Radio stations, church bells and carillions have being paying tribute to the Golden Earring classic Radar Love in honour of the 73rd birthday of guitarist George Kooymans, who was recently diagnosed with the muscle disease ALS.

Kooymans went public with the news in February, and according to the band’s manager, that also means the end of live performances for the band.

Radar Love, which topped the charts in 1973, is still a radio fixture all over the world and fans came up with the idea of the novel tribute. At 5.15pm on Thursday, from Amsterdam to Zeewolde, the hit was played on carrillons, and radio stations.

It is a tough piece to play, carillion player Martien van der Knijff in Zwolle told local broadcaster RTV Oost. ‘It’s an up tempo rock number and on the edge of what you can play on a carillon.’

The 5.15pm time slot was chosen deliberately. ‘It is a road song and many people are in the car at that time,’ Winy van der Geest, one of the fans behind the tribute, told local broadcaster Omroep West.

‘And if you want to get a lot of people to play it, you don’t do it during the [radio] news.’

The Earring, as they are known by the Dutch, celebrated their 50th anniversary with the current line-up in 2019 and were still performing regularly until coronavirus hit.

Boudewijn Zwart, who plays the Westerkerk carillon on Amsterdam, told the Parool he thinks he has now become a fan. ‘It is a very rhythmic piece and I’ve worked out a way to play in which my left hand and feet are the drummer.’

‘I play carillons all over the country and this week I will be playing Radar Love in Den Helder, Dordrecht, Schoonhoven and Barneveld.’