Dutch Tilders
Encyclopedia
Dutch Tilders (born Mattheus Frederikus Wilhelmus Tilders, anglicised as Matthew Tilders) was a Netherlands
-born Australian blues musician.
at age 15, at a concert also featuring Johnny O'Keefe
.
Tilders later took up the guitar, to be able to accompany himself when playing in cafes around Melbourne.
Tilders released his self-titled first album in 1972 and during the 1970s recorded and performed with musicians including Kevin Borich
, Taj Mahal
, John Mayall
and Brownie McGhee
.
Tilders also worked solo and toured with John Mayall, Taj Mahal, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry. B B King first met him in 1976. Having only heard and never seen Tilders, King assumed that he was black. King and Tilders became good friends mates simply because King believed that, regardless of his European origins, the Dutchman was a genuine bluesman.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Tilders fronted bands such as the Elks, the Cyril 'B' Bunter Band, Mickey Finn and the R&B Six. Later he toured extensively with The Blues Club and The Legends Band.
Tilders was dubbed the "Godfather of Blues" in Australia. As recently as November 2010 he joined Barbara Blue, known as the "Queen of Memphis Blues", on her Australian tour.
Tilders died on 23 April 2011, aged 69. He had announced that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer
and liver cancer
in May 2010, and had retired from performing in January 2011 due to his illness and treatment.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-born Australian blues musician.
Biography
Dutch Tilders was born in the Netherlands in 1941 and emigrated with his parents and siblings to Australia in 1955. As a child he had sung in school and church choirs, but later moved towards blues music, his first paying gig being on harmonica at Collingwood Town HallCollingwood Town Hall
Collingwood Town Hall is a civic building located on Hoddle Street in Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.The hall was built between 1885 and 1890 to the design of local architects George R. Johnson in the Second Empire style, rich in detail and prominent mansard roofs and pyramid domes...
at age 15, at a concert also featuring Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...
.
Tilders later took up the guitar, to be able to accompany himself when playing in cafes around Melbourne.
Tilders released his self-titled first album in 1972 and during the 1970s recorded and performed with musicians including Kevin Borich
Kevin Borich
Kevin Nicholas Borich is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
, John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
and Brownie McGhee
Brownie McGhee
Walter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
.
Tilders also worked solo and toured with John Mayall, Taj Mahal, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry. B B King first met him in 1976. Having only heard and never seen Tilders, King assumed that he was black. King and Tilders became good friends mates simply because King believed that, regardless of his European origins, the Dutchman was a genuine bluesman.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Tilders fronted bands such as the Elks, the Cyril 'B' Bunter Band, Mickey Finn and the R&B Six. Later he toured extensively with The Blues Club and The Legends Band.
Tilders was dubbed the "Godfather of Blues" in Australia. As recently as November 2010 he joined Barbara Blue, known as the "Queen of Memphis Blues", on her Australian tour.
Tilders died on 23 April 2011, aged 69. He had announced that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
and liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
in May 2010, and had retired from performing in January 2011 due to his illness and treatment.
Discography
Albums- Dutch Tilders (1972)
- Australian Jazz Singer – The Blues Singers (1974)
- Break (1975)
- Working Man (1976)
- Direct (1979)
- The Blues Had A Baby (1980)
- The Blues Is My Life (1989)
- Eureka Files 1975–1980 (1992)
- Live at the Station (1993)
- I'm a Bluesman (1998)
- One More Time – Live at St Andrews (2001)
- Highlights of Bob Barnard's Jazz Party (2003)
- Dutch Direct/Blues Had A Baby (Remastered) (2004)
- Mine & Some I Adopted (2005)