The day The Surfers encouraged you to go "Windsurfin'"

Windsurfing
The Surfers: the Dutch group had a huge hit with 'Windsurfin'

Surfers usually are dedicated defenders of their sport. So, why would they suggest you go windsurfing?

In the 1970s, the sport of windsurfing was exploding in Europe. Germans, Dutch, Italians, and French were massively buying brand new windsurfing kits, and the wind sport was becoming a national obsession.

That was when two men thought they could channel the windsurfing madness into the music world.

Willem van Kooten (publisher) and Jaap Eggermont (producer) wrote "Windsurfin'" and invited six artists to sing it and record it in a studio.

The group was formed later, in the Netherlands. The Surfers line-up consisted of frontman Nico Fontijn, Paul Braaksma, Iwan Groeneveld, Patrick Elalouf, and three stage dancers.

A Hit in the Charts

The song sold 200,000 copies and sent The Surfers to second place in the Dutch charts.

The catchy tune also conquered other European nations, and Summer 1979 was all about "Windsurfin'."

The music act returned one year later with a new version of their first hit, but the song "Windsurfin' Time Again" would never be as successful as their debut single.

And after one last try - "Girls on the Beach" - the group disbanded in 1981, and The Surfers stopped sailing.

Are you a fan of nostalgic windsurfing archives? Watch the best windsurfing commercials of all time.

  • Dutch environmental activist and windsurfer Merijn Tinga, also known as the "Plastic Soup Surfer," has made an audacious journey from Oslo to London, braving the North Sea's currents and winds, to call attention to the pervasive problem of plastic pollution.