Blue Diamonds duo Ruud and Riem de Wolff, ‘the Dutch Everly Brothers’, had received incorrect assistance when they signed their recording contract; the big money was left with record companies and promoters. Yet the brothers never bothered with it, modest as they both were. Ruud died in 2000 at the age of 59 and Riem followed in 2017. He was 74. They lived for the music and their career, but they hardly reaped the benefits.
Blue Diamonds son Steffen de Wolff pays tribute to legendary duo: ‘My father and uncle had to work until the end to be able to live’
After coming to the Netherlands from Indonesia in 1949, they ended up in Driebergen. And it was precisely there that the two hitmakers received the tribute this week that should have been theirs much earlier. Opposite the parental home, a statue was unveiled this week that revives The Blue Diamonds in bronze.
Ruud and Riem de Wolff © ANP/HH
‘They were far too modest’
Initiators Paola and Bram Brinkman thought that, 65 years later, it was high time to reflect on the successes of the two famous residents of whom Driebergen is proud. Bram is the brother of former culture minister Elco Brinkman, which is why he was also present at the unveiling of the statue of artist Janine van Dijk.
“Of course we are very proud of our father and uncle,” says Riem’s daughter Natasha, who attended the moment with her brother Steffen. “They themselves would never have expected to be honored in this way. They were far too modest for that.”