Quick Facts
Biography
Ben Liebrand (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɛn ˈli.brɑnt]) (born 27 September 1960 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands) is a dance music DJ. He has produced artists such as Forrest and MC Miker G & DJ Sven and remixed tracks by artists such as Michael Jackson, Salt N Pepa, Sting, TLC, Fun Fun, Tavares, Bill Withers, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, George Aaron, Rick Astley, SWV and Phil Collins. He has also charted under his own name, an example of which was Ben Liebrand's version of "Eve of the War."
His radio show "In The Mix" was the first non-stop mixed show that aired on Dutch National Radio in 1983. Early listeners were Armin van Buuren and Tiësto, who have cited Liebrand as their main reason for entering the music business. "In The Mix" also spawned an annual yearmix with 100+ tracks called "The Grandmix." The first series of Grandmixes aired from 1983 to 1992 and later versions from 1999 on are also released on CD.
Early history
Liebrand began his DJ-ing career in 1976 at the age of 16 with his mobile set-up, "The B. Liebrand Audio Studio", playing parties around his hometown of Nijmegen. Two years later, when he became old enough to frequent nightclubs, he moved from mobile discos to a nightclub residency, playing in "Juicy Lucy" nightclub (1978–1979). At this point, he was still letting one record play into another without beatmixing; however in 1979, he began a residency at "The Kwien" (pronounced 'The Queen') nightclub (1979–1980). During this time, Liebrand learned the art of mixing from Kwien resident Huib Luiten.
At his longest residency to date at "The Keizer Karel" (1980–1988) played a five-hour set each night after the club first opened. He continued DJ-ing with his sister Rita Liebrand, at "The Hippodrome" Hennef, Germany (1990–1995). His last residency was in the club "Disco Inferno" (2000–2004). Ben is still active as a DJ having specialized in doing key-mixing on 4 Pioneer CD players simultaneously.
Radio Veronica early years
On 1 April 1983, Liebrand was hired by the Dutch radio station Radio Veronica, producing a weekly individual mix show called "In The Mix." This one-hour show played at 2am weekly, and ran from early 1983 to November 1985. From that radio show, regular features such as the "Grandmix", a yearly mix of all important dance tracks of the year, was developed. Taking a full month to organise, mix and record, the first Grandmix was broadcast at the end of 1983, but technical complications almost ended this event before it started. Arriving at the Veronica Studio, Liebrand discovered that he had forgotten the second of the two tapes on which the Grandmix '83 was recorded. But he happened to have a tape of a just finished "High Fashion Dance Mix" with him, and it was with that tape that the second part of the Grandmix '83 began. In January 1984, the 'Grandmix '83' was broadcast in its entirety."Grandmix" developed into a trademark event for both Radio Veronica and Liebrand, running until 1992.
In 1984, Liebrand also started making shorter remixes for the Friday evening 'Curry & Van Inkel show', later the 'Stenders & Van Inkel show' (both on that station). His "In the Minimix" was always played at "two records past nine" (twee platen over negen) and formed an important part of the popular radioshow. These minimixes were either three/four track mixes (never exceeding fifteen minutes in total) or remixes of popular chart records at the time.
Many of Liebrand's remixes, released as singles, including Bill Withers "Lovely Day" and Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" were premiered as 'minimixes' on this radio show. In the case of Phil Collins "In The Air Tonight," however, the mix was completed and then taken by Liebrand to be part of a mix showcase at the DMC Mixing Championship Finals in London. Liebrand explained "Then I put on my remix of Phil Collins, in front of those two and a half thousand DJ’s. And I told them: "If you want to see this released? Call Virgin first thing tomorrow!" That resulted in Virgin being called by two and a half thousand DJ’s, and this got the track signed and released by 1pm the day after."
After producing the final "Grandmix" in 1992, Liebrand felt frustrated with lack of feedback that his mixes were gaining. "You didn’t know what people thought of it. 30 days fulltime working on the Grandmix in December, ten to twelve hours a day mixing. On 31 December it was finished, and the last years when I entered the broadcast studios, everybody was busy doing something else, not really interested, and only the technician who was on duty, sat with me in the broadcast room. I plugged in my gear, pressed play around six o’clock, and after an hour I disconnected it again, and took off. Having sat there for one hour, solely with the technician, it was the biggest anti-climax ever. This could be compared to making a piece of art, walking up to a bridge and throwing it in the river, without knowing the people’s opinions about it."
