Current members
Robert Jan Stips Rinus Gerrissen Leon Klaasse
Original Members
Robert Jan Stips keyboards, vocals
Marco Vrolijk drums
Sacha van Geest flute
Ron van Eck bass guitar
Former members
Charley Mariano flute, clarinet, saxophone
Rob Kruisman flute, saxophone
John Schuursma guitar
Elton Dean saxophone
Herman van Boeyen drums
Rob Douw lyricist, vocals
Gerhard Smid guitar, vocals
Daniel Denis drums
1967 – 1968
Originally called Sweet O.K. Supersister, Supersister is formed in The Hague by Robert-Jan Stips (vocals and keyboard), Sacha van Geest (flute), Marco Vrolijk (drums) and Ron van Eck (bass).
1970
Supersister’s progressive sound sticks out among the beat and rock music and the band spearheads the local hippie scene. In the spring of 1970 Supersister’s first single She Was Naked is released. It’s the group’s first hit and it earns them a record deal with Polydor. Their debut album Present From Nancy is reasonably successful.
1971
The single A Girl Named You precedes the album To The Highest Bidder and Supersister performs at Pinkpop.
1972
Supersister is constantly touring the country and their single Radio enters the Top 40. The single is followed by the band’s third album Pudding En Gisteren. In the autumn they release a compilation album in the Superstarshine series, which contains a previously unreleased live version of Wow.
1973
Pudding En Gisteren earns the band an Edison Music Award. However, the first signs of musical indifferences in the band are surfacing. Both Stips and Van Eck are fed up with the band’s sound and want to move to a new, more jazz influenced direction. Vrolijk and Van Geest leave the band. Supersister is joined by Charlie Mariano (formerly Ambush, Chris Hinze and Embryo) and begins sessions with Georgio Gomelski in the Manor studio near Oxford for their fourth album Iskander.
1974
Iskander is not as successful was expected. It is obvious that the fans are finding it hard to come to terms with the band’s new sound. Charlie Mariano quits and is replaced by saxophone player Elton Dean (formerly Soft Machine). Lack of success, however, makes the band decide to split up.
1975
The album Spiral Staircase doesn’t make a big impact. However the single Coconut Woman featuring steel band Los Alegres becomes a minor hit. On February 15 the band plays a one-off live version of the album in Amsterdam’s Paradiso. Guest musicians include George Kooymans and Cesar Zuiderwijk of Golden Earring, Herman van Boeyen (Vitesse), Hans Lafaille (Cuby+Blizzards), Cees van Leeuwen (ex-Kayak) and Josée van Iersel (Gruppo Sportivo). After these activities Van Geest quits the musical scene and embarks on a successful career as a graphic designer.
2000
Supersister re-forms for the Progfest festival in Los Angeles where they play three gigs. The album Memories Are New is released. It contains previously unreleased material from the 1960s and 1970s, live recordings and even some Dutch-language songs. Supersister also plays two gigs in The Netherlands.
2001
In May Supersister plays three additional gigs in The Netherlands. Sadly, Sacha van Geest dies on July 29 due to a heart attack. According to Robert Jan Stips this will almost certainly be the end of Supersister. In October the band’s show in Paradiso is released on the double CD Supersisterious, while Memories Are New is released in Japan in a special edition. Recordings of a reunion show in Paradiso are released on the double CD Supersisterious.
2010
Robert Jan Stips, Ron van Eck and Marco Vrolijk will get together on friday 17th of September 2010 for playing two songs at VPRO television at Effenaar, Eindhoven.
2011
Ron van Eck dies July 20th
