Kayak (band) - History / Line-up

History / Line-up

Co-founder Ton Scherpenzeel is the only member who plays on every Kayak album. Apart from keyboards, he also plays accordion, occasional bass guitar (for instance on the entire "Nostradamus" album) and double bass. He also provides backing vocals, and sings lead vocals on the song Love's Aglow on the original "Merlin" album.

Singer/drummer Max Werner does lead vocals on the first five albums. He switched to drums and percussion for the following 4 albums. In 1999 he returned as lead singer for the "Close To The Fire" album. After that album he did a short tour with Kayak, but left the band in 2000. Max has made four solo albums, and he had a hit in Europe in 1981 with the single Rain In May.

Johan Slager played guitar on every album until the split in 1982. He joined the band for the occasional live performances in the nineties, but he was not involved in the reunion of 1999. He was replaced by Rob Winter, who played on 3 albums before Joost Vergoossen became the next (and current) lead guitarist.

Drummer Pim Koopman was also a founder member. After "The Last Encore" he decided to leave the band; he was offered a job as a full-time producer, working with Dutch artists Maywood, Valensia, Robby Valentine and Petra Berger. He came back as drummer of Kayak in 1999, and did not leave the drum stool until his death on 23 November 2009, aged 56. Apart from drums, Pim played occasional keyboards and guitar, as well as providing lead and backing vocals.

Original bass player Cees van Leeuwen left in 1975 to concentrate on his studies. He became a lawyer, and in 2002 he became the Dutch State Secretary of Culture and Media in the short lived Balkenende 1 cabinet.

In Kayak he was replaced by Bert Veldkamp, who played bass in 1975-1976 and returned for the 1999 reunion. After the 2003 album "Merlin - Bard Of The Unseen", Bert left Kayak because he could not combine his work in a band with his own career.

Peter Scherpenzeel, Ton's younger brother, was Kayak's roadie in the early days. In 1978, he joined as the band's bass player, when Theo de Jong left after just one album. Peter played bass on Kayak's best-selling album "Phantom Of The Night", as well as on the three following albums. He later owned a Tiffany lamp studio in Amsterdam.

Long-time Kayak fan Edward Reekers became lead singer in 1978, when Max Werner changed to drums. The first song he recorded was "Ruthless Queen", which became Kayak's biggest hit. He remained lead singer until 1982. After that he did to solo albums, and worked as a backing vocalist, doing commercials, and lending his voice to cartoon movies and children's TV-shows. When singer Bert Heerink had other commitments in 2003, Edward replaced him at some "Merlin" concerts. It was the beginning of his comeback, followed by the "Nostradamus" album in 2005 on which Edward plays the part of the monk. After that album, Bert Heerink left the band and Edward was Kayak's only male lead singer again. In 2003 female singer Cindy Oudshoorn had joined Kayak for the "Merlin" album and tour, and she decided to stay.

From 1978 until 1981, Kayak was augmented by two female background singers. Katherine Lapthorn, wife of bassist Peter Scherpenzeel, sang on three studio albums. After the split in 1982 she left the music business. Ton Scherpenzeel's wife Irene Linders not only sang backing vocals, but also developed into the band's main lyricist. When Kayak reunited in 1999, she became the band's manager.

Bert Heerink (ex Vandenberg) was asked to help the band out on tour in 2000. The plan was that on stage he would do the songs that Edward Reekers did originally, leaving more room for Max Werner to do his own Kayak songs and play percussion. But when Max left, he was not replaced, so Bert became lead singer. He did three studio albums and one live album, before concentrating on his solo career.

Rob Vunderink joined in 2001, as extra guitarist and vocalist. Vunderink is an experienced musician who played in many Dutch bands since the sixties. He collaborated with Pim Koopman in the Diesel band, which reached the 25th place in the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Sausalito Summernight".

In 2005 Jan van Olffen joined Kayak as their bass player. He had previously worked with Sister Sledge amongst others, and he played in the houseband for many Dutch stage musicals.

After the Pim Koopman Tribute in 2010, drummer Hans Eijkenaar was asked to become a full member. Eijkenaar is a wellknown drummer and producer, who has worked with artists like Candy Dulfer, Herman Brood, Thijs van Leer, Anouk and Toots Thielemans. Besides playing drums, Eijkenaar was also responsible for the mixing of the Kayak album Anywhere But Here.