Saskia and Serge

Dutch vocal duo

Saskia & Serge in 1971

Saskia & Serge are a Dutch vocal duo consisting of singer Trudy van den Berg (born 23 April 1947, Grootebroek) and singer-guitarist Ruud Schaap (born 22 March 1946, Den Helder). They are known for their participation in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, and have enjoyed a long and successful career in their native Netherlands, where they were awarded the title of Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2004.

Early career

Van den Berg and Schaap first attracted attention when, as Trudy & Ruud, they won a talent contest organised by singer Max van Praag [nl] in 1967. The couple married in 1969 and changed their professional name to Saskia & Serge, as their gentle, folksy style began to attract favourable attention.[1]

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1970, Saskia & Serge took part in the Dutch Eurovision selection with "Het spinnewiel" ("The Spinning-Wheel"), which was narrowly and controversially beaten into second place.[2] They returned in 1971, this time singing all six songs in the selection, and "Tijd" ("Time") was chosen to go forward to the 16th Eurovision Song Contest, held in Dublin on 3 April.[3] Although Saskia suffered a microphone malfunction at the start of the song, "Tijd" finished in joint sixth place of the 18 entries.[4][5]

Later career

After releasing several folk-themed albums to a largely indifferent response Saskia & Serge changed direction in 1976 by releasing a successful country music-style album, We'll Give You Everything, the title track from which was a top 10 hit in The Netherlands. The album got them noticed outside the Netherlands, and they became the first Dutch artists to appear at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Further hit singles followed, including "Mama, He's a Soldier Now" which became their biggest hit, peaking at No. 6 in 1980.

Saskia & Serge have continued to release popular albums of both original material and cover versions. Their fifteenth studio album, Mooie liedjes, was released in December 2008, consisting of adaptations of well-known Dutch songs.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Muziek Centrum Nederland biography". www.popinstituut.nl.
  2. ^ "DUTCH NATIONAL FINAL 1970". natfinals.50webs.com.
  3. ^ "DUTCH NATIONAL FINAL 1971". natfinals.50webs.com.
  4. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest | Netherlands 1971 | Saskia & Serge, De Tijd | ESC-History". www.esc-history.com.
  5. ^ "Tijd" at diggiloo.net

External links

  • Media related to Saskia & Serge at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website
  • Complete discography Archived 27 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  • 1971 at Dingadong.nl
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Hearts of Soul
with "Waterman"
 Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
1971 		Succeeded by
Sandra & Andres
with "Als het om de liefde gaat"
  • v
  • t
  • e
Nationaal Songfestival
ParticipationArtistsSongs
  • "Alles heeft ritme"
  • "Als het om de liefde gaat"
  • "Amambanda"
  • "Amsterdam"
  • "Arcade"
  • "Een beetje"
  • "Birds"
  • "Birth of a New Age"
  • "Blijf zoals je bent"
  • "Burning Daylight"
  • "Calm After the Storm"
  • "Colorado"
  • "De diepte"
  • "Ding-a-dong"
  • "De eerste keer"
  • "Europapa"
  • "Fernando en Filippo"
  • "Grow"
  • "Heel de wereld"
  • "Hemel en aarde"
  • "Het is een wonder"
  • "I See a Star"
  • "Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)"
  • "Ik hou van jou"
  • "Ik wil alles met je delen"
  • "Jij bent mijn leven"
  • "Jij en ik"
  • "Katinka"
  • "Lights and Shadows"
  • "De mallemolen"
  • "Morgen"
  • "My Impossible Dream"
  • "Net als toen"
  • "Never Alone"
  • "Niemand heeft nog tijd"
  • "No Goodbyes"
  • "On Top of the World"
  • "One Good Reason"
  • "One More Night"
  • "De oude muzikant"
  • "Out on My Own"
  • "Outlaw in 'Em"
  • "The Party's Over"
  • "Rechtop in de wind"
  • "Ring-dinge-ding"
  • "Shangri-La"
  • "Shine"
  • "Sing Me a Song"
  • "Slow Down"
  • "Een speeldoos"
  • "'t Is genoeg"
  • "'t Is OK"
  • "Tijd"
  • "De troubadour"
  • "De vogels van Holland"
  • "Voorgoed voorbij"
  • "Vrede"
  • "Waar is de zon"
  • "Walk Along"
  • "Wat een dag"
  • "Wat een geluk"
  • "Waterman"
  • "Wijs me de weg"
  • "Without You"
  • "You and Me"
  • "Your Heart Belongs to Me"
  • Note: Entries scored out signify where the Netherlands did not compete
  • v
  • t
  • e
Countries
Artists
Songs
  • "L'amore è un attimo"
  • "Un banc, un arbre, une rue"
  • "Diese Welt"
  • "En un mundo nuevo"
  • "Goeiemorgen, morgen"
  • "Les Illusions de nos vingt ans"
  • "Jack in the Box"
  • "Un jardin sur la terre"
  • "Lykken er"
  • "Marija l-Maltija"
  • "Menina do alto da serra"
  • "Musik"
  • "One Day Love"
  • "Pomme, pomme, pomme"
  • "Tie uuteen päivään"
  • "Tijd"
  • "Tvoj dječak je tužan"
  • "Vita vidder"
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • VIAF
National
  • Germany
Artists
  • MusicBrainz