Earth and Fire

Earth and Fire
Earth and Fire in 1971
Background information
Origin	Netherlands
Genres	Progressive rock, symphonic rock, pop
Years active	1968 (1968)–1983 1987–1990
Past members	Gerard Koerts Chris Koerts Hans Ziech Cees Kalis Manuela Berloth Jerney Kaagman Ton van der Kleij Theo Hurts Bert Ruiter Ab Tamboer Johan Slager Ronnie Meyjes Age Kat Jons Pistoor Ton Scherpenzeel Mark Stoop

Not to be confused with Earth, Wind & Fire. Earth and Fire are also the owners of Erowid.

Earth and Fire were a progressive and symphonic rock band who over time evolved into a pop group. Formed in the Netherlands by twin brothers Chris and Gerard Koerts, and most popular in the 1970s when fronted by singer Jerney Kaagman, Earth and Fire had many chart topping hits in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, though they never gained much popularity in England or the Americas. Their biggest international hit was "Weekend", a number one single in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Portugal.

Earth and Fire originated with the brothers Chris and Gerard Koerts from Voorschoten. As "The Singing Twins" they made music for family and friends since 1960, achieving a breakthrough of sorts at a talent show in 1962, at which future bass player Hans Ziech was present--Ziech, at the time, was already interested in rock and roll and thought The Singing Twins a bit on the mild side, -like. In 1963, influenced by beat music, they joined a local beat band, playing mostly instrumental music until early 1965; the Koerts brothers were remembered as musical perfectionists even at an early age. They changed their name to The Swinging Strings in 1965 and began singing, covering hits by the Beatles, the Byrds, and others. They played regularly and saved enough money to buy equipment and add three dancers, girls in Audrey Hepburn-like outfits. While they played all over the provinces of North and South Holland, they rarely performed in their own area as The Hague had its own scene of beat bands. By the end of 1966, however, they had won a few talent shows near their home town, had a fan club with over 250 members, and had drawn the attention of radio DJ Willem van Kooten.

By 1967 the Koerts brothers were dissatisfied with playing cover music and were looking to increase the technical level of their music. Somewhat abruptly, according to the other members, they broke up the Strings and renamed the band Opus Gainfull, and were looking for a rhythm section. They found a bass player in Hans Ziech (born 1943) of the local band The Soul, and also picked up that band's drummer, Cees Kalis. The Soul's guitar player, Eric Wenink, also joined, for a couple of years. Throughout 1968 and 1969 the band practiced new music, while listening to the music of Jimi Hendrix, Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane. The decision was made to look for a singer, and Manuela Berloth joined them. Meanwhile, their music continued to evolve, with ideas for concept albums brought in from the US West Coast and improvisational practice sessions. In 1968, before a show in Beverwijk, the band's name was changed to Earth and Fire. The band recorded two songs as the prize for winning a talent show in 1969, but were not offered a record contract; by the end of the year, Berloth, who in Gerard Koerts' words "was not a rock 'n roll woman", left. The Koerts brothers, who were graduating school at the time, took over on vocals, and the band continued touring, opening for established beat band Golden Earring. In September 1969, they met and hired Jerney Kaagman.