Nina and Frederik – the legend lives on

By Dr Nihal D Amerasekera

Nina and Frederik are names that take me back to my roots and those vibrant teenage years. They were the voice of my generation growing up in Sri Lanka. Despite a battery of important examinations, that was indeed a magical time in my life. The soft tone of Nina’s voice blended beautifully with Frederik’s husky voice striking a chord with the music loving public.

They moved effortlessly from folk to calypso and pop and remained icons well into the 1960’s. Many of those songs were popular and sung by several artistes. Their songs were also murdered ruthlessly on talent shows and karaoke bars. Yet nobody delivered the lyrics with quite the same warmth and humanity as Nina and Frederik. There was a calming Zen air and a mystique about them and their music. It was obvious then that the couple were something very special.

Frederik van Pallandt had a privileged childhood. His father was the Dutch Ambassador to Denmark. Less is known of Nina’s early life but it is believed she too had similar aristocratic connections in Denmark. Nina Moller-Hasselbalch spent her childhood in Copenhagen. They were both born in 1932. Perhaps apocryphal, the story goes that they first sang together aged four years. Living in in Trinidad he attended the University of Trinidad and Tobago. During those years Frederik and Nina had remained friends.

Nina had visited the van Pallandts in Trinidad and they began to sing together. Frederik played the guitar. They sang their kind of folk and calypso music first to friends and family and then at parties. Before long they became a popular singing duo in Trinidad. Socially too they were in great demand. Their popularity spread until in 1957 they were invited to perform at the famous Mon Coeur night club in Copenhagen. They received a rapturous reception and enjoyed critical and popular acclaim. This gave them the courage and the determination to go further with their music. Soon they had their own TV program in the UK. Love blossomed and Nina and Frederik married in 1960.

In those days I saved my pocket money to buy all their 33.3 vinyls and the 45 rpm’s. Over the years I had almost their full collection. They first made their mark in 1959 with “Mary’s Boy Child” and “Little Donkey” which were hits for Harry Bellafonte. Then came “Jamaica Farewell” and “Come Back Lisa” that hit our charts like a storm. Their two albums reached the top 10 in February 1960 and May 1961. “Long Time Boy” and “SucuSucu” came in late 1961. They had a string of hits with “Little Boxes”, “Try to Remember”, “Puff the Magic Dragon”, “Blowing in the Wind” and many more.

Nina and Frederik were a glamorous couple. They were handsome, elegant and graceful on stage. With their fine blend of music they soon became famous in Europe. Before long their popularity soon earned them international fame and acclaim. In 1963 they performed at the prestigious Savoy Hotel, the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall in London. The duo became a fixture in the newspapers and magazines and their popularity soared among the jet-set. In their live shows the fans experienced their innate sense of showmanship. They speak warmly of their singing and their visible attraction to each other. The duo had the wonderful ability to make those songs personal as if they sang it specially for you.

Nina and Frederik were still popular when they stopped singing. Frederik became worn out and world-weary, prematurely. Relishing the quiet life, he decided to leave his world of music. It was in 1966 Frederik abandoned the stage and the spotlight and went into retirement. Throwing away their musical life was a serious blow to the family. Sadly as a result their marriage suffered and ended in divorce in 1976. They had three children. Despite the breakup Nina and Frederik remained friends.

After their marriage ended Nina carved out a solo career for herself. In 1970 Nina was associated with Clifford Irving who was jailed for fraud. She went on to appear in several movies. In 1976 she married Robert Kirby, a South African actor in Cape Town. Nina van Pallandt wrote her memoirs and called it “Nina” but not much is known about her life beyond this.

The 70’s was a period of enormous transformation in my life. I was finding my feet in a new country, UK. Changing jobs, change in career meant further examinations that required time and enormous effort. Burgeoning family commitments brought great happiness, although a struggle at times. There was no time for reflection and my love of music was on hold. Until the children were at university I was on the treadmill of life. When I finally dusted off my vinyls I found the music industry and the technology too had moved on. Compact disks had taken over from records. The new amplifiers and speakers provided music much closer to a live performance.

As I entered the real world the big names in music too had changed. Some of my favourites had crossed the vale, some had retired and the others had lost their way in the new world. I finally recaptured the enjoyment of music. Listening to the old music brought back many memories of people, places and events. Nina and Frederick always featured high in my list of all time greats. As I hear “Listen to the Ocean” I recall the peace it brought to my soul in those turbulent teenage years. “Come back Lisa” brings home the heartaches of teenage loves lost in the rough and tumble of life. Nina and Frederik earned the applause and drew the crowds. It brings me great sadness to hear the way their lives panned out despite their many achievements and success.

Privilege, education, talent, fame and fortune, Nina and Frederik had it all. But these provide no protection from the frailties of human life and the awesome force of destiny. Frederik was an intrepid but troubled adventurer. For a time he started a farm in Ibiza. That was short lived. He later married Sussanah and moved on and settled in the Philippines. He allegedly became involved with drug trafficking. Frederik was an avid sailor and loved the sea. Tragedy struck in 1994 when Frederik and his wife were in their yacht, The Tiaping, with their young son, when they were both shot and killed. The murderer is believed to have been another member of the syndicate. Overcome with grief, Nina flew out to the Philippines and took his body back to his homeland. He was buried near his parents’ grave in the Netherlands.

My thanks to Nina and Frederik for their wonderful music. They came, entertained and faded away. The songs live on, helping us to relive memories of a simpler and less frenzied world. Still when I hear Nina and Frederik sing I’m transported back to a time of tremendous uncertainty and hard study. Their music coincided with great personal success too. I found entry into the Faculty of Medicine and then to an immensely satisfying professional career. At least for me their unique blend of music will remain timeless for evermore. Nina and Frederik are a true music icon, their legacy will live on.

May Frederik find eternal peace and may Nina now 90 be happy and have a peaceful life.