Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967. They were part of the Nederbeat movement in the Netherlands. The band had a string of hit songs during the counterculture movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, including "Send Me a Postcard" and "Venus", which became their biggest hit and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and many other countries during 1969 and 1970. The band sold 13.5 million records by 1973 but disbanded in 1974. Together with Golden Earring they are considered the most successful Nederbeat-band, if the criterion is scoring hits abroad and especially in the United States.
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band has undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised Van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States.
After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls.
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions.
Rodney Terence Argent is an English musician. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the rock band the Zombies, and went on to form the band Argent after the first break-up of the Zombies.
Peter Koelewijn is a founding father of Dutch-language rock and roll. Koelewijn is also a successful producer and songwriter for other Dutch artists. His most famous song is "Kom van dat dak af".
Floor Jansen is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She is the third and current lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.
Jan Akkerman is a Dutch guitarist. He first found international commercial success with the band Focus, which he co-founded with Thijs van Leer. After leaving Focus, he continued as a solo musician, adding jazz fusion influences.
Thijs van Leer is a Dutch singer and keyboardist, best known as the founding member of the rock band Focus as its primary vocalist, keyboardist, and flautist. Born and raised in Amsterdam among a musical family, van Leer took up the piano and flute as a child and pursued them at university and music academies.
BLØF is a Dutch rock band from Vlissingen, Zeeland, founded in 1992 by Peter Slager. Current members are Peter Slager (bass), Paskal Jakobsen, Bas Kennis (keyboards), and Norman Bonink (drums). Former members are Henk Tjoonk (drums) and Chris Götte (drums).
Rick van der Linden was a Dutch composer and keyboardist. Van der Linden first gained fame as a member of Ekseption, but he played in several other bands including most notably Trace, as well as solo. Van der Linden was best known for his reworkings of classical music in a pop music domain, often with jazz improvisations.
Badhoevedorp is a town in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It lies next to the Ringvaart around Haarlemmermeer, the canal around the former Lake Haarlem, at the side of the polder bordering Amsterdam and Amstelveen.
Focus II is the second studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Focus, released in October 1971 on Imperial Records. Following the departure of original bassist Martin Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver in 1970, the band recruited Cyril Havermans and Pierre van der Linden, respectively, and prepared material for a new album. Focus recorded Focus II in London in April and May 1971 with Mike Vernon as producer. The album features "Hocus Pocus" a hard rock song featuring keyboardist Thijs van Leer's yodelling, scat singing, and whistling, and "Eruption", a 22-minute track inspired by the opera Euridice by Italian composer Jacopo Peri.
De Dijk were a Dutch rock band existing from 1981 to 2022. The band were named after Zeedijk, a street in their hometown Amsterdam. Their music can be described as a mixture of soul, blues and rock 'n roll, with lyrics sung only in Dutch, except for their 2010 album Hold On Tight; the song Enough is Enough, both of which are sung in English by Solomon Burke; and Stupid Guy from the album Wakker in een vreemde wereld, performed in English by the regular band.
Cyril Havermans is a Dutch musician, best known for being in the progressive rock band Focus.
Pierre van der Linden is a Dutch drummer, songwriter and member of the band, Focus.
Trace was a Dutch progressive rock trio founded by Rick van der Linden in 1974 after leaving Ekseption. The band was formed in 1974 and released its debut album, "Trace," in 1974. The band's music was characterized by complex arrangements and intricate instrumental work, and their compositions often featured a mix of rock, jazz, and classical influences. Trace released a total of three albums during their career. Trace was fairly popular in Europe, and they gained a loyal following among fans of progressive rock. However, they never achieved widespread commercial success and disbanded in the late 1970s, merging back into Ekseption. Despite this, the band's music has continued to be appreciated by fans of progressive rock.
Jack Lancaster is a British composer, record producer and musician.
Survival is a Dutch Progressive / Symphonic rock band/project, initiated in 1981 by keyboard player and composer Jack Langevelt and inspired by classic bands like Trace, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Ekseption, The Nice, Camel, Procol Harum and Deep Purple. The sound of Survival is characterized by strong dynamic melodies with odd time signatures and epic themes. Survival existed as a band between 1981 and 1997, although Jack continued making music under the name Survival.
Gertrude "Getty" Kaspers is an Austrian-born Dutch singer. She was the lead vocalist of the Dutch band Teach-In, with which she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song "Ding-a-dong".
