Claw Boys Claw

Claw Boys Claw are a Dutch rock and roll band, formed in Amsterdam. The core members of the band are Peter te Bos (vocals) and John Cameron (guitar). The band released eight full-length albums between 1983 and 1997. After some years of inactivity, the band started playing live again in 2007 and released an album, Pajama Day, in 2008.

Claw Boys Claw established a reputation for its exuberant and energetic live shows—in the Dutch press, Te Bos is often referred to as a "stage beast." They never attained much commercial success, and a venture into the American market was unsuccessful, but many of their albums are critically acclaimed. They were called one of the most important Dutch bands of the 1980s, received one of the highest awards given to Dutch pop musicians (the BV Popprijs), and are still active as "one of the best Dutch bands."

Beginnings

Claw Boys Claw was founded in 1983 by guitarist Allard Jolles, at the time guitarist and singer of L'Attentat, though he played drums in his newly founded band. The original four members were Jolles, Peter Te Bos, John Cameron, and bassist Bobbie Rossini. Their "garage rock," as the Dutch termed it (a lo-fi mixture of rock and roll and punk), quickly gained popularity, and in 1984 the band releases their first album, Shocking Shades Of Claw Boys Claw, containing among others a cover of the song "Venus" by Shocking Blue. The album was recorded in three hours and cost 500 guilders (some $250 at the time), money the band had won in a talent show. While not a commercial success at the time, the album (which was reissued in 2008) was later called one of the best records in the history of Dutch pop music by Trouw. Jolles leaves the band in May 1985 to focus on L'Attentat, and is replaced by Marius Schrader.