Toppers hold off on response to Joling’s complaints

De Toppers say they are not yet responding to Gerard Joling’s account of tensions behind his departure from the Dutch group, as they prepare to announce a new line-up within two weeks.

A spokesperson told the ANP on Saturday that the group would not comment for now. Joling, who announced earlier this week that he was leaving after 21 years, told De Telegraaf on Friday that he had felt increasingly excluded from decisions and frustrated by the shrinking size of his role on stage.

He said he was often not consulted about guest performers and sometimes learnt who had been booked by chance. Joling also said he once spent 29 minutes beneath the stage during a show without singing. At the group’s 2025 tropical-themed concert, he said, he was not allowed to perform his hit “Ticket to the Tropics” because there was “no room” for it.

Joling said he had heard nothing from the other members since announcing his departure. The group’s management said it would clarify the new line-up within two weeks. Fellow member René Froger’s participation is also uncertain after he recently said he had an autoimmune disease.

Joling’s account of why he left and the group’s 2027 concert plans have been reported separately.