Focus (band)
| Focus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Progressive rock , rock |
| founding | 1969, 2001 |
| resolution | 1978 |
| Website | www.focustheband.com |
| Founding members | |
| Thijs van Leer | |
| Hans Cleuver | |
| Jan Akkerman | |
| Martin Dresden | |
| Current occupation | |
Keyboard, flute |
Thijs van Leer |
Drums |
Pierre van der Linden |
guitar |
Menno Gootjes |
bass |
Udo Pannekeet |
| former members | |
Drums |
Collin Allen |
Drums |
David Kemper |
Drums |
Bert Smaak |
guitar |
Philip Catherine |
guitar |
Eef Albers |
bass |
Bert Ruiter |
guitar |
Jan Dumée |
bass |
Bobby Jacobs |
Focus is a Dutch progressive rock - band . Its dominant members were the organist and flautist Thijs van Leer - who still belongs to the band - and the guitarist Jan Akkerman .
Band history
Thijs van Leer founded Focus in 1969 together with Martin Dresden ( bass ) and Hans Cleuver ( drums ). Together with Jan Akkerman, they recorded their first LP In and Out of Focus and the single House of the King in 1970 .
With Pierre van der Linden , whom Jan Akkerman knew from his earlier group Brainbox , on drums and Cyril Havermans on electric bass , the album Moving Waves and the hit single Hocus Pocus brought international recognition in 1971.
Another great international success was the single Sylvia from the 1972 released double album Focus III . Bert Ruiter now played bass .
In 1973 the live album Live at the Rainbow followed. Pierre van der Linden left the group because he did not want to go with a more commercial style. The LP Hamburger Concerto was recorded in 1974 with drummer Collin Allen (ex- Stone the Crows , ex- John Mayall ) .
David Kemper replaced Allen while recording Mother Focus in 1975 . In 1976 Jan Akkerman also left the band. For him came Philip Catherine and then Eef Albers . That year, Ship of Memories came out, which included unreleased recordings, and in 1977 with PJ Proby Focus con Proby.
Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman played together every now and then and in 1985 they released another album under the name Focus .
In 1988 the Focus albums were re -released on CD .
In 2002, Thijs van Leer put together a Focus formation again and went on tour (among other things at times with Pierre van der Linden and Bert Smaak on drums, as well as Jan Dumée (guitar), Bobby Jacobs (bass)). This is documented on DVD together with old recordings .
Guitarist Menno Gootjes (* 1974) has been part of the band since January 2011; he replaced Niels van der Steenhoven, who had played in the band for almost five years. In addition to Thijs van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden and bassist Bobby Jacobs are currently there.
Music producer Mike Vernon , who has looked after the group since 1970, is closely linked to the success of Focus .
Music genre
The special thing about the music by Focus is that the instrumental pieces predominate, especially on the most successful albums. Singing is often used purely instrumentally, such as Thijs van Leer yodelling on Hocus Pocus . The long suite-like or symphonic concept pieces are typical of progressive rock . On most of the albums you can find the melodic piece Focus as a kind of constant theme .
Although the musicians often presented their pieces in interviews as jokes or banal ideas, it becomes clear that the music of Focus was played on a very high level both in terms of virtuosity (for example, Jan Akkerman was named the world's best guitarist by the Melody Maker in 1973 ) and compositionally . The rock music of Focus was enriched with different styles. The origins of jazz and the classical training of the musicians come to light in many pieces. The music is full of set pieces, quotes and arrangements by classical composers such as Joseph Haydn , Johannes Brahms and Béla Bartók . You can find allusions to Gregorian chant , folk music and baroque music through to funk or Far Eastern music.
Others
In 2010 the company Nike used the song Hocus Pocus from the album Moving Waves for an advertising campaign before and during the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa . Also Hocus Pocus in the TV series Supernatural (episode 3.13 - Ghostfacers), My Name Is Earl (episode 3.12 - freedom from the nose) and vinyl - (episode 1.8 EAH heard). The song Hocus Pocus is also used in the 2014 film RoboCop and 2016 in the 2016 film Baby Driver .
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 UK
|
 US
|
 NL
|
|||
| 1970 | In and out of focus | - | - |
US104 (9 weeks) US |
- |
in NL as Focus Plays Focus
|
| 1971 | Moving waves | - |
UK2 (34 weeks) UK |
US8th  (38 weeks)US |
NL4 (8 weeks) NL |
in NL as Focus II
|
| 1972 | Focus 3 | - |
UK6 (16 weeks) UK |
US35 (22 weeks)US |
NL1 (12 weeks) NL |
|
| 1974 | Hamburg Concerto | - |
UK20th  (5 weeks)UK |
US66 (19 weeks) US |
NL5 (4 weeks) NL |
|
| 1975 | Mother Focus | - |
UK23 (6 weeks) UK |
US152 (6 weeks) US |
- | |
| 1976 | Ship of Memories | - | - |
US163 (7 weeks) US |
- | |
| 1977 | Focus con Proby | - | - | - |
NL27 (1 week) NL |
|
More studio albums
- 1985: Focus - J. Akkerman & Thijs van Leer
- 2002: Focus 8
- 2006: Focus 9 / New Skin
- 2012: Focus X
- 2014: Golden Oldies
- 2016: 8.5 Beyond the Horizon
- 2018: Focus 11
Live albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
UK
|
US
|
NL
|
|||
| 1973 | Focus at the Rainbow | - |
UK23 (5 weeks)UK |
US132 (10 weeks) US |
NL9 (2 weeks) NL |
|
More live albums
- 2004: Focus The Greatest Hits (DCD)
- 2016: Live in Europe
- 2016: Live in England (CD / DVD)
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
UK
|
US
|
NL
|
|||
| 1975 | Dutch Masters - A Selection Of Their Finest Recordings 1969-1973 |
- | - |
US120 (... weeks) US |
- | |
| 1975 | The Golden Years Of Dutch Pop Music | - | - | - |
NL43 (2 weeks) NL |
|
Box sets
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
UK
|
US
|
NL
|
|||
| 2017 | Hocus Pocus Box |
DE54 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
NL61 (1 week) NL |
13 CD box of already released albums
|
Singles
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
UK
|
US
|
NL
|
|||
| 1971 | House Of The King |
- | - | - |
NL14 (4 weeks) NL |
B-side: Black Beauty
|
| Hocus Pocus Moving Waves |
- | - | - |
NL10 (7 weeks) NL |
B-side: Janis
|
|
| 1972 | Sylvia Focus 3 |
- |
UK4 (11 weeks) UK |
US89 (5 weeks) US |
NL40 (3 weeks) NL |
B-side: Love Remembered
|
| Tommy |
- | - | - |
NL21 (4 weeks) NL |
||
| 1973 | Hocus Pocus (Nieuwe Versie) |
DE45 (2 weeks) DE |
UK20 (11 weeks) UK |
US9 (19 weeks) US |
NL9 (7 weeks) NL |
|
| 1974 | Harem Scarem Hamburg Concerto |
- | - | - |
NL26 (4 weeks) NL |
B-side: Early Birth
|
More singles
- 1970: Anonymous
Web links
- Focus at Discogs (English)
- Official website (English)
- Focus Tribute Homepage (English)