Joep was born on March 28, 1960 in Amsterdam and grew up in Schalkwijk (Haarlem) with 2 brothers and 2 sisters and from the age of 6 without a father, but with a fantastic mother. Joep was a bit of a crybaby, but he later managed to use that emotional sensitivity when composing sensitive melodies. Basketball was his main religion for years. Shooting forward with just too little talent and height (1.86m) for the top.