Rob de Nijs

The young Rob de Nijs initially aspired to be an actor. However, in 1962, he and his backing band, The Lords, landed a recording contract for three singles after winning a talent show at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The first two albums flopped, but "Ritme Van de Regen" (Rhythm of the Regen) became a hit. It sold 100,000 copies in 1963. Overnight, Rob de Nijs, born on December 26, 1942, became a teen idol, with all the hysterical scenes that entailed. He scored more hits in the subsequent "Ritme Van De Regen" albums, but in the latter half of the 1960s, his success as a pop singer declined sharply. He bridged these lean years by returning to his original calling, appearing in theaters and singing in musicals. Rob de Nijs remains on the radar of the general public mainly thanks to his leading roles in the successful TV series Oebele and Can You Tell Me the Way to Hamelin, Sir?

His musical career was dramatically revived in the early 1970s when he was paired with lyricist Lennaert Nijgh and composer-producer Boudewijn de Groot. Thanks to them, Rob de Nijs was given a repertoire that finally did justice to his voice and expressiveness. This new collaboration yielded hits like "Jan Klaassen De Trompetter," "Dag Zuster Ursula," and "Malle Babbe." His comeback was completed with the classic albums "In De Uren Van De Middag" (In the Hours of the Midday) and "Kijken Hoe Het Morgen Wordt."

Rob de Nijs eventually also began working with other lyricists, composers, and producers. He managed to maintain his position as the absolute top singer in Dutch-language pop music. He scored hits with singles like "Het Werd Zomer" (It Was Summer), "Zunday," "Hold Me Tight (Because I Fall), "Ik Wil Je" (I Want You), "Alles Wat Ademt" (Everything That Breathes), and "Banger Hart" (His Very First Number One). From the early 1980s onward, he sang many lyrics by Belinda Meuldijk, his wife until 2006. For decades, Rob de Nijs released a new studio album almost every year, including "Met Je Ogen Dicht" (1978), "De Regen Voorbij" (The Rain Past) (1981), "Roman" (1983), "Pur Sang" (1985), "Vrije Val" (Free Fall) (1986), "De Reiziger" (The Traveler) (1989), and "De Band, De Zanger En Het Meisje" (The Band, The Singer, and the Girl) (1996). All successful albums.

Rob de Nijs and his regular Pure Sang backing band also manage to fill the seats with loyal fans every theater season. In the autumn of his career, the singer delivered some of his best, most moving, and most personal albums: Finally Free (2010), New Space (2014), Not For The Last Time (2017), and It's Beautiful (2020). In 2019, it was announced that Rob de Nijs was suffering from Parkinson's disease. He made a deep impression in countless Dutch living rooms with his version of the song Not For The Last Time, as he sang it on the show De Wereld Draait Door in March 2020. In 2021, Rob de Nijs bid farewell to his Belgian audience with a performance at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp. On June 22, 2022, he sang for his Dutch fans for the last time at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. In 2025, the musical Malle Babbe, co-produced by Joop van den Ende, premiered, which is about the

The life, loves, and long career of Rob de Nijs. His role is played by René van Kooten.