Thé Lau

Matheus J. "Thé" Lau (17 July 1952 – 23 June 2015) was a Dutch musician and writer. Besides his solo career, he was the lead singer of the Dutch band The Scene. He was born in Bergen, North Holland.

Thé Lau
Thé Lau with The Scene, June 2014
Background information
Birth name	Matheus Josephus Lau
Born	(1952-07-17)17 July 1952 Bergen, North Holland, Netherlands
Died	23 June 2015(2015-06-23) (aged 62) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genres	Rock music
Occupation(s)	Guitarist, vocalist, lyricist
Instrument(s)	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1973–2014
Formerly of	The Scene, Neerlands Hoop Express
Website	thelau.nl

Music career

Lau played guitar in several bands and was a member of the Dutch band Neerlands Hoop Express. In 1979 he founded the band The Scene with Lau as lead singer and guitarist. The band's most well-known songs are "Blauw" and "Iedereen is van de wereld".

Lau left The Scene in 2003 and got touring with keyboardist Jan-Peter Bast in Dutch theaters. In October 2006, he resumed the tour under title Tempel der liefde accompanied by Jan-Peter Bast and tango string quartet Pavadita.

In 2007, The Scene had a reunion with Lau and three former band members. (Jeroen Booy, Emilie Blom van Assendelft and Otto Cooymans) They started touring again, and released a new CD.

In 2010, Thé Lau topped the Dutch charts with a collaboration with Dutch rapper Lange Frans, "Zing voor me".

Writing career

In 2000, he made his debut in literature by writing short stories De sterren van de hemel (meaning the stars of heaven). In 2003, his writings were published in a book titled Thé Lau, de teksten. His first novel was Hemelrijk in 2004, followed by a collection of music stories entitled In de dakgoot (meaning in the gutter). In 2007 his work has appeared in 1000 vissen, a collection of stories about the Amsterdam's neighborhood Spaarndammerbuurt where Thé Lau had been living and working for 15 years.

Illness and death

Lau was diagnosed with throat cancer in August 2013 and was told he could not be cured in April 2014. He died in June 2015 in Amsterdam.

In popular culture

• In vrijheid is a 2005 song Thé Lau wrote as a liberation song for Bevrijdingsdag (Liberation Day in the Netherlands). He performed it on May 5, 2005 and the song became very popular for the annual celebrations of the Day.
• Thé Lau was part of the Dutch "Ticket For Tibet" event and took part in the album release of the collective in 2008.

Discography

Source for Thé Lau discography / Source for The Scene discography:

Albums

with The Scene

• 1980: The Scene
• 1985: This is real
• 1988: Rij rij rij
• 1991: Blauw (NED #41)
• 1992: Open (NED #26)
• 1993: Avenue de la Scene (NED #34)
• 1994: The Scene Live (NED #43)
• 1996: Arena (NED #35)
• 1997: 2 Meter Sessies (NED #53)
• 2000: Rauw, hees, teder – Het beste van (NED #69)
• 2007: 2007 (NED #79)
• 2009: Liefde op doorreis (NED #46)
• 2012: Code (NED #44)

Solo

• 1998: 1998
• 2002: De God van Nederland (re-released in 2004 with the bonus CD Overspel)
• 2006: Tempel der liefde (NED #63)
• 2014: Platina Blues

Singles

with The Scene

Non-charting

• 1980: "Young Dogs, Young Blood
• 1982: "The Beat" / "Bliss"
• 1982: "Stappen" / "Allied Cigarettes"
• 1986: "S.E.X."
• 1987: "Ritme"
• 1987: "Wereld"
• 1988: "Borderline"
• 1988: "Rij rij rij"
• 1989: "Rauw hees teder"

Charting

• 1990: "Rigoreus" (NED #68)
• 1991: "Iedereen is van de wereld" (NED #62)
• 1991: "Blauw" (NED #15)
• 1992: "Zuster" (NED #33)
• 1992: "Open" (NED #40)
• 1992: "Samen" (NED #57)
• 1993: "Iedereen is van de wereld" / "Nieuwe laarzen (van een oude leest)" (The Scene / De Dijk) (NED #16)
• 2000: "Helden" (NED 84)

Solo

• 2003: "Brandende regen" (NED #91)
• 2005: "In vrijheid" (NED #48)
• 2010: "Zing voor me (Lange Frans & Thé Lau) (NED #1)

Collective

• 2004: "Lied voor Beslan" (by Artiesten voor Beslan) (NED #17)

DVDs

• 2003: The show

Bibliography

• 2000: De Sterren van de Hemel
• 2003: De Teksten
• 2004: Hemelrijk
• 2006: In de Dakgoot

Participations in collections

• 2007: 1000 vissen (bibliophilia by Uitgeverij Brokaat)

External links

• Discogs