Musick Will Be The Cure.
Bob Rusche embraced life with this motto. For Bob was a man who loved life, and music was his life. It kept him going, no matter what happened.
When family or close friends passed away, music was there to heal. When he himself was struck by a serious heart condition and narrowly survived, that music was there once again, giving him the strength to fully pursue his great passion: discovering new music and making radio. Sharing his musical knowledge—presenting his show X-Rated live on air every week, featuring the music he felt people simply had to hear—made Bob Rusche one of the most dedicated radio broadcasters in the Netherlands. Every Sunday, whether in scorching summer heat or harsh winter conditions, if you turned on the radio at nine o’clock in the evening, there was Bob’s familiar voice. After getting you fired up with a ‘dancefloor killer,’ he would launch into his two-hour broadcast filled with adventurous and surprising sounds.
Bob’s musical knowledge was boundless—knowledge he had acquired while working for the NOB-Fonotheek (1976–1990) and as a salesperson at the Boudisque record store in Amsterdam (1980–2008). Starting in 1999, Bob joined Arjen Grolleman’s programme X-Rated on KINK FM. The show focused primarily on experimental, industrial and electronic music. After Grolleman passed away suddenly in 2010 and KINK FM went off the air in 2011, Bob Rusche continued X-Rated at the Concertzender.
Then, on Friday, June 26, came the unexpected news from southern Germany: Bob had died. He was on his way back from Austria with his partner, Anita. He had been making the trip of a lifetime—visiting places that reminded him of the past and of holidays with his parents. Finally, a real journey—one he had wanted to take for a long time, but had been prevented from doing by the obligation of hosting X-Rated every week.
I had known Bob since 1982—initially as a fellow concertgoer, but above all as a regular customer at the *Staalplaat* cassette shop on Amsterdam’s Spuistraat. He was also a familiar face during my visits to Boudisque, always the go-to person for extreme, unusual and alternative music. We also frequently ran into each other on the music scene or at the Media Park in Hilversum. It wasn’t until I heard that KINK FM was shutting down—while I was just starting out as an editor at the Concertzender—that I immediately approached Bob to ask if he wanted to continue X-Rated with us. X-Rated fit perfectly into the format of the Crosslinks editorial team I had just established. From that moment on, Bob was in his element. With his extensive musical knowledge and love of a wide variety of genres, he felt a sense of connection with many of his colleagues. At the same time, he was an inspiration to other programme makers. The Sunday evening live crew, in particular, was a close-knit group; this collaboration forged a deep bond, and a shared passion for music turns colleagues into lifelong friends.
Last year, Bob celebrated 30 years of X-Rated. This year, on the evening of Sunday, June 7th, we gathered in the studio with several fellow broadcasters to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Sensenta, Harrold Roeland’s weekly radio show. Once again, everyone wished one another many more years filled with wonderful programmes.
Sadly, that was not to be for Bob.
Yet his legacy will continue to bring healing.
Musick Will Be The Cure.
Hessel Veldman; 26 June 2026.
