November 9, 2017 – Hans Vermeulen (Sandy Coast) was born on September 18, 1947 in Voorburg, the Hague in the Netherlands. He grew up in what was to become the birthplace of Nederpop, which produced bands like Golden earring (Radar Love) and Shocking Blue (Venus), Q 65, Rob Hoeke and many others.
He scored hits like I See Your Face Again , Capital Punishment and my favorite True Love That’s a Wonder with his first group Sandy Coast which he had formed in 1961.
When the first run of late sixties rock and roll ran dry, Sandy Coast disbanded in the early seventies, and did not reform until 1981, with a big comeback hit.
In 1975 Vermeulen founded Rainbow Train, a open door clearing house formation for musicians, in which he sang with his then-wife Dianne Marchal .
In those years he made impact as a much in demand EMI producer for popular Dutch singers like Margriet Eshuijs (Lucifer) and Anita Meyer. For Meyer he wrote in 1976 the number 1 hit The Alternative Way, on which he also sang and for Eshuijs he produced the still today hugely popular “House for Sale” hit.
Then Vermeulen wrote a song about a young girl he had met on a vacation and Sandy Coast re-grouped and scored a huge hit in 1981 for the first time in eight years, titled The Eyes of Jenny which became Vermeulen’s financial salvation after he had to file for bankruptcy as a result of a divorce and disputes with record companies about royalties. After a brief late 1980s comeback with a new album, it was time for Hans Vermeulen to find a purpose in life.Completely disillusioned he moved to Thailand with manager and producer Peer Evers in the early nineties.
The duo worked here together with the very popular Thai pop group Carabao. Vermeulen married in Thailand with singer Jariya Chatsuwan, known as Aom and together they made a CD with Dutch songs. Vermeulen, once he got financially back on his feet after the usual screw over by the music execs and royalties, became a bar owner at Samui, where he also performed regularly for Dutch expatriate associations.
As he often stated in interviews later; he arrived with $180 in his pocket to find ultimate happiness.
As a musician Hans was an all-rounder: singer, keyboard player and guitarist and above all songwriter/composer. He knew how to write catchy tunes. He won an Edison and a Golden Harp for his musical performances.
Completely unexpected Hans Vermeulen died of a heart attack on November 9, 2017. He was 70.
