Hallo Venray

Active since 1985 in The Hague, Netherlands, Hallo Venray operates in a guitar-driven rock vein, with a direct sound that sometimes shifts toward more modern textures. Founded by Henk Koorn and Toon Moerland with drummer Dim Veldhuizen, Hallo Venray released their first album, You Don’t Hit a Guy With Glasses On, in 1989, followed by King in 1990. The band broadened its Dutch audience with The More I Laugh, The Hornier Due Gets in 1992, then released A Million Planes to Fly in 1993 and played several dates outside the Netherlands, notably in France. Merry-Go-Round appeared in 1995, and the self-titled Hallo Venray (1997) marked a turn toward a more contemporary approach that incorporated electronic elements. After Dim Veldhuizen’s departure—he was replaced in 1998 by Henk Jonkers—Hallo Venray returned with I’m Not a Senseless Person, At Least I Don’t Want To Be in 2000. The band later stabilized as a trio around Henk Koorn, Peter Konings and Henk Jonkers, signed with Excelsior Recordings and recorded Vegetables and Fruit in 2005 with Frans Hagenaars, followed by Leather on My Soul in 2008, issued in both acoustic and electric versions. Hallo Venray then released Where Is The Funky Party? in 2017 and Coffee and Cake in 2022.