Farewell George Kooymans
Founder, guitarist and sometimes singer George Kooymans of Golden Earring died earlier this week. He was 77. In 2021, Kooymans was diagnosed with ALS.
Most people immediately know Golden Earring for their hit “Radar Love” but my preferred track is “Twilight Zone.” As a matter of fact, it’s one of the “theme songs” for my job, specifically for the amazing line Place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned.
I get push alerts to my Garmin smartwatch, and one about Kooymans’ death came while I was in my office, coworker standing over my shoulder. I read it out loud and my coworker just said “Jesus.”
That about sums it up.
There is only one original member of Golden Earring left in the band, and that is co-founder and bassist Marinus Gerritsen.
Golden Earring had already announced a final, retirement show. It will be called "Golden Earring: One Last Night" at the Rotterdam Ahoy on January 30, 2026. Demand meant a couple more shows were added, but those all sold out as well. Proceeds from ticket sales are going toward ALS.
