Portrait: Patty 'La Pat' Trossèl

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By Contributing Writer on Monday, May 25, 2009 - 21:47

By faith

It’s days like these when I realize what a bad Dutch lesbian I am. I’ve always thought I was quite aware of the gay history of my country, including its entertainers. Apparently not. Ladies and erm…probably more ladies, sit back and enjoy this trip into the history of an amazingly talented and interesting Dutch bisexual performer.

Image from La Pat’s MySpace

For those, like me, who don’t know Patty 'La Pat' Trossèl or haven’t heard her music, I’m going to take you back to 1981 when Patty Trossèl’s musical career kicked off. She joined the new-age band called To Lips as one of the two singers. The singer and piano player was born 18 years earlier in Sassenheim, Holland.

During a performance in 'Mazzo', a major Amsterdam discotheque in those days, the band impressed two rich Colombians and swung an invite for a couple of shows in Bogota. A second invitation followed, and once again the band toured South-Africa. Patty, who's intent to focus on her own career, leaves the band and enters the School of Performing Arts in Amsterdam.

As a school project, Patty, Tosca Niterink (the female half of the Dutch comedy duo ‘Theo en Thea’ for whom Patty wrote) and seven others set up the theater formation ‘La Pat’. Patty is the main vocalist as well as the composer for the band and, although the formation is an assignment, the group is soon touring the whole of Holland. The year is 1986 and Patty is offered the ‘Pisuisse Prijs’, a price granted to the most promising student at the school. Patty refuses to accept, saying accepting would only serve to create bad blood between her and the other students.

Tossèl quickly becomes the main feature of the band. Patty refuses to be tied down by language- or genre barriers. Patty sings in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian and Turkish and focuses more on the musical effect than the actual lyrics. She admits she doesn’t speak a single word of most of these languages, although she sings them fluently.

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