The Walkers – De Gouden Jaren van Telstar: The Walkers (2024)

The Maastricht group The Walkers put Limburg on the international music map in the 1970s. Not only with 19 of their own hits, but also as discoverers of songs like Partner and Pussycat. Two Walkers members set up the Marlstone studio and formed the group Carboon. And more.

At the end of 1959, Jean Innemee and three friends spent several evenings a week playing music in a vaulted cellar in Maastricht, rehearsing with a new band: The Mosam Skiffle Group. In 1960, the group won the finals of a major television talent show. In second place: Maddy Bleize and his Comets, also from Maastricht.
An album recording for Phonogram followed ('The day it all began', although the audience asked for 'Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?'). Numerous television appearances and interviews followed. However, after a few years, the group succumbed to the constant demand for more rhythmic songs. That's why, in 1964, a drummer joined: Maddy Bleize, the runner-up in the 1960 talent show, and the name changed to The Walkers.
The first lineup: Fred Limpens (vocals, guitar, trumpet), Leo Steinbush (trumpet, bass guitar, guitar), Maddy Bleize (drums, accordion), and Hammy Lipsch (organ). The group, with its drum kit, could now also accompany other artists and play as a dance orchestra.
In 1967, the band went professional, without Fred Limpens, who founded The Cash and accepted a job as a technician at the Telstar record company. Adrie Coenen (vocals, guitar) replaced him. And without Hammy Lipsch, who was replaced by Conny Peters (organ, piano, saxophone, flute). During their performances, The Walkers presented a rock & roll show featuring the "Limburg Elvis" Maddy Bleize and a show featuring original Greek folk music and appropriate clothing. Being a musician was sometimes demanding. Monthly contracts in Groningen and Amsterdam nightclubs ("gentlemen's tie and jacket required") weren't easy. A performance in a regular dance hall was a breath of fresh air. Fortunately, their success there quickly spread, making nightclubs unnecessary. The Walkers became popular musicians in major Dutch dance halls.