Picture is one of the first Dutch heavy metal bands. Formed in 1979,[1] they were especially popular in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy for their live performances, and still have a fan base in South America, Mexico and Japan.
Picture supported AC/DC, Ted Nugent and Saxon in the Netherlands. With Saxon, they did a full European tour in 1981. Later on they toured with Rose Tattoo in Germany and headlined tours in Italy and Israel.
Early on in Picture's career they were produced by Cat Music.[2] They worked with manager Henk van Antwerpen and were signed to Warner Bros. Records. However, Picture felt their label were trying to steer them in a pop direction and quit the label to sign with Backdoor Records, a subsidiary of Phonogram Records.
The original line-up recorded their debut album, Picture 1 and their second effort, Heavy Metal Ears in 1980 and 1981 respectively. To begin with, they gigged throughout the Netherlands and nearby Germany and built a following. In the meantime, they started composing their own music. Bechtum would usually come up with the riffs, then the other members would contribute their parts. After hashing and rehashing the songs, they became the titles that would appear on the first album, Picture I.
As a bunch of young kids, they did not know much about the realities of recording. When the album came out, none of them liked the sound quality. As they grew in popularity, they returned to the studio to record Heavy Metal Ears and it was much of the same sound quality. It was not until they were a little older and wiser that they really got their sound in the studio with Diamond Dreamer. However, by this time, Ronald had left for personal reasons and they found Israeli singer Shmoulik Avigal. Not only was the recording done much better, but Shmoulik had a different, and some[who?] say, more powerful voice. Many[who?] consider Diamond Dreamer as the band's best album.
After recording and touring with Shmoluik for the Diamond Dreamer album, he suggested they add a second guitarist to fatten their live sound and Chriz Van Jaarsveld was brought in. Though he was a technically proficient guitarist, he did not gel with Bechtum and things went downhill. Then Shmoulik got in a petty argument with their manager and was fired from the band. About this time, Bechtum had had enough and quit for personal reasons. To fill in the gaps, a new singer, Pete Lovell, was recruited along with a second guitarist, Henry van Manen. They went into the studio to record Eternal Dark. This album was slicker than Diamond Dreamer and the two guitarists significantly altered the heavy sound of Jan Bechtum for a more technical groove that sort of worked, but started the trend for the final albums that veered away from the Picture sound. Around this time, Bakker could not take the rigors of touring or the stress of all their management troubles while supporting a wife and twins, so he left.
From that point on, the only remaining original member was Vreugdenhil. He continued for three more albums: Traitor, Marathon, and Every Story Needs Another Picture. Many[who?] described them as going into hair metal, with commercial and anonymous songs. Vreugdenhil was particularly disgusted with Every Story Needs Another Picture, as it was an album forced by the record contract, and it is rumored[by whom?] that the whole album was recorded by studio musicians with minimal[vague] participation from him.
Though Vreugdenhil continued long after the other original members had left, he was never able to steer the band back into a successful direction. He finally called it a day in 1987,[1] and got a "real" job. The original members tried a brief reunion in 1988.[1]
In 2007, the classic lineup reunited for rehearsals. They still had that spark, and planned to cut a CD in 2008 and play some gigs around the Netherlands and Germany. Though Ronald van Prooijen helped out, singer Shmoulik Avigal was asked to participate as well as Pete Lovell, the singer on the Eternal Dark album.
After the smoke cleared[vague] in 2008, a permanent lineup was established with Bechtum, Vreugdenhil, Bakker, Rob vanEnkhuizen, and Lovell. They are currently[when?] playing throughout Europe to very enthusiastic[vague] crowds. A limited edition live album was recorded at various venues and was released by the band. Plans were to release another album in 2009 with new songs, two of which have appeared on the limited edition CD.
The album Old Dogs, New Tricks was released on 1 October 2009, on the MarsMountains label. It contains 12 songs of all new material, released 30 years from when the band first formed.
On 18 December 2009, Bechtum announced his departure from the band. He was replaced by Peter Bourbon. In early 2010, van Enkhuizen decided to leave Picture. His replacement is Gert Nijboer. In 2011, Nijboer was replaced by American Mike Ferguson.
The lineup solidified with the two new guitarists and they began working on their new album which was released in spring 2012. Warhorse, written by all band members, brought Picture back into the limelight. They began touring again. Due to logistical problems, Peter Bourbon had to leave, but that spot was soon filled by another Dutch guitarist, Len Ruygrok. After a few months he decided to leave and former member Andre Wullems came back. The band continues to tour and solidify their reputation in the world of heavy rock and metal.
On 23 March 2016, Pete Lovell announced by Facebook his departure from the band to form his new band Lovell's Blade. Also, Andre Wullems and Mike Ferguson will join the new band. But all the so-far-planned gigs of Picture in 2016 were to be respected and performed by Pete, Andre, Rinus, Laurens and Mike. Nearly a day later, Rinus and Laurens announced that Picture would continue with the original members of the first line-up ever.
With Jan Bechtum and Ronald van Prooijen they start a classic line-up tour in 2017 and will celebrate the 40th year in existence in 2018! Guitarist Appie de Gelder is added as second guitarist to the line-up to make a richer live sound. They played the Sweden Rock Festival in 2017 for the second time since 2008. The 40th year in existence is celebrated with a live CD, 40 years Heavy Metal Ears.
In 2019, a new studio album Wings is released worldwide through Pure Steel Records. It contains ten new songs and is the tenth studio album of the band.
In February 2020 has been announced that a new singer, the Italian Phoenix Reborn took Ronald's place.
In 2020, the Corona pandemic limits the future of the band. Shows that will hopefully be done end of 2021 will be done by vocalist and old friend of the band Peter Strykes.
After a considerable period as a substitute guitarist, it appears during the corona pandemic that Jan Bechtum's hand is causing too many problems, even after surgery. This marks the official return of Len Ruygrok as a band member. April 9, 2021 Len Ruygrok will play his first gig at Blast From the Past @ Kuurne (BE) as an official band member.
The new line-up is strong and that will not go unnoticed. The powerful vocals of Peter Strykes and the new (old school) sound of Len Ruygrok ensure that the band is touring again. In the period 2021 - 2023, the band will visit European countries such as Greece, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Poland and 2023 will also end with a 14-day tour through the cities of Sau Paulo, Limeira, Curitiba and Londrina in Brazil.
