"Originally published in Dutch in 1997 and later updated and translated for republishing in English in 2009 by Misty Lane Books, Outsiders by Insiders is a timeless look behind the scenes at one of the best bands to be shrouded in rock ‘n’ roll obscurity. The Outsiders basically existed from 1965-69, with the band’s earliest Dutch chart success experienced during their first couple of years. They released thirteen charting singles during this period, as well as three full-length albums – one a collection of their singles (Songbook) – and their self-titled 1967 LP featuring a studio side and a live side, which was perfect as the Outsiders were known across the Netherlands as a dynamic and electrifying live act.
The band’s de facto swansong was their third album, 1968’s C.Q., which initially sold little or nothing but has since garnered status as a classic psych-garage-rock album that deserves space in your collection. Whereas most European bands were falling over their amps in an attempt to mimic the Beatles, the Outsiders drew inspiration from the R&B-influenced bad-boys in the Pretty Things and the Rolling Stones, even opening for the Stones for one of their 1966 Dutch appearances. The best-known Outsiders line-up was comprised of singer/songwriter Wally Tax, guitarists Ronnie Splinter and Tom Krabbendam, bassist Appie Rammers, and drummer Leendert Busch, with Frank Beek taking Rammers’ place from 1968-69.
Blanes does a wonderful job with the book, Outsiders by Insiders providing an oral history of not only the band, but the Dutch rock ‘n’ roll scene altogether, going into exhaustive detail about the musical and cultural evolution experienced by the Netherlands during the 1960s (societal growing pains that were similar to those in both the U.K. and the U.S.). Years of interviews are compiled into a coherent and succinct narrative that crams a lot of life and energy into roughly 170 pages. Blanes conducted extensive interviews with the band members, friends and hangers-on, and managers and promoters, and has outlined a fantastic story about starry-eyed teens searching for fame.
Sadly, it was never meant to be for the Outsiders, whose most effective manager was also unable to take them to a higher level of success. Although the band made a few performances in France, they never received an opportunity to play in England, which may have been more receptive to their harder-edged R&B-tinged garage-rock sound. Blanes mentions but a little of the friction that occurred between the band members and, by all accounts, the original Outsiders stayed relatively tight throughout their lives, and many continued playing music well into the new millennium. Short-sighted management was slow to recognize changes in the musical currents that were occurring internationally circa 1968 or so, and a lone U.S. visit by the Outsiders did little to advance their careers while less creative Dutch contemporaries like Tee Set and Shocking Blue enjoyed massive late ‘60s U.S. radio hits.
Blanes work on Outsiders by Insiders is impressive, the book an easy read providing a comprehensive history of the band. Although I haven’t seen the original Dutch version of the book, Misty Lane’s edition is as swanky as the aforementioned Greg Prevost book, with heavy glossy paper and a wealth of B&W photos of the band, memorabilia, and other rock ‘n’ roll ephemera sure to please any hardcore collector. The final chapter includes sections on each band member and what they did after the Outsiders, while an extensive discography and session notes provide those with a love of minutiae with the cheap thrills they crave. Overall, Outsiders by Insiders is a solid rock biography that has flown under the radar for far too long, as have the Outsiders themselves. My curiosity piqued by the story told within these pages, I sought out the Outsiders albums on CD and have not been disappointed.
Keith A. Gordon
"Originally published in a Dutch language edition in the Nederlands in 1997, Jerome Blanes’ thoroughly researched biography of The Outsiders is finally available in English, thanks to the hard work of Misty Lane’s Massimo del Pozzo. This new edition has undergone extensive revisions and updates and is profusely illustrated with more than 200 rare photos and illustrations mostly black and white. I can’t imagine any Outsiders fan not being completely satisfied by its contents".
Mike Stax,
Ugly Things Magazine.
"A fascinating read acompanied by some great photos...Well done Massimo and Jerome, I loved it and so will you!"
Rob Bailey,
N.U.T.S.
"It’s timely in the extreme that this marvelous book is finally seeing an English-language release, a decade after Blanes’ Dutch-only original. Here in full we get the truth about Wally’s exotic roots, and the untold stories of juvenile aggro and alienation that fed into the band’s anarchic violence and frenzy; we get tales of the strangely innocent early dazeof the early Dutch underground and sad stories from the opiate-soaked later years; we get a superb overview of a small country undergoing a youth explosion in the mid to late ‘60s and we get the inside schtick of the whole shebang from bandmembers, friends, roadies, producers and other band members. Running chronologically, this labour of love comes complete with over 250 images (including plenty of full-color gems), a remarkable list of gigs played, reproductions ofold articlesand so much more. A fitting Tribute to one of the era’s most singular and idiosyncratic acts, this tome won’t be around forever so grab your copy whilst it’s still hot to trot".
Hugh Dellar,
Shindig! Magazine