Today: the first performance of One Day Fly

The Top 40 has been the leading hit list in the Netherlands since 1965. In the Today section we look back at events in pop music that took place exactly X years ago. In this episode of Today: the first performance of the occasional group One Day Fly.

On May 5, 2001 the ‘boy band’ One Day Fly gives its first performance at Bevrijdingspop Haarlem. The idea for the group originated in the popular television program Kopspijkers and is a response to Starmaker. In this reality program, young people are prepared for a career in pop music. The comedians’ objections are the commercial nature and the exploitation of the young participants. They predict that such a program can only produce a one-hit wonder. Initially, their intention to score a number 1 hit themselves seems like a joke, but it soon turns out that a song has actually been written and recorded.

One Day Fly consists of presenter Jack Spijkerman, regular comedians Viggo Waas, Peter Heerschop and Hans Lebbis and copywriters Owen Schumacher and Joep van Deudekom. During the few performances they give they are assisted by George Baker, who rules I’m just a bird in the sky from his hit Paloma Blanca. The group’s plan succeeds. On May 19, I Wanna Be A One Day Fly knocked the Starmaker song Damn (I Think I Love You) off the top spot, which immediately dropped to number 13. This makes it the biggest fall of all time from the top position at that time.

As a real one-hit wonder, the group actually only wanted to be at number 1 for one week, but they ended up lasting four weeks. During that period they kept the duet I Was Made To Love You by Bart & Sita from first place. The proceeds from the I Wanna Be A One Day Fly amount to NLG 75,000. This will be donated to Unicef ​​for the care of ex-child soldiers.

One Day Fly is not a correct translation of the word ‘one day fly’. In the international music world, an act with only one hit is referred to as a ‘one hit wonder’. If you are talking about the insect ‘mayfly’, then ‘mayfly’ is the correct translation.

Here’s what else happened on May 5:
Ben Saunders gets up May 5, 2015 arrested after assaulting a traffic controller.

Ben Saunders crosses the line when he sees his father being stopped by a traffic controller from his tattoo shop in Hoorn. The center of Hoorn has limited access at that time due to the liberation festival taking place there. Saunders’ father allegedly got out of the car, after which a scuffle broke out with the traffic controller. Ben and his younger brother Jamie rushed over and allegedly knocked the traffic controller to the ground. The traffic controller must be taken to hospital for treatment. He suffered a concussion and was said to have had his jaw smashed in half by Ben Saunders. He was allowed to leave the hospital quickly.

Ben Saunders is arrested on suspicion of assault and the traffic controller reports the incident. Ben is later sentenced to 180 hours of community service and a fine of more than 2,000 euros. He is relieved that he does not have to go to jail. Father Brian and brother Jamie are also sentenced.

On March 29, 2018, more than three years after these events, Ben Saunders appears as Barabbas in The Passion. It is a tradition that this role – a prisoner who is released in the Easter story instead of Jesus Christ – is played by a celebrity who has fallen into disrepute. Other celebrities who have played this role are Dave Roelvink, Yuri van Gelder, Jebroer and Famke Louise.

Also on this day:
1968: Ike & Tina Turner perform for the first time in the Netherlands. Their concert starts at 8 o’clock in the evening in De Doelen in Rotterdam, followed by another concert in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw at night. Ike and Tina are supported by The Ikettes and a ten-piece orchestra.
1990: The memorial concert in honor of John Lennon takes place in Liverpool. The event was organized by his widow Yoko Ono. The concert attracts only 15,000 fans, while 45,000 were expected.
1999: Tilburg rapper Cilvaringz makes his first recordings for the Wu-Tang International label. 20-year-old Tarik Azzougarh, as his real name is, is the first non-American with a contract with the record label of the well-known hip-hop formation Wu-Tang Clan.
2007: Beyoncé and Shakira rise to first place with Beautiful Liar. For Beyoncé it is her very first number 1 hit. Both solo and during her Destiny’s Child period, she has never been in first place before. For Shakira it is her fourth number 1 hit, after Whenever Wherever, Underneath Your Clothes (both 2002) and Hips Don’t Lie (2006).

Born today:
1928 – Marshall Grant83 years old at death, The Tennessee Three
1937 – Old Shatterhanddeath aged 80, Oscar Harris & The Twinkle Stars
1942 – Jim Kingin case of death 69 years, Family
1943 – Michael PalinMonty Python
1944 – Eddy Amoo, at death 73 years, The Real Thing
1948 – Joe Esposito,
1949 – Cees Kalis56 years old at death, Earth & Fire
1949 – Will CleminsonNazareth
1950 – Anjaat death 51 years,
1950 – Maggie MacNealMouth & MacNeal
1954 – Tineke SchoemakerBarrelhouse
1955 – Roddy RadiationThe Specials
1959 – Ian McCullochEcho & The Bunnymen
1962 – Kevin MooneyAdam and The Ants
1969 – Peter ButcherBlof
1971 – Danny Lukassen
1980 – Vula,
1981 – Craig David,
1982 – Burak Yeter,
1988 – Adele,
1989 – Chris Brown,
1994 – Celeste,
1998 – Mart Hoogkamer

Today at number 1:
1973 – 1 (1) Power To All Our Friends– Cliff Richard (EMI), 2 weeks at number 1
1979 – 1 (1) Hooray! Hooray! It’s A Holi Holiday– Boney M. (Hansa), 2 weeks at number 1
1984 – 1 (1) Hello– Lionel Richie (Motown), 4 weeks at number 1
1990 – 1 (1) ThePower– Snap! (Logic), 4 weeks at number 1
2001 – 1 (1) Damn (I Think I Love You)– Starmaker (Jive), 4 weeks at number 1
2007 – 1 (4) Beautiful Liar– Beyoncé & Shakira (Columbia), 1 week at number 1
2012 – 1 (1) I Follow Rivers– Triggerfinger (Excelsior Recordings), 6 weeks at number 1
2018 – 1 (1) One Kiss– Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa (Sony), 2 weeks at number 1

(05/05/2024)