Marijne plays cowgirl at the Camden Dingwalls (1997)
Marijne van der Vlugt
Marijne was Salad's lead singer and keyboardist. Before Salad, she was best known as a VJ on MTV Europe, but had previously worked as a model.
"I wanted to become a model, and I became a model. It was my determination that got me there rather than my looks. Sure, I'm tall, and I had the right figure, but I had to work to get that. More importantly, I wanted to do it and I wanted to be bloody good at it. I had the attitude, I was really bloody cocky. I worked in Paris for a year and, in a few months in Tokyo, I earned £20,000."
"Then I wanted to be on TV and I became an MTV presenter, just literally walked into the job. I was taking in a Merry Babes video and someone just asked me to audition there and then. So I made my decision, went for it and, I got the job."
Two weeks after leaving MTV, Marijne had the following to say in an interview with Melody Maker: "I'd been there for four years, so it was my time to leave, and my head is so much clearer now, 'cos the reason I was getting really tense on tour and stuff last year was 'cos I had another career going. So, even though it's been brilliant, I'm so happy now."
"People say I'm really brave giving it up, but it has nothing to do with bravery. I just wanted to dedicate myself to the band... completely."
"I've always wanted to make music and love it. I want this group to succeed and it will. Determination can get you a long, long way. If you want something badly enough, you'll probably get it. Like I say, I'm insecure, but I want to be in a band. So, if I can get on that stage anyone can fucking do it."
Marijne has a great deal of stage presence, and would dominate any venue the band played. Her experience as a model clearly gave her the attitude to front a band, but as well as the looks and the style, she was also blessed with an amazing voice. Her vocals could go from treacle-sweet to buzzsaw-sharp in an instant and her impressive range added a great deal of flexiblity to the band's songwriting.
She was also responsible for writing a number of Salad's songs, including No.1's Cooking and Foreign Cow.
Equipment
On stage Marijne played a Kawai K1 synth.
