Started in Zwartemeer and has grown into a national phenomenon: Henk de Roo (69), also known as Boer Harms from The Dutch Boys. In October it was announced that he had esophageal cancer and he died last night. Today colleagues reminisce about him.
“I’m going to miss that man terribly,” René Karst responds. “He had such a sense of humor, every comment was almost a joke. He was a really good guy.” Karst last spoke to De Roo two weeks ago. And even then the Zwartemeer remained positive. “He could bear it all with humor,” says Karst.
William Bossong, bassist of Mooi Wark, grew up with The Dutch Boys and looked up to De Roo. “Henk was a phenomenon. A Zwartemeerder who loved a party. Henk actually made the party complete. People in Limburg are also familiar with Boer Harms. He managed to do that beautifully.”
“I was allowed to call him neighbor, because I lived behind him. When I came to live in Zwartemeer, we just started with Mooi Wark. I always hung on his every word when he talked about the past. Henk had already experienced it all. and I, as a brat, still had to start.”
De Roo scored several hits with The Dutch Boys, but he also appeared in a feature film. Karst thinks back on that with great pleasure. “I played a postman in that film. I would arrive on my bicycle, with a flat tire. And Henk’s standard comment would be ‘hello officer’. But of course I was a postman, so that made no sense. But that was just as he was.”
Not the film, but the music made De Roo famous. The Dutch Boys’ heyday was in the 1980s, with several hits. The song Boer Harms is particularly well known, which became a top 10 hit in 1982. De Roo always appeared as ‘Boer Harms’ during performances. The song came back into the spotlight a few years ago when it went viral on TikTok.
Today De Roo’s latest musical piece of art was released: a collaboration with Mooi Wark. “A while ago he came to our studio with his son,” says Bossong. “Just give it full throttle for two hours. Then he was completely devastated. Because he also said: ‘this is it, boys’.
It was hoped for one last small party. But the inevitable happened sooner than expected. “It was going to be a party with a black edge. But that black edge has become very thick,” sighs Bossong. “That’s a shame.”