Fred Baggen - Supersister. Looking Back, Naked (English translation)

The one and only biography for those who want to know everything about Supersister!!

In December 2020, the richly illustrated, complete biography of progressive Dutch pop legends Supersister was published. A book that will provide many hours of reading pleasure for fans of Dutch pop – and good pop music in general. From cover to cover, it is filled with facts and trivia about (not only the music of) Supersister, anecdotes and memories from those closely involved with the band, a global history of pop music in the Netherlands between the lines, never-before-published photos... In short: a must-have for your bookshelf!

It all started as a school band called The Blubs, founded in 1964 by drummer Marco Vrolijk, which also included Robert Jan Stips (piano, vocals, harmonica, tambourine), Gerhard Smid (clarinet, guitar, vocals), Theo Nijenhuis (guitar) and Arnold Slagter (tea chest bass, bass guitar). Shortly afterwards, the name was changed to The Provocation, a beat group that managed to perform at Soestdijk Palace on Queen's Day 1966 during the parade for the royal family.

After changing their name to (Sweet OK) Super Sister – with new members Rob Douw (trumpet, tuba, baby piano, vocals, recitation), Ron van Eck (bass guitar, vocals) and Sacha van Geest (flute, percussion, vocals) – and the psychedelic years in Provadya? clubs, with sacred manifestations and pioneering light shows, Supersister became known to music lovers in 1970 as a four-piece band through their performance at the Holland Pop Festival in Rotterdam and their radio hit “She Was Naked”.

With additions by keyboardist Robert Jan Stips

The entire development and all the successes of Supersister from the mid-1960s onwards are described in detail in the biography, based on extensive archive research, interviews with dozens of people directly and indirectly involved with the group, and, last but not least, keyboardist Robert Jan Stips’ personal memories and explanations.

You will also learn known and unknown facts about the solo careers of the band members, the reunion of Supersister in 2000-2001, the deaths of Sacha and Ron, and Robert Jan's heart-warming drive to keep the music of his first band alive — to this day.

About the author

Fred Baggen (1967) wrote Supersister. Looking Back, Naked, his second extensive music biography, two years after the publication of The Doors. A Fistful of Silence, about the legendary Los Angeles band with singer Jim Morrison, who died in Paris half a century ago.

Media attention

Podcast interview with Supersister biographer Fred Baggen about his book Supersister. Looking Back, Naked. Peter Schavemaker, 8 January 2021.

https://soundcloud.com/user-542468150/podcast-interview-met-supersister-biograaf-fred-baggen-over-zijn-boek-looking-back-naked

“Why the band Supersister deserved a 1,000-page biography”. Peter van Brummelen, Het Parool, 16 January 2021.

https://www.parool.nl/kunst-media/waarom-de-band-supersister-een-biografie-van-1000-pagina-s-verdiende~b33ada28/

‘Impressive biography about the unique underground of Supersister’. De Nieuws bv, Radio 1, 22 January 2021.

https://www.nporadio1.nl/de-nieuws-bv/onderwerpen/71141-2021-01-22-imposante-biografie-over-de-unieke-underground-van-supersister

‘Exceptional music’. Peter van Brummelen, Dagblad van het Noorden, 22 January 2021.

‘Supersister - Looking Back, Naked’. Peter Sijnke, Platenblad, 23 January 2021.

‘The music was an ode to fantasy’. Martin Reitsma, De Posthoorn, 27 January 2021.

‘The echoes of Supersister in the bookcase’. Wouter Bessels, iO Pages, 30 January 2021.

Book review by Wouter Bessels, Progwereld, 23 February 2021.

https://www.progwereld.org/recensie/fred-baggen-supersister-looking-back-naked/

Interview with Robert Jan Stips about the Supersister biography in the programme Gooise business on radio station NH Gooi, 5 March 2021.

https://nhgooi.nl/gemist/fragment/1281647/nh-gooi-business-robert-stips-over-zijn-supersister-boek

‘This thick tome about Supersister is more than just a bloated footnote in pop history’. Gijsbert Kamer, de Volkskrant, 12 March 2021.

https://www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-media/deze-dikke-pil-over-supersister-is-meer-dan-een-opgeblazen-voetnoot-in-de-popgeschiedenis~b4aa4bc3/

Video reports

During his research for the Supersister biography, Fred Baggen made a series of video reports of his interviews with Robert Jan Stips, former band members, family, friends and musical colleagues. See the author's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnBkA0NzJniDT6XElMDliA