Story behind the record cover - 10 Mistakes - Gruppo Sportivo
“What a struggle it was. Getting a girlfriend, as a teenager. In the 1970s there were no internet and podcasts that could give you tips. You had to figure it all out yourself. If you admitted a blooper to your friends, you were laughed at instead of giving you the golden tip. Only the cover of Gruppo Sportivo’s “10 Mistakes” could have helped, but I only discovered this recently.
Ten images are depicted on ‘do’s’ but especially ‘don’ts’ on impressing girls. The first photo on the front cover is absolutely amazing. Therefore this cover is one of the most brilliant album covers in Dutch pop history, in my humble opinion. You see it all in front of you. Finally you have managed to secure a girlfriend and you decide to go and see an exciting movie with her. You are completely absorbed in the film, but she doesn’t seem to share your enthusiasm. She’s checking out another boy, sitting behind her. Secretly they start some heavy petting. But you haven’t got a clue; you are watching the movie.
Absolutely brilliant. Something similar happened to me when I went to see David Hamilton’s soft porn flick Bilitis in 1977. Quite popular in the film circuit at the time. I invited a good-looking classmate, assuming it was a nice prelude to a long-term relationship. “You pervert, taking me to a movie like that,” was her comment afterwards. Since then I’ve been calling this movie ‘Debilitis’.
There are nine recognizable pictures on the inner sleeve of this LP. For example, the ‘Puch’, a moped one bought to impress, but it regularly sputtered and ultimately stopped by the side of the road. That happened to me as well. Just when I had another favorite girl in class sitting on my buddy seat. And so on, mistakes galore. Wonderful, this peculiar humor from The Hague, Holland, by Gruppo Sportivo.
It fits perfectly with the band’s music. As well as with lyrics and during live performances. “Oh Tokyo, I’m on my way. In my new Toyota, it’s not so far away.” How many times have I sung this during concerts in the seventies. Every weekend I went to see one of the popular Dutch bands of the time: Sweet d’Buster, Herman Brood, Gruppo Sportivo. Provincial cultural centers, such as ‘De Effenaar’ in Eindhoven, were almost a second home to me. Bands played at the top of their game and it was the place to get a girlfriend. Although, of course, that wasn’t quite for me. To me, the “10 Mistakes” album should have been called ‘12 Mistakes’. I can add two more images. First I fell in love with a sister of a teammate from my table tennis club. But he ran off with the club champion who publicly humiliated me, during a game. Then I fell in love with a thirty-year-old woman. She also had feelings for me, I believe, but she was being watched over by some gorilla.
The image on this album cover and the photos on the inner sleeve were taken in the small cultural center in The Hague ‘Het Kijkhuis’, which unfortunately no longer exists. These pix were taken by Dorien van der Valk, at the time the girlfriend of keyboardist Robert Jan Stips of Supersister and Nits fame (lucky him!). Stips was in regular contact with Gruppo Sportivo. He produced this particular album.
The Gruppo band members came up with the idea when they were sitting in a roadhouse during a tour. A place then called Albert’s Corner. The food was not that good and it had those dirty, faded placemats on tables. When they looked closely at these placemats, they noticed that none of them were the same. There were all kinds of differences, a bit like a ‘Spot The Difference’ puzzle. This sparked an animated conversation about the ten mistakes one can make in finding and holding on to the love of your life. The idea and title for the new album were born. A new appealing logo had to be devised. Robert Jan Stips suggested his brother, artist Wouter Stips from The Hague. “Oh, I do have an idea”, Wouter said. He walked to his garden, broke off a twig from a tree, dipped it in a jar of Indian ink and, the logo was conceived in less than a minute. I don’t know whether Wouter Stips met the love of his life, actress and tv presenter Martine van Os, as quickly as he devised the aforementioned logo. In any case, it did result in a striking album cover with an artistic logo.”
By Gerrit-Jan Vrielink
Translation Alex Driessen
Thanks to Robert Jan Stips