BZN (Band Zonder Naam; Dutch for "Band Without Name") was a Dutch pop group that had a string of hits from 1966 to 2007 on. BZN recorded mostly in English and French, but also had success with material in Dutch and German.
In the early 1970s, the band switched to hard rock and had its first successes, including a brace of Top 40 hits. After original lead singer Veerman left the band, and drummer Jan Keizer took his place, the band made a musical U-turn and opted for commercial middle-of-the-road pop, adding female co-vocalist Anny Schilder and laying the foundation for their status as the most popular Dutch band ever (in terms of hit singles and albums). BZN has had over 50 hits in the Dutch hit charts to date, and are the only music act to have had top 40 hit singles for 26 consecutive years (1973-1998). Album chart presence was even stronger, without interruption from 1977 to 2008.[citation needed]
BZN's big breakthrough started with the song "Mon Amour" (1976), which held the #1 hit parade ranking for over 5 weeks. Outside of the Netherlands the band has had some success as well, amongst which several hits in South Africa (such as "Yeppa" in 1990) and minor successes with their French-language songs in Canada.[citation needed]
The most important line-up change was the departure of Schilder in 1984; she was replaced by Carola Smit. Then, in 1988, the brothers Cees (guitar) and Thomas Tol (keyboards) left; they had been responsible for most of the music and lyrics. The band still remained successful, making their last major change in strategy when they decided to write Dutch lyrics, in 2003.[citation needed]
BZN are also responsible for the initial success of singer Jan Smit, who was discovered by BZN at the age of 10 and went on to have pop and schlager successes in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.[citation needed]
On October 14, 2005, four members of BZN were recognized with a Dutch order of chivalry for their contributions to Dutch music history. They went on a farewell tour in 2006 and 2007.[citation needed]
Amassing gold and platinum records
Their 1982 album Pictures of Moments went gold and sold over 80,000 units, the first local group in the history of Phonogram Holland to have done so.[2]
