Gruppo Sportivo - Stop Motion: 50th Anniversary Tour

Gruppo Sportivo returns with Stop Motion: 50th Anniversary Tour, on 1 November 2026 at Patronaat in Haarlem. Since the mid-1970s the The Hague band led by songwriter and guitarist Hans Vandenburg has worked at the intersection of pop and new wave: short, punchy songs, light rock, influences from ska and retro, and that recognisable call-and-response between Vandenburg and the female singers.

The set looks back at the early years with material from 10 Mistakes and Back to '78, moves on to Copy Copy and Pop! Goes the Brain, and also includes more recent work such as Great from 2018. Expect melodies that stick, compact arrangements and English-language lyrics delivered with a wink — exactly the mix that once set the band apart. Fifty years after their start, Gruppo Sportivo lays the trajectory of their sound bare on stage: from early pop/new wave energy to later songs in which that playful foundation remains. On 1 November in Haarlem it will be an evening of repertoire that connects generations, performed by a band that maintains its distinctive style.