Hermanus Brood was born on 5 November 1946 in Zwolle and started his music career at the age of 17, after having completed his studies at the Arnhem art academy. As a keyboard player with the Arnhem band The Moans, Brood toured intensively in the German nightclub circuit, where the basis was laid for his excessive drinking and drug use. At the end of the sixties Brood was part of the legendary Drenthe blues band Cuby + Blizzards.
At the end of the seventies Brood started an extremely successful solo career. Brood's manic lifestyle culminated in the albums Street and Shpritsz, which have since been declared Dutch pop classics. An attempt to achieve success in America failed miserably and heralded the decline of Brood's musical achievements.
In the eighties and nineties Brood manifested himself mainly as a visual artist. His drawings, silkscreens and action paintings were eagerly sought after by a wide audience. Brood liked to help build up his image as an incorrigible 'son of all mothers' and did not hesitate to turn his private life into a public affair through the gossip press and TV appearances.
Because of Brood's continued high alcohol and drug consumption, his physical condition became so worrisome that his life was feared. In his final year of life the second part of Broods biography of his friend Bart Chabot appeared, tellingly entitled Broodje Halfom. Brood himself surprised his listeners with an excellent last album Ciao Monkey, on which he already alludes to the end of his life.
On 11 July 2001 Brood decided his body was 'gone' and his zest for life had disappeared. He ended his life with a jump from the roof of the Amsterdam Hilton hotel. A rock 'n' roll legend is no longer among us, but he leaves his mark in the form of a varied and extensive oeuvre and a richly documented life story.
