Constant Meijers, Dutch rock music journalist, has interviewed the Eagles at various times and locations beginning in 1973. From 1973-1981 Constant was editor-in-chief for Muziekkrant Oor, which is a well-known Dutch music publication. ‘Music Newspaper Ear’ is the English translation of the name, and in the 1980s the name was changed to simply Oor. He has written books about the history of Dutch rock & roll and the music of Neil Young. His latest is titled “Hotel California & Other Rock-‘N-Roll Stories”, which was published in November 2021 and is about his personal adventures with the likes of the Eagles, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Young. The first 60 pages are about Constant’s encounters with and observations about the Eagles. For those fortunate enough to be able to read Dutch, this book should be a great addition to your Eagles library.
The Eagles were known for not liking interviewers much, but it appears that Constant was an exception and was actually a favorite of theirs. They sent Constant a tape of the Hotel California album to listen to before the album even went public in December 1976.
I would like to thank Constant for his help, input, and insights while putting this page together. It is most appreciated. There are three of Constant Meijers’ interviews with the Eagles below – two from 1973 and one from 1976. At the end of this page is a short video from 2021 of Constant talking about the Eagles on the Dutch TV show “Time for Max Today”.
Constant Meijers in the 1970s
March 14, 1973:
While the Eagles were in London in March 1973, they were interviewed by Constant Meijers for Muziekkrant Oor. They also had a concert appearance at the Royal Festival Hall and recorded for the BBC “In Concert” TV show while there. Also, in March they were at the Popgala Festival in the Netherlands.
November 21, 1973:
In November 1973 while the Eagles were on tour in England as support for Neil Young they were interviewed by Constant Meijers for the November 21, 1973 issue of Muziekkrant Oor. Later, when the Eagles were again in Amsterdam in May 1977 Constant was with them when they received an award from Warner Elektra Asylum for sales of more than a half million LPs in the Netherlands.
December 1976:
In December 1976 a 4-page article as a result of an interview with the Eagles appeared in Zigzag magazine, which was a British rock music magazine. Constant had interviewed each of the Eagles by phone on November 18, 1976 for this article. The Eagles were in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the time that they talked with him by phone.
March 14, 1973 – Muziekkrant Oor
“A Bag of Hash and A Good Chat With the Eagles”
The 1973 original London interview from Muziekkrant Oor is in Dutch. Below is the online English translated version of it. It’s a lengthy interview, so it is split into two parts.
pdf version of interview (part 1)
pdf version of interview (part 2)
The actual Dutch-language interview pages below are images at a very low resolution, so they are not really readable.
(English translation of page title)
Glenn Frey:
Bernie Just Wanna Talk About the Desert
Pg. 8
(English translation of page title)
Bernie Leadon:
I Will Always Feel Like A Musician
Pg. 9
London – Mar. 1973
Gijsbert Hanekroot, Dutch photographer
Nov. 21, 1973 – Muziekkrant Oor
pdf of Dutch article
(No translated English version available)
Pg. 8
Pg. 8 translated caption under Bernie Leadon’s photo
Pg. 9
On stage in Amsterdam – Nov. 12, 1973
Gijsbert Hanekroot, Dutch photographer
As mentioned in the May 13, 1977 translated paragraph of The Telegraph article below, Stance Oort presented silver pins to Randy and the other Eagles back on November 12, 1973 when the Eagles were in Amsterdam at the Hilton Hotel.
Gijsbert Hanekroot, Dutch photographer
Stance Oort passing out the silver pins to the Eagles
Stance Oort pinning the silver pin on Randy Meisner
Dutch Edison Award
Prior to receiving the pins from Stance Oort, the Eagles received the Dutch Edison Award that day on November 12, 1973, too. The award statue is sitting on the table in front of Don Henley in the above photo.
In the Dutch newspaper Het Parool of Nov. 13, 1973 a caption under this photo of them all holding their Edison award translated to English reads: “The Eagles who performed last night in Amsterdam received their Edison in the afternoon at the Hilton Hotel. This year they received awards from the Collective Gramophone Record Campaign Foundation for their record Desperado.”
Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Glenn Frey
The Eagles were presented with an award May 12, 1977 while in the Netherlands. Constant Meijers is standing on the far right in the back row. The album award they received is described in the newspaper article (The Telegraph) below.
Front: Randy Meisner and Glenn Frey
Back: Jan Bult (record promoter), Don Henley, Hans Tonino (Business Director for WEA Holland), Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Peter de Vos (A&R), Constant Meijers (interviewer extraordinaire)
English translation of this newspaper page title is “Bullion for Eagles”
The Telegraph (Amsterdam, Netherlands) – May 13, 1977
Dec. 1976 – Zigzag Magazine
“Up to Date with Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Don Felder, Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner”
Constant Meijers interviewed each of the Eagles by phone on November 18, 1976 for the December 1976 issue of Zigzag magazine.
Glenn on the cover in one of the photos from a 1975 photo shoot when Constant Meijers came to Los Angeles for an earlier interview with Glenn and Don Henley at Glenn’s home. More photos from that day are below.
Photos by Barry Schultz, rock music photographer
This excerpt is from the Contents page of the December 1976 Zigzag magazine.
In looking through my copy of this magazine I noticed that none of the pages are numbered. So, they have simply been numbered 1 through 4 here. As usual, Randy’s input is very short.
pdf version of article (better for reading)
Pg. 1
Pg. 2
Pg. 3
Pg. 4
More photos from the photoshoot of Glenn, Don, and Constant Meijers at Glenn’s Los Angeles home in 1975
Photos by Barry Schultz, rock music photographer
Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Constant Meijers
Boyd Elder’s “One of These Nights” skull art that appeared on the album cover hangs above Glenn Frey’s fireplace
Don Henley, Constant Meijers, and Glenn Frey
Constant Meijers and Glenn Frey
Photo by Barry Schultz used in the History of the Eagles documentary
Glenn Frey and Don Henley
Joe Walsh, Constant Meijers, and JD Souther – also in Los Angeles in 1975
Photos by Barry Schultz, rock music photographer
Constant Meijers is talking about the Eagles on the Dutch TV show “Time for Max Today”. He tells the story of getting to see Don Henley when the Eagles were at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam in 2019. Translation software was used for the Dutch to English subtitles. The translation isn’t perfect, but the gist of the conversation is there.
Thanks for the pdf versions Diana. Very easy to read and even to find Randy commenting. He certainly was a man of few words!
He sure was. I hope it wasn’t too difficult for Constant Meijers to work around Randy not talking much.
Constant is as gorgeous, talkative and as amusing in 2021 as he was in the 1970s. He’s a story teller. Thanks for this update.
I think it would be wonderful to sit and listen to his stories…as long as they are in English. haha