CDR Salamander is our local Dutchophile (Hollandophile?) but we too are great admirers of the residents of the Orange nation. Less taciturn than the Germans, and certainly less snobbish than the French, they are a lot of fun, and wonderful hosts.
Waaaaaaaaaaaay back in around 1982, a little band named Diesel popped up on the pop charts with a little ditty called “Hot Summer Night in Sausalito.” I usually heard it on the local Canadian FM station, along with bands like Chilliwack, or that other icon of Canadian pop, Robin Sparkles, so I naturally assumed at the time it was another Canadian band.
It’s a fun little tune, nothing offensive, no gang signs flashed, no sex, no drugs. The closest they come to that is a burger and root beer.
Oddly, the band in the video is actually long, long, long running Dutch band Kayak. They’re big in Holland, which, yeah, that’s kinda a joke, but they really are like the national pop band. See, Diesel was something of a side project for Kayak drummer Pim Koopman. After Diesel’s success in the US, ended by some financial shennanigans by their management, Pim (eventually) went back to Kayak. And after his death, Kayak had a tribute concert to him in 2010, a part of which consisted of this fantastic performance of Diesel’s sole charting US single.
I enjoy seeing the band simply having a great time, and playing the song almost exactly as the studio version.
The cute redhead? Cindy Oudshoorn.
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