Taking a break - visuals and adverts
Liebrand embarked on computer-based 3D renderings and animation work, beginning his own visual company, Liebrand Images. He undertook work such as commercials (for clients including Arcade Compilations CDs), promotional music videos (for acts including Atlantic Ocean and Alan Parsons) and visuals (station idents for Music TV station TMF). This company still operates today.
Return of The Grandmix...
In 1997, Liebrand released "Funky Town" and in 1998 began negotiations with Dutch radio-station Radio 538 (an offspring of Radio Veronica), the result of which was the re-broadcasting of all the Radio Veronica "Grandmixes" the last Saturday of the month throughout 1999. The final intention was to broadcast a brand-new "Grandmix" in December 1999, a "MillenniuM-Mix", containing the greatest dance tracks of the century. Liebrand was invited to produce a mid-year summer Grandmix and an end-of-year Grandmix for Radio 538. On 31 December 2001, a three-part "Grandmix" was broadcast, followed by a "Grandmix Disco Edition" on 23 August of that year. "Grandmixes" were broadcast in the summer and end-of-year of 2002 and 2003.
In 2004, Liebrand returned to Radio Veronica for a two-hour weekly mix. He makes Grandmixes available in a new format on 3 CDs on his website and has his 'In The Mix' show on Radio Veronica.
Personal life
Liebrand is married to Brenda van Raam. They have two sons, Fabian and Sascha, and a daughter, Linde.
Liebrand moved from The Netherlands to Canada in 2010.
Discography
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NED | UK | ||||
| 1990 | "Puls(t)ar" | — | 68 | Styles | |
| "I Wish" (featuring Nasty Chat) | — | 84 | |||
| "Move To The Bigband" (featuring Tony Scott) | 15 | 84 | |||
| 1991 | "Give Me An Answer" | — | — | ||
| 2000 | "Music & Passion" (featuring Gibson Brothers) | 91 | — | single only | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||
Remixes and megamixes in charts
| Year | Artist | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NED | BEL (FLA) | FRA | GER | AUT | SWI | IRE | UK | AUS | NZ | ||||
| 1985 | Tavares | "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel" (Irresistible Angel Mix) | 11 | 11 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 12 | — | — | The Very Best Of (by Tavares) |
| Tavares | "Don't Take Away The Music" (Hands Off The Music Mix) | 48 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | Tavares | "It Only Takes A Minute" (Remix by Ben Liebrand) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 46 | — | — | |
| Alisha | "All Night Passion" (New Mix by Ben Liebrand) | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only | |
| 1987 | Hot Chocolate | "You Sexy Thing" (Remix by Ben Liebrand) | 56 | 20 | — | 5 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 10 | — | — | The Very Best Of (by Hot Chocolate) |
| Hot Chocolate | "Every 1's A Winner" (Groove Mix) | 59 | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | 69 | — | — | ||
| 1988 | Bill Withers | "Lovely Day" (Sunshine Mix) | 12 | 8 | — | 27 | 18 | — | 7 | 4 | — | — | Lovely Days (by Bill Withers) |
| Bill Withers | "Ain't No Sunshine" (The Eclipse Mix) | 26 | 33 | — | 30 | — | — | — | 82 | — | — | ||
| Vivien Vee | "Give Me A Break" (A Ben Liebrand Remix) (Italy only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only | |
| Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons | "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" (Ben Liebrand Remix) | 18 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Hits Digitally Enhanced (by The Four Seasons) | |
| Phil Collins | "In The Air Tonight" (Ben Liebrand Extended Version) | 17 | — | 20 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 47 | — | single only | |
| 1989 | Blondie | "Call Me" (The Ben Liebrand Remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 61 | — | — | Once More Into The Bleach (by Blondie) |
| Nina Hagen | "New York / N.Y." (Ben Liebrand Remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only | |
| Art of Noise | "Paranoimia '89" (Re-mixed by Ben Liebrand) | — | — | — | 41 | — | — | — | 88 | — | — | The Best Of (by Art Of Noise) | |
| Jeff Wayne | "Eve Of The War" (Ben Liebrand Remix) | 9 | 38 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | — | — | Styles (by Ben Liebrand) | |
| Sugarhill Gang | "Rappers Delight" (Hip Hop Remix '89) | 22 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | 58 | — | 34 | Rappers Delight (by Sugarhill Gang) | |
| Four Tops | "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine" (The Ben Liebrand Remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 84 | — | — | single only | |
| Various Artists | "Dance Classics" (The Mix) | 2 | 6 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only | |
| 1990 | Ram Jam | "Black Betty" (Rough 'n' Ready Remix) | — | — | — | 28 | — | — | 2 | 13 | — | 7 | single only |
| Bill Withers | "Harlem" (Remixed by Ben Liebrand) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 98 | — | — | Lovely Days (by Bill Withers) | |
| Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel | "White Lines (Don't Do It)" (Freestyle Remix) | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 97 | — | — | single only | |
| Ryan Paris | "Dolce Vita" (Downtown/Uptown Mix) | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only | |
| Various Artists | "Dance Classics" (The Summer Mix) | 16 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only | |
| Sting | "Englishman In New York" (The Ben Liebrand Mix) | 60 | — | — | 20 | — | — | 12 | 15 | — | — | single only | |
| Dimples D. | "Sucker DJ" (Ben Liebrand Mix) | 8 | 25 | — | 16 | 10 | — | — | 17 | 1 | 2 | Dimples & Spice (by Dimples D.) | |
| 1991 | Natalie Cole | "This Will Be" (The Ben Liebrand Remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Soul Of Natalie Cole (by Natalie Cole) |
| Salt-n-Pepa | "You Showed Me" (The Born Again Mix) | 5 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 7 | 15 | 24 | 12 | Rapped In Remixes (by Salt-n-Pepa) | |
| 1992 | Salt-n-Pepa | "Do You Want Me" (Ben Liebrand Remix) | 16 | 30 | — | 49 | — | — | 22 | 5 | — | 49 | |
| Salt-n-Pepa | "Expression" (Hard Ecu Mix) | — | — | 13 | — | — | — | 23 | 23 | — | — | ||
| Monie Love | "Full Term Love" (Ben Liebrand Club Mix) | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | single only | |
| Salt-n-Pepa | "Start Me Up" (Remix by Ben Liebrand) | 23 | — | — | 44 | 30 | — | — | 39 | — | — | single only | |
| 1993 | Grace Jones | "7 Day Weekend" (Remix by Ben Liebrand) | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only |
| Paperboy | "Ditty" (Ben Liebrand Mix) | — | — | — | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | 48 | single only | |
| 1994 | Rebecca De Ruvo | "I Caught You Out" (Ben Liebrand's Station Edit) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 72 | — | — | single only |
| 2000 | Giorgio Moroder | "The Chase" (The Minimix) | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only |
| 2003 | Various Artists | "Typisch Tachtig Mix" | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
Other Productions
- Alf - Stuck On Earth
- Forrest - Rock The Boat
- ISCO - Funkytown
- MDMC - How About It
- Lafleur - Boogie Nights
- Heatwave - Grooveline
Additional production and remixes
- Rick Astley - "Never Gonna Give You Up"
- Salt-n-Pepa - "Let's Talk About Sex"
- Salt-n-Pepa - "Whatta Man"
- Salt-n-Pepa - "Expression"
- Salt-n-Pepa - "Do You Really Want Me"
- Salt-n-Pepa - "Respect Yourself"
- Fox the Fox - "Precious Little Diamond" (Special Remix) (1984 on CBS Records)
- Fun Fun - "Happy Station"
- Hot Chocolate - "You Sexy Thing"
- Hot Chocolate - "Every 1's a Winner"
- Tavares - "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel"
- Tavares - "Don't Take Away the Music"
- Tavares - "It Only Takes A Minute"
- Tavares - "More Than a Woman"
- Jan Hammer - "Crockett's Theme"
- Nina Hagen - "New York New York"
- Grace Jones - "Victor Should Have Been a Jazz Musician"
- Bill Withers - "Lovely Day" (Sunshine Mix) (1988)
- Bill Withers - "Harlem"
- Bill Withers - "Lovely Day"
- Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons - "December 1963 (Oh What A Night)" (1988 and re-released in 1992)
- Taja Sevelle - "Love Is Contagious" (1988)
- Dimples D. - "Sucker DJ" (1991)
- Sting - "Englishman in New York" (1990)
- Crystal Waters - "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Guitar Mix) (1992)
- Tiga - "Sunglasses at Night"
- The Flirts - "Passion"
- Sugarhill Gang - "Rappers Delight"
- Ryan Paris - "Dolce Vita"
- Madonna - "Open Your Heart" (1987)
- Wet Wet Wet - "Sweet Surrender" (1989)
- INXS - "Need You Tonight" (1988)
- The Trammps - "Disco Inferno"
- Armin van Buuren - "Communication"
- Phil Collins - "In the Air Tonight"
- Genesis - "I Can't Dance"
- Hall & Oates - "I Can't Go for That"
- Ram Jam - "Black Betty"
- Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 - "White Lines"
- Natalie Cole - "This Will Be"
- Alexander O'Neal - "Criticize" (1988)
- Sister Sledge - "Lost in Music"
- Mysterious Art - "The Omen" (1989)
- Michael Jackson - "Liberian Girl"
- Michael Jackson - "Bad"
- Michael Jackson - "Smooth Criminal"
Megamixes
- Grandmix 83
- Grandmix 84
- Grandmix 85
- Dance Classics the Mix
- Grandmix 86
- Grandmix 87
- Grandmix 88
- Grandmix 89
- Grandmix 90
- Grandmix 91
- Grandmix 92
- Grandmix 2000
- Popmix
- Grandmix Summer Edition
- Grandmix 2001
- Grandmix Millennium Edition
- Grandmix Disco Edition
- Grandmix Disco Edition 2
- Grandmix 90's Edition
- Grandmix 90's Edition 2
- Grandmix Nouveau Disco
- Grandmix 2002
- Grandmix 2003
- Grandmix 2004
- Grandmix 2005
- Grandmix 2006
- Grandmix 2007
- Grandmix 2008
- Jaarmix 2007
- Jaarmix 2008
- Grandmix 2009
- Grandmix 2010
- Grandmix 2011
- Intergalactic Disco Funk 1
- Intergalactic Disco Funk 2
- Intergalactic Disco Funk 3
- Grandmix 2012
- "Ben Liebrand - Dutch Chart". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 2014-05-11. Retrieved 2014-04-07.
