Palomine (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Kicking off Matador’s Revisionist History Series for 2023, today we celebrate the 30th
anniversary of Bettie Serveert’s debut album, ‘Palomine’. Heralded in its original four-
star review by Rolling Stone as "untamed and free as pop gets,” this 1993 classic will
see its first pressing by Matador since the album's original release on July 7th on
limited-edition translucent orange vinyl, accompanied by the “Brain-Tag” 7”, which was
included with the original pressing.

“Looking back on recording the Palomine album, we were as green as grass,” say the
band’s Carol van Dyk and Peter Visser, “but we loved music and most of all, we loved
playing our own songs. When we started our band in the summer of ’91, we never had
any ambitions, never thought about a 'career' in music, beyond maybe playing a gig to
two. But then Matador Records responded to our 1st demo, offering us a record deal,
which started the ball rolling and it changed our lives for ever! ‘Pal o’ mine’ will always
be like a dear friend to us and even after 30 years, we still enjoy playing those songs.”

 

While a debut album, ‘Palomine’ marked the second time around for Bettie Serveert.
The band first formed in Arnhem in 1986, first calling themselves Betty Serveert, with
bassist Herman Bunskoeke, guitarist Peter Visser, and singer/guitarist Carol van Dyk.
At that time, Bunskoeke and Visser were also playing in a more established band, De
Artsen, and decided to focus on their main gig. Betty Serveert ceased to exist after 6
months and van Dyk joined up as De Artsen’s sound engineer.

By late 1990 De Artsen had split. Bettie Serveert, as they now called themselves,
reconvened, joined by drummer Berend Dubbe. A seven-song demo was recorded in
December 1991 and one copy ended up in the Matador Records mailroom. Watch a
short video introducing the band and their history – Who is Bettie Serveert? – HERE.
It’s important to note that nobody in this band is named “Bettie Serveert.” The name –
which translates into “Bettie served” (as in tennis) – was suggested by drummer Berend
Dubbe, who had seen a tennis-instruction book by famous Dutch tennis player, Betty
Stöve.