• March 1, 2025 - author/photographer: dirk van driel

Long before the Diepenring of Groningen was discovered by the general public and party boats, the images were already traveling around the world.

On October 3, 1992, the American band Lemonheads records the video for the song "Mrs. Robinson" in Groningen, the Netherlands. The band will play a show the following evening in the Vera-club and via Dikkie (Moonlizards) they end up at the Gudrun because it seems like a nice idea to record the clip on the water.

The result was broadcast extensively and worldwide by music channels MTV and VH1 and it meant the breakthrough for the Lemonheads. Because the single was released on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the film "The Graduate" (for which the song was originally written by Simon and Garfunkel), clips from that film were added to the final video. The comments are funny - no, it's not Amsterdam. The new official video is uncut, 100% Groningen.

While filming and navigating I took the chance to shoot some pictures. Below is a selection of previously unpublished photos.

clockwise: Nic Dalton (bass), Evan Dando (guitar, vocals), and David Ryan (drums). Jesse Peretz is the director of the video.

The day the Lemonheads come to record the video was already planned to continue working on the Deutz marine engine that has been standing still for about twenty years. Gert remains undisturbed busy welding a new cooling water pipe. The hatches are open for the necessary ventilation.

It's a beautiful contrast with a guitar playing Evan, a peanutbutter & jelly sandwich spreading Polly Noonan, an old fashioned typewriter, a filming Jesse and the other Lemonheads who assist. All as DIY as can be, while the band is connected to the major record label Atlantic Records.

To get some dynamics in the video we decide to use the dinghy and zigzag through the Diepenring with the gas on (4 hp!). It starts quietly in the Winschoterdiep (location).

Evan has an excellent sense of balance and feels very comfortable standing, playing and singing, while I make some heavy turns. He seems to have become a surfer in Australia.

We don't have to worry about oncoming traffic. You hardly encounter any at that time in the Diepenring.

At the end of the day, Jesse, the video's director, asks what kind of compensation I had in mind, saying that Atlantic, the giant, is paying anyway. I couldn't think of more than 150 guilders (70 euros).

It's one of those days that you only realize later how special it was. Priceless.

The Quietus has an excellent article about the Lemonheads and the classic "It's A Shame About Ray" , to which the single Mrs. Robinson is added ("a minor worldwide hit", Paul Simon hates this version). The video is part of the Lemonheads - Two Weeks In Australia video. It doesn't get more carefree than this.

When, more than four years later, you see your own ship passing by on a large video screen in a local disco in the Australian outback, that is the sign to head back to Groningen...

source: dirkvandriel.nl/flog