- "Official Charts Company: Ben Liebrand". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-04-07.
- "Bill Withers - Lovely Day (Sunshine Mix) (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
Broadcasting and release history
- 1983 - 1993 Radio Veronica - Radio programs
- 83-85:In The Mix" First nonstop mixed radioshow
- 84-93:Minimix
- 83-92:Grandmix Annual 100plus megadancemix
- 1999 Millennium Mix. The 180 minutes grandmix!
- 1999/2000 DJ-ing in clubs all over the Netherlands with the Grandmix Tour
- 2000 Ben starts minimixing again! On radio 538, Friday-evening 2 records past 8/10
- 2000 Grandmix Summer Edition 3CD
- 2000 The Popmix CD
- 2000 Grandmix 2000 3CD
- 2001 Spirit of Disco - The Italo Edition 2CD
- 2001 Ben starts using the Pioneer CDJ 1000 and AIRFX
- 2001 Grandmix 2001 3CD
- 2002 Grandmix Disco Edition 3CD
- 2002 Radio 538 stops minimixes due to other format
- Dec 2002 Grandmix 2002 3CD
- Jun 2003 Styles XL
- Aug 2003 Grand 12 Inches
- Oct 2003 Grandmix Disco Edition II 3CD
- Dec 2003 Grandmix 2003 3CD
- Jan 2004 In the Mix Radioshow om Radio Veronica from 9-1-2004 with In the Mix And minimixes
- Jun 2004 Midsummer Megamix
- Oct 2004 Grandmix Nineties Edition
- Dec 2004 Grandmix 2004
- Aug 2005 Grand 12 Inches II
- Aug 2005 Megadance Summermix 2005
- Nov 2005 Grandmix Nineties Edition II
- Nov 2005 Grandmix DJ Visuals/Modular-One
- Dec 2005 Grandmix 2005
- Nov 2006 Grandmix Nouveau Disco
- May 2006 Grand 12 Inches 3
- Dec 2006 Grandmix 2006
- May 2007 Grand 12 Inches 4
- Dec 2008 Jaarmix 2008
- Dec 2007 Jaarmix 2007
- May 2008 Grand 12 Inches 5
- Dec 2008 Jaarmix 2008
- Dec 2008 Grandmix 2008
- April 2009 Grand 12 Inches 6
- Dec 2009 Jaarmix 2009
- Dec 2009 Grandmix 2009
- Aug 2010 Grand 12 Inches 7
- Aug 2010 Summer Dance Hits 2010
- Aug 2010 Intergalactic Disco Funk
- Aug 2010 Intergalactic Disco Funk 2
- Aug 2010 Future Vintage
- Dec 2010 Grandmix 2010
- Jun 2011 Grand 12 Inches 8
- Aug 2011 Intergalactic Disco Funk 3
- Jan 2012 Grandmix 2011
- Jun 2012 Grand 12 Inches 9
- Dec 2012 Grandmix 2012
- Jun 2013 Grand 12 Inches 10
- Jan 2014 Grandmix 2013
- May 2014 Grand 12 Inches 11
- Oct 2014 Grand 12 Inches 12
- Jan 2015 Grandmix 2014
- Jun 2015 Iconic Groove
- Jun 2015 Grand 12 Inches 13