Focus is 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.
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.
"Popscene" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur,released as a non-album single on 30 March 1992. Despite its relatively low chart placing,it has since become critically praised and regarded as one of the pioneering songs of the Britpop genre.
"Rock and Roll" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin,released as the second track on their fourth studio album in 1971. The song contains a guest performance by original Rolling Stones' pianist and co-founder Ian Stewart. In 1972,American music critic and journalist Robert Christgau called it "simply the most dynamic hard-rock song in the music."
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.
"Hocus Pocus" is a song by the Dutch rock band Focus,written by keyboardist,flutist,and vocalist Thijs van Leer and guitarist Jan Akkerman. It was recorded and released in 1971 as the opening track of their second studio album Moving Waves. An edited version was released as a single on the Imperial,Polydor and Blue Horizon labels in Europe in 1971,but failed to chart outside of the Netherlands.
Focus 3 is the third studio album by Dutch rock band Focus,released as a double album in November 1972 on Imperial Records. Recorded after touring in support of their previous album,Moving Waves (1971),the album saw the band write extended pieces and is their first with bassist Bert Ruiter in the group's line-up.
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. Recording took place 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.
"Different World" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the opening track from their 14th studio album,A Matter of Life and Death (2006),and was released as the second single from the album. It was released on 14 November 2006 in the United States,and 26 December 2006 in Europe. The song has been stated by the band to be a tribute to Thin Lizzy due to the low sounding melodies sung by Bruce Dickinson that are reminiscent of those Phil Lynott would sing. It was also played first every night on the band's A Matter of Life and Death Tour.
Brainbox is a Dutch rock group from the late 1960s/early 1970s. The band was founded in Amsterdam by guitarist Jan Akkerman,drummer Pierre van der Linden and singer Kazimir Lux (Kaz). Their debut single was "Down Man",which established their progressive blues sound. They had several hit singles in the Netherlands,including "Down Man". "Doomsday Train","Summertime","To You","Virgin" and "The Smile".
Cyril Havermans is a Dutch musician,best known for being in the progressive rock band Focus.
Focus Plays Focus is the first studio album by Dutch rock band Focus,released in September 1970 on Imperial Records. It is the only album recorded by the group's original line-up consisting of organist and vocalist Thijs van Leer,bassist Martijn Dresden,drummer Hans Cleuver,and guitarist Jan Akkerman. It was renamed In and Out of Focus for the international version of the album released in January 1971 which included their debut single "House of the King".
Hamburger Concerto is the fourth studio album by the Dutch progressive rock band Focus,released in May 1974. It peaked at No. 20 on the UK charts. The title track is based on Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Johannes Brahms. The composition also incorporates the first two verses of the Dutch Christmas carol O Kerstnacht,schoner dan de dagen at around 15 min. The first track is based on a Gaillarde of Joachim van den Hove of his work Delitae Musicae.
Mother Focus is the fifth studio album by the band Focus,released in 1975 on Polydor in Europe,on Atco Records in North America and on EMI in Japan.
At the Rainbow is the first live album from the Dutch rock band Focus,released in October 1973 on Imperial Records. The album was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on 5 May 1973 by The Pye Mobile Unit,recording engineer Alan Perkins. A studio album was initially slated for release,but it was shelved due to disagreements within the band. At the Rainbow was released instead.
Ship of Memories is a compilation album from the Dutch rock band Focus,released in 1976 on EMI-Bovema. During a period of group inactivity,longtime associate Hubert Terheggen asked their producer Mike Vernon to select previously unreleased material for official release. Compiled without any active involvement by any band member,the recordings date from January 1970 to mid-1975,and largely during unproductive recording sessions in 1973 for a follow-up studio album to Focus 3 (1972).
Focus con Proby is the sixth studio album by the Dutch rock band Focus,released in 1978 on EMI Records. It features five tracks with vocals from American singer P. J. Proby. The record also features guitarists Eef Albers and Philip Catherine,drummer Steve Smith,as well as the two Focus members from previous albums. Smith and Albers would later go on to collaborate on the second album of Smith's band Vital Information.
Live at the BBC is a live album by the Dutch progressive rock group Focus,recorded on 21 March 1976,and broadcast on Radio 1 in the BBC Concert Series,but released only in 2004 by Hux Records,in CD format.
"House of the King" is an instrumental by the Dutch rock band Focus. It was released as a single in January 1971 and reached No. 10 on the Dutch charts and sold well across Europe. In the UK,it was issued on both the group's first album,In And Out of Focus and the 1972 double album Focus 3.
