“How much emotions can you have in one weekend”. Quote from a friend.
It has been 30 years since a well known group of friends called The Bopcats from Amsterdam decided they needed a Rock’n’Roll bar of their own. Since then the Cruise Inn grew out to be one of the greatest Rock’n’Roll bars of The Netherlands. Rockers from all over the world come here to listen to rockabilly, drink, dance, bop and just have a good rockin’ time. Although i’ve been going to the cruise all my life and a lot of people saw me growing up there, its just the last few years that I have been visiting the Cruise on a regular basis. But even in those few years I made a lot of friends, and every night I have a blast! Most of the nights I stay till they kick me out 😉
The Cruise Inn
So when I heard they would celebrate their 30 year existence big time, I said I be there. I even wanted to film it for 2 days! And when I heard the Foggy Mountain Rockers would play, I went mad! They are one of the best modern day Teddy Boy bands. They started in Germany in 1992, my birth year. With a lot of singles, LP’s and cds on their name, they grew out to be a standard on Teddy Boy concerts!
I Arrived as one of the first, because I had to place my camera’s. I know the drummer of the first band, HotRock, so he came to me and he said I had a lot of equipment and he wished me luck. Then they started playing, and they were a good start of the party! In the break (and in every break) a dj was playing (dj jj, dj chicken and dj thomas for the first day), so I put down my camera and started talking to friends or just bop! Or eat at the cateringstand from Het Javaanse Eetcafe. Which was quite nice, yellow rice with sate sticks! After the break the Be Bops, from Belgium started playing. They rocked the place, and more and more rockers came in.
Picture By Reem Groot
The Be Bops were followed up by Jake Allen from the UK. I already spoke him on Facebook and before the party he came to me and wished me luck. I didn’t think he would be this good! After he played an awesome session, I went to him and asked for a EP with autograph. He signed it, and was very sympathetic. He said he was looking forward to my video and cd.
The last band of the night were the Delta Bombers from the US. Jake Allen joined in for harmonica. On the last song they asked some ladies (and some fella’s) to the stage. A great rockin’ end of the first day.
Martijn “Rio Rocker”
Unfortunately there were also sad moments. His name was Martijn ‘Rio Rocker’. Him and me met earlier that evening. We talked about his D.A and my quiff. He bopped and jived all night long. Around 3:30 he said to his dancing partner he had to sit down. He fell on the floor and they carried him outside. Only a few people were in the cruise at that time, including myself. The ambulance was called and they tried to revive him. He was declared dead a half hour later. The next day a speech was held, and we bopped in his name. A rockers farewell….R.I.P Martijn, you won’t be forgotten. ‘He bopped till he dropped’
The next day we were still in shock about what happened.. The first band was Mischief from The Netherlands. We were of to a rocking start again, and this time the rockers came in early. Next up were the Haystack Hightones from The Netherlands. The have a strong mix of Hill- and Rockabilly, with two lovely lady’s on the mic’s. The Reno Brothers, a longtime favorite in the Cruise, played next. The crowd went wild, I couldn’t believe it! They rocked, they were awesome.
Now was the time for a speech to remember Martijn. He was all about the bop, so we decided that instead of one minute of silence, the DJ Thomas would turn on some boppers and we bop while we think of him.
The time had come for the band I wanted to see for a long time. The Foggy Mountain Rockers, Teddy Boy legends! They began with a Teddy Boy Song and didn’t stop rockin’! I bought an EP afterward and let them sign it. They showed that Teddy Boys ain’t dead (Duh!).
The Foggy Mountain Rockers on stage!
Ervin Travis, a Gene Vincent tribute from France, was a trip back to the 50’s! Very awesome! The last, but certainly not the least was Amsterdam’s own El Rio Trio, with two original members of the Bopcats. I’ve been going to their performances since I was a kid. The shook the place, like always! The made a rockin’ final to the party!
This party made some great memories. I bopped with friends and my dad on my favorite song “Woodpecker Rock”. I got the joy of filming it all and meeting all the artists. And a lot more. Words can’t express the fun I had! So I want to thank the Cruise Inn, the artists, the dj and my friends for making this a weekend to remember. Onto the next 30 years Cruise Inn, and Rock’n’Roll will live forever!
The video will follow!
