The band was formed in 1965 in Delft, Netherlands by singer Peter Tetteroo [nl]. Other early members were Gerard Romeyn on guitar, Polle Eduard on bass, Carry Janssen on drums, and Robbie Plazier on keyboard. Their first single released in 1966 on the Delta label, "Early in the Morning", was successful in The Netherlands.2 The band had a top 10 hit "Don't You Leave" the same year, selling 10,000 copies in its first week of release.3 The band underwent numerous changes in its line-up though the years; the keyboardist Hans van Eijck [nl] joined in 1966, replacing Robbie Plazier. Romeyn, Eduard and Janssen left, to be replaced by Ray Fenwick on guitar, Franklin Madjid on bass, and Joop Blom on drums. Van Eijck also left and was replaced by Jan-Pieter Boekhoorn on keyboard (Van Eijck later returned in 1969).4 Fenwick then left and later reappeared in The Spencer Davis Group.5 He was replaced by Ferdi Karmelk. Dihl Bennink also joined the band. In 1969, Tetteroo founded their own label Tee Set Records.6
The group recorded a single in 1969 titled "Ma Belle Amie", which was a hit in their native country, selling over 100,000 copies.7 The group released an album in the United States on Colossus Records in 1970 titled Ma Belle Amie (the single of the same name listing the artist as 'The Tee Set'), which reached No. 158 on the Billboard 200 chart,8 just as the single took off in the United States, eventually reaching No. 5.9 The single sold over 1 million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.10 The version of "Ma Belle Amie" released in 1970 on Major Minor records in the UK is a different studio version of the song, slower in tempo and beginning in a lower key than the hit U.S. version.
In the Netherlands, Tee Set's single "She Likes Weeds" reached No. 1 on the Dutch charts. However, the track was banned[by whom?] in the U.S. because it was said to be referring to drug use, although the title was taken from the film Funeral in Berlin. The follow-up single "If You Do Believe in Love" hit No. 8111 in the US and No. 31 in Canada. The group disbanded in 1975, but briefly reunited in 1978 and 1983. Since 1983 the band was revived, although its work was mainly nostalgic "sixties".
Peter Tetteroo (Petrus Gerardus Anthonius Tetteroo) (8 July 1947 − 9 September 2002) was a Dutch composer, pop musician and singer born in Delft. He became known in 1966 as founder and lead singer of Tee-Set. In 1968, he had a top 10 hit with a solo album, his version of Red Red Wine. Despite a severe liver disease, Peter remained active to the end. He died at his home in Delft from liver cancer at the age of 55.12
Thedeadrockstarsclub.com Accessed April 2010 http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/2002b.html ↩
Jancik, Wayne (1998). The Billboard Book of One-hit Wonders. Billboard Books. p. 273. ISBN 9780823076222. 9780823076222 ↩
"From the Music Capitals of the World". Billboard. 4 February 1967. p. 72. https://books.google.com/books?id=-igEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA72 ↩
Horst, Rudolf (2021). Der Beat fiel vom Himmel. Band 1. utzverlag GmbH. pp. 233–234. ISBN 9783831622184. 9783831622184 ↩
Biography, Allmusic.com https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p20966 ↩
Billboard, Allmusic.com https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p20966 ↩
Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p20966 ↩
Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 268. ISBN 0-214-20512-6. 0-214-20512-6 ↩
"Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2021-10-07. https://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?cat=a&cat2=s&search=tee+set ↩
Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955–1996. Record Research. p. 771. ISBN 0898201179. 0898201179 ↩
Peaked in 2014 after being reissued the previous year ↩
"Tee-Set". Top40.nl (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse. n.d. Retrieved 2024-10-05. https://www.top40.nl/top40-artiesten/tee-set ↩
"Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2021-10-07. https://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=tee%20set&cat=s ↩
Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 306. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. 0-646-11917-6 ↩
"ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 2021-10-07. https://www.ultratop.be/nl/search.asp?cat=s&search=tee+set ↩
"ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 2021-10-07. https://www.ultratop.be/fr/search.asp?cat=s&search=tee+set ↩
"Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2021-10-07. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3769&URLjpg=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f4/nlc008388.3769.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3769 ↩
"Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2021-10-07. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3824&URLjpg=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f4/nlc008388.3824.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3824 ↩
"Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2021-10-07. https://www.offiziellecharts.de/suche ↩
"flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2021-10-07. http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener ↩
"South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (T)". www.rock.co.za. Retrieved 2021-10-07. http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(T).html ↩
"Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade - hitparade.ch". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2021-10-07. http://swisscharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=tee+set ↩
Whitburn, Joel (1994). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1993. Record Research. p. 593. ISBN 9780898201048. 9780898201048 ↩