Teach In Biography
The Dutch band Teach In, formed in Enschede, Netherlands, in 1973, was built around strong pop ethics. Fronted by Austrian vocalist Getty Kaspers, the band's career spanned nearly a decade, although they are best-remembered for their stunning 1975 Eurovision Song Contest victory. Prior to that, however, the band was making waves at home with their 1974 Roll Along LP and "Fly Away" single, and then the following year with both the Festival and Get on Board LPs. An impressive string of singles followed, including "Good Bye Love" and "In the Summernight."
It was the contest-winning "Ding-a-Dong," however, that brought Teach In their first taste of international recognition. Composed by Dick Bakker, Will Luikinga, and Eddy Owen, "Dinge Dong" (its original Dutch-language title) was an easy winner in the Dutch preliminary rounds, staged in late February 1975, beating out Albert West's "I Don't Have Any Money for the Train" and Debbie's "Circus." The following month, the band took the song to Stockholm for the finals of Eurovision 1975.
Despite strong competition from, among others, the recently re-formed the Shadows (representing Great Britain) and France's Nicole Rieu, "Ding-a-Dong" topped the voting and ignited a brief period of Europe-wide Teach In mania. The single reached number 13 on the U.K. chart, spending nearly two months on the Top 50 -- of course, it was also included on the U.K. Teach In LP. And, although it wasn't long before the band was forgotten in Britain, elsewhere the post-Eurovision Teach In maintained a very active release schedule. Later hits included "Ride in the Night" in 1977 and "Dear John" the following year -- interestingly, the latter breached the Swedish Top 20 in February 1979, a feat that "Ding-a-Dong" never managed. 1979 also brought the memorable "Robot," and Teach In launched a new decade with "Bad Day" in 1980.
The band faded after that, but of course, no Eurovision winner is ever wholly forgotten -- "Ding-a-Dong" regularly appears on compilations of the contest's greatest hits. ~ Amy Hanson, All Music Guide
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