| Pussycat | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Brunssum, Netherlands |
| Years Active: | 1975–1985, 2004–2005 |
| Label: | Telstar, Parlophone, Capitol, Bovema, EMI-Odeon, Odeon, Swan, Columbia Records (AUS).Official website = https://pussycatonline.nl |
| Associated Acts: | Zingende Zusjes (Singing Sisters),The BGs from Holland, Sweet Reaction |
Pussycat was a Dutch country and pop group led by the three Veldpaus sisters: Toni (born 1953), Betty (1952–2024), and Marianne (born 1951).[1] Other members of the band were guitarists Lou Willé (Toni's then-husband), Theo Wetzels, Theo Coumans, and John Theunissen. Their song "Mississippi" was a number one hit in most European countries, including the UK, in 1975/6.
Prior to forming the band, the three sisters were telephone operators in Limburg, whilst Theunissen, Wetzels, and Coumans were in a group called Scum.[2] Lou Willé played in a group called Ricky Rendall and His Centurions until he married Toni, and created the group Sweet Reaction that eventually became known as Pussycat.[1] In 1975 they scored a big European hit with the song "Mississippi". However they had to wait a further year for the single to make the British charts when it climbed to number one in the UK Singles Chart in October 1976.[3] Penned by Werner Theunissen, who had been the sisters' guitar teacher, it is estimated that "Mississippi" sold over five million copies worldwide. It was followed by "Smile" in 1976, and "Hey Joe" in 1978. Other hits were "If You Ever Come to Amsterdam", "Georgie", "Wet Day in September" and "My Broken Souvenirs". Their career in Europe spanned more than a decade and included some seventeen albums.[1] By 1978 Hans Lutjens had replaced Coumans on drums, as the band continued to release albums and tour, travelling as far afield as South Africa.[1] They made regular appearances on the West German TV series, Musikladen, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In the following years, the sisters did perform again, however, this time under the name Anycat. In 1999 they decided to make a comeback under their old name Pussycat. It was the same year in which Doe Maar also got back together for a short time, unrelated. Initially, the only intention was to perform, although for a while there were thoughts of releasing new material to be written by Werner Theunissen. However, new records were not released. They still performed as Pussycat through 2001.[4] [5] [6] [7]
In 2001, 25 years after the success with "Mississippi", the compilation album 25 Years After Mississippi was released and reached the charts. It was listed in the Album Top 100 for seven weeks. This year saw several more reunion performances. In 2004, they released the box set, The Complete Collection, which consisted of three CDs and a DVD.[4]
In 2005, they recorded the single "Somewhere Someone" with the Dutch country band Major Dundee, which was also included on Major Dundee's album, Young Gods. In 2007, they gave their background vocals to the Dutch language reggae cover of "Mississippi" by Dennis Jones.[8] In June 2023, there was an album released with previous unreleased song demos of the band from the year 1983, with the title Unreleased Demos 1983.[9]
On 28 June 2024, Betty Veldpaus died at the age of 72.[10]
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NDL | AUS [11] | BEL | GER | NOR | SWE | NZ | ||||||
| 1976 | First of All |
| 4 | 29 | — | 10 | 2 | 26 | 16 | |||
| 1977 | Souvenirs |
| 6 | 71 | 28 | — | 9 | — | 1 | |||
| 1978 | Wet Day in September |
| 16 | — | — | — | 15 | — | — | |||
| 1979 | Simply to be with You |
| — | — | — | — | 38 | — | — | |||
| 1979 | The Best of Pussycat |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1981 | Blue Lights |
| 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1983 | After All |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1994 | The Collection & More |
| 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2001 | 25 jaar na Mississippi |
| 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NDL [12] | AUS | BEL [13] | GER [14] | AUT [15] | SWI [16] | NOR [17] | SWE [18] | UK [19] | NZ [20] | SA [21] | |||
| 1975 | "Mississippi" / "Do It" | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | First of All |
| "Mississippi" (German version) / "Lieb Mich" | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 1976 | "Georgie" / "Take Me" | 1 | 74 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 14 | 2 | First of All |
| "Smile" / "What Did They Do to the People" | 2 | 34 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 8 | — | — | 24 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1977 | "Ein Altes Lied" / "Pasadena" (German) | — | — | — | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 1977 | "My Broken Souvenirs" / "Nothing to Hide" | 2 | 95 | 2 | 22 | 12 | 7 | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | Souvenirs |
| "I'll Be Your Woman" / "Just a Woman" | 12 | — | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "If You Ever Come to Amsterdam" / "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | Wet Day in September | |
| 1978 | "Same Old Song" / "Stupid Cupid" | 8 | 76 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Wet Day in September" / "I Remember Springtime" | 17 | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979 | "Hey Joe" / "Love in September" | 17 | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Daddy" / "Three Steps and Then ..." | 13 | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Simply to Be with You | |
| "Let Freedom Range" / "Don't Love Him" | 38 | — | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980 | "Doin' la Bamba" / "On the Corner of My Life" | 4 | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1981 | "Then the Music Stopped" / "Cha Cha Me Baby" | 10 | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Blue Lights |
| "Une Chambre Pour La Nuit" / "I Don't Wanna Rock and Roll" | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Teenage Queenie" / "Who's Gonna Love You" | 33 | — | — | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983 | "Lovers of a Kind" / "Closer to You" | 22 | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | After All |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||