
Throughout
his multi-faceted career, Nick Oosterhuis has been regarded as a gifted
performer, a musical virtuoso and an inspired songwriter. He has consistently
demonstrated his ability to contribute his own unique touch to contemporary
music.
Nick began his lifelong affair with the guitar at the tender age of 7. A few years later, he taught himself to play the piano and at the ripe age of 13 joined his first band.
As a young teenager, he played clubs throughout his native Holland. Using the Blues as his main form of expression, he gained a reputation for his remarkable ability to switch from one instrument to another with equal levels of virtuosity.
By
the time he was 19, Nick, in addition to playing the piano and guitar,
was perfecting the Hammond Organ, synthesizers and the flute. He formed
the jazzband "Banshee", an ELP / Softmachine-inspired
experimental group. The band's popular success led to a studio recording
with Phonogram Records. This was shortly followed by an opportunity to
join "Galaxis" an art-rockband that toured Holland, France,
Germany, and Britain. They performed at the legendary Cavern-club in Liverpool
and made appearences at many Open-air festivals.
A reconstituted lineup featuring British singer James Wraith led to extensive touring in Britain and Holland in the 70`s. During days off, Nick did some recordings with Albie Donnely's "Supercharge" in Liverpool.
When "Galaxis" folded Nick had a welcome respite from the road. He concentrated on building his first 8-track studio while his former band members went onto other musical ventures. "Galaxis" founder and drummer, Ab Tamboer, joined Earth & Fire (no. 1 hit "Weekend" with Ab playing that marimba). James Wraith joined Roxy Music (to replace Brian Ferry) and Jacob van Heiningen joined "Livin Blues".
When
not recording, Nick made regular appearances on the Holland music scene
including a series of jam sessions in The Hague. Demonstrating his versatility,
he played with musicians from Motions, Shocking Blue, Rainbow
Train, Livin Blues, Moody Sec and young Jody Pijper (Jody
Singers).
In the late 70`s Nick had the opportunity to record a couple of original songs in the renown "Rainbow studio" with Jan Hollestelle on bass and Ton op `t Hof on drums.
This served as a prelude to his first solo album, THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF MR. GARNER (1982).
The urge to perform before a live audience propelled Nick back on stage with the trio Spacebus. He toured Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Holland. He also did some recording and made TV appearances with the Dutch rockband Lemming and singer Geo. During this period he also did some Albumrecordings in Hamburg 1980 with Spacebus featuring Monica Chen (Herman Brood) and Michael Eschauzier (Shocking Blue).
In
1982, Nick recorded his first solo album, The Mysterious Disappearance
of Mr. Garner. Reflecting his own talent and virtuosity, he performed
with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra and some of the
finest German, Dutch and British musicians including Peter Weihe and
Werner Becker.Later, he teamed up with Hugo de Bruin (Diesel)
and Guus Willemse (Solution) for special recording sessions.Nicks'
agility within the music world once again became apparent when he co-founded
the Hooklinestudio just outside of Hamburg with producer / engineer
Bernd Jost. This was in addition to his ongoing studio-gigs and stints
as a sideman while touring Holland, Germany and the U.S. In 1989, he
joined the hard-rock band, "Lone Age" featuring British
singer Keith Ellis (album: Mama, Just Look at me now).In 1992
Nick founded the EJECT MUSIC PUBLISHING COMPANY in
Germany (check out the Eject Music page).Through
this venture Nick has been fortunate to participate in countless records
(performing and/or writing) for many major artists (Wanda Jackson,
Tony Christie, Vicky Leandros ,Matthias Reim ,etc.).
Click here to go to the References page for
an artist overview. For an overview of recordings since 1990 check out the discography page.
Nick Oosterhuis currently resides and works near Hamburg as a musician, engineer, producer and songwriter.









