba sound returned a few times. In the solo he again used the same wild sound as on the album. The music was also slowed down to the same tempo of the later album version.
Boddy's
This wasn’t played in Amsterdam.
Leiden:
This song was released as a single before the Tent album came out. Now it can be found as a bonustrack on that album. It was played rather similar to the studio version. The electric piano and guitar played the main melody over the bass and drums backing in the intro. During Henk’s lead vocal parts the piano playing was faster. Alex and Michiel sang backing vocals, resulting in nice harmonies in the chorus. Michiel played a guitar solo. Some other synth sounds were also played during the song. Near the ending Rob played a nice drumbreak under the vocal part. The song rather suddenly stopped.
Boddy's:
This was a cover of a slow rock and roll song by Buddy Holly (written by Holly, Petty, Allison & Mauldin). It had a rumbling drum intro. Michiel then added a very nice guitar melody. The Nits' version sounded a bit bouncy, mainly because of Henk’s electric piano. He also sang lead vocals. Michiel, Alex and possibly also Rob sang backing vocals. The rumbling drums / guitar melody part returned a few times. One time this was followed by a disco beat, probably not the way Buddy Holly intended it to be… Henk switched from keyboards to rhythm guitar during this song. The long instrumental part featured an also long guitar solo. One more time the band returned to the vocals, before the rumbling drums / guitar melody part ended the song.
Leiden:
This wasn’t played in Leiden.
The original title of 'Harrow Accident'. Go to the entry that song for the information.
Boddy's:
I think it was played this concert, but it probably is missing from the tape, because it had to be turned over.
Leiden:
This song was the main single from the debut album. It was a very small hit in the Netherlands. They even went on the legendary ‘TopPop’ TV show with it. It was one of the very first songs the band recorded in a studio. Rob actually got some special free days from the military service he was in at the time to record this! Two slightly different edits appeared on singles. This song is one of the examples why it would be worth releasing the debut album on CD! The song itself is a rather happy sounding, very Beatle-esque pop song. It segued very nicely from ‘amarilla’. It had a rather hectic full band intro. During the song Henk’s fast piano parts were the most prominent instrument. Henk sang lead vocals. Michiel, Alex and maybe also Rob sang backing vocals on the high ‘lalalalalala’ harmony parts. The rest of the (lower) backing vocals was just Michiel. He also provided guitar melodies and touches. The song featured some nice rhythmic changes, led by the bass and drums.Michiel played a guitar solo. A final ‘yes or no’ ended the song.