Hague church bell tower to play Golden Earring hits after guitarist's death

On Friday afternoon, the carillon of the Grote Kerk in The Hague will play Golden Earring music several times. This is in honor of the passing of George Kooymans, the guitarist for the Dutch rock band Golden Earring, the city carillonneur Gijsbert Kok announced.

"When I heard on the news tonight that George Kooymans had passed away, I immediately decided to pay tribute during my next carillon performance in The Hague," he said.

That performance will take place on Friday between noon and 1:00 p.m. He will start with some songs by the Hague rock band, although he has not yet decided which ones exactly.

Kok will also honor the late musician on Saturday. At the end of the morning, he will play on the carillon of the Oude Kerk in Scheveningen, where songs by Golden Earring will also be heard.

When it became known in 2021 that Kooymans was suffering from the muscle disease ALS, the Golden Earring hit Radar Love was played as a tribute on his birthday on several carillons across the country.

It was confirmed on Wednesday evening that Golden Earring’s five farewell concerts will go ahead as planned. A spokesperson has said that the concerts had been initiated and planned by Kooymans.

The farewell, which will take place at Rotterdam Ahoy, was announced in January under the name One Last Night. Due to overwhelming demand for tickets, four additional shows were added.

Golden Earring last performed in 2019. The band members did not know at the time that, due to the coronavirus pandemic that followed, that was to be their last show together. The group quit in 2021 after Kooymans was diagnosed with ALS.