Focus (band)

1969–1970: Formation

Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed with Shaffy, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox who was invited by Ramses Shaffy, who had performed with van Leer in his theatre act, to play with the trio. Van Leer latter recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig with the name followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, which led to a residency of two gigs a night for two days a week with a set formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus".

In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair, produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records.

In June 1970, Hair ended its run and Focus turned down the prospect of touring the musical across the country for a year and a half to become a full time band. By this time, they had picked up more local gigs and dates across the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from them and Hair had reached 400 guilders, though Akkerman recalled the group "didn't know the value of it, we immediately spent it". To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses.

1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King" and line-up change

In 1970, through connections with Dresden's father, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, the director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg. Terheggen took a liking to their music and signed Focus to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 during time off from Hair at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen as producer and Jerry Boys as engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally.

After Focus Plays Focus was recorded, the band struggled to find a record label that was willing to release it. Their fortunes changed after Focus recorded "House of the King", an instrumental written by Akkerman that has different accounts over its origins. Band biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by the band's appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970. In the finals, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. In response, van Leer played the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the venue's dressing room. The four were arrested and spent a night in jail. Akkerman later said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... written in about five minutes", though van Leer claimed Akkerman came up with it the day after their arrest. It was planned to develop the song further with lyrics by Bird's Club disc jockey Mike Hayes, but this was scrapped. Focus recorded it, without management permission, in one evening at Heemstede. It soon reached management at Imperial Records, who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and saw potential in the band. Imperial signed the group and released Focus Plays Focus in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded, along with their first single, "Why Dream" with "Happy Nightmare" on its B-side, in the Netherlands. Its American release followed in October, handled by Sire Records who secured the rights to the band's international distribution and issued the album with "House of the King" added. Sire founder Seymour Stein flew to the Netherlands to see the band perform, thinking "without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard" and signed them. Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart.

Towards the end of 1970, Akkerman became unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed playing with his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. He presented an ultimatum to van Leer, threatening to quit unless the two left. Van Leer did not wish to part with his original trio members and told Akkerman to leave, causing a rift between them. Cleuver said the pair would often be at odds, "fighting about copyright or whatever", and that Akkerman wished to make a statement to van Leer by splitting the group up. He also mentioned the panic from their record company as they knew "House of the King" would become a hit and wished for van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong if he could manage the band if a reunion took place, which de Jong accepted. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer ended his time with Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus.

1971–1972: Moving Waves

With a new line-up secured, English producer Mike Vernon was asked to witness the band perform in the Netherlands by Stein. Vernon was impressed by their performance and agreed to produce their next studio album. Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, was recorded in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. The album showcased the band exploring progressive and jazz rock elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Moving Waves was released in October 1971 and became a worldwide commercial success for the band, reaching number 2 in the UK during a 34-week stay on the chart number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. Its success was helped by its lead single "Hocus Pocus", which did not chart in the UK until January 1973 with a peak at number 20. The rock instrumental became the band's signature track and a highlight of their live set with quirky and energetic interludes that included flute riffs, accordion, guitar, and drum solos, and van Leer's whistling, nonsensical vocals, falsetto singing, and yodeling.

Shortly before a French tour in July 1971, van der Linden left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get more pay than him. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted at its conclusion and van der Linden resumed on the drums. In September 1971, shortly before the band were to begin their supporting tour for Moving Waves, Havermans left. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of a group, and wanted to pursue a solo career. During the band's stay in Los Angeles on their North American tour in March 1973, the remaining Focus members accepted Havermans's invitation to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bass player in Bert Ruiter.

The success of Moving Waves increased the public's attention to Focus in the UK, who in 1972 were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by New Musical Express. In February 1972, the band underwent a 15-date UK tour when the country experienced a series of nationwide power cuts. The band went around the problem by bringing their own power generator as they thought one of their gigs was to take place at an outdoor festival. Akkerman said: "We played the universities ... they were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". The tour included spots at the Reading Festival in August 1972, followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London a month later.

1972–1975: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto

In July 1972, the band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes recording their third album, Focus 3. The band had written a considerable amount of material so they opted to record a double album, much of it written by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King" from Focus Plays Focus. Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached No. 4 in the UK in January 1973, the same week "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart.

Focus resumed as a live act to support Focus 3 which ran from October 1972 through 1973. Their debut appearance on the BBC music television show The Old Grey Whistle Test in late 1972 caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for a week in order to meet demand. In early 1973, Focus completed their first North American tour. Upon their return, they performed two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre in London on 4 and 5 May 1973 which was recorded for BBC television and their first live album, At the Rainbow. The album reached a peak of number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band received a Billboard award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single.

In May 1973, Focus recorded new material with Vernon at Chipping Norton Recording Studios in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire with the aim of releasing a new album. By this time, growing creative differences between van Leer and Akkerman caused tension which affected the material as a result. The pair refused to co-operate and worked separately, recording their parts without the other present. Vernon called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions were released on the compilation album Ship of Memories, in 1976.

Upon their return from their second 1973 US tour, the band organised rehearsals in a cellar at Kasteel Groenguerd in Baarn that they had converted into a studio. After van der Linden failed to turn up, the group learned of his decision to leave Focus in October 1973. Van Leer said rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz music. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as potential replacements; after the first two were unavailable the band asked Allen, who took the invitation as a complete surprise and flew to meet them the following day. After a successful try out session, Allen "Got the thumbs up. It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start in late 1973.

Focus recorded their fourth album Hamburger Concerto with Vernon at Olympic Studios from January to March 1974. By this time, constant touring had affected the member's inspiration to write strong enough material. demonstrated a heavier rock approach than previous albums. Its centrepiece is the six-part, 20-minute title track based on Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Johannes Brahms. Released in April 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" failed to chart in the UK.

1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding

In 1975, the band gathered in Brussels to record a new studio album. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project but the group found themselves without a collective direction; Van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. During a period when van Leer and Akkerman were absent from the studio, Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums. Allen and Ruiter recorded "I Need a Bathroom", and the two began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but as the drummer claimed, Akkerman got angry at the idea and shouted at Allen, tossing the machine across the room. Allen was then kicked out of the band, not knowing who made the final decision. Soon after his departure, Allen claimed their management required him to pay what he owed to the group which amounted to roughly £10,000; he used his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". This marked the return of van der Linden on the drums, but he left soon after as van Leer favoured the style of American drummer David Kemper, who was brought in to complete the recordings.

The resulting album, Mother Focus, was released in October 1975 to mostly negative reviews, as the group had consciously departed from their progressive rock foundations towards more commercially accessible music with light disco and funk rhythms and less classical and jazz elements. For a tour of Scandinavia and Japan in 1975, van der Linden returned to the group. A UK tour was planned, but Akkerman refused to perform songs from the album and such plans were scrapped. The single "Crackers"/"O Avondrood (Red Sky at Night)" was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories.

In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1976 and 1977 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking.

After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Also involved was Dutch guitarist Eef Albers. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus.

1985−1999: Reunions

In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus: Jan Akkerman & Thijs van Leer was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour.

In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time.

In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless.

Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival.

In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group.

2001–present: Reformation, albums and touring

In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon, all former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970's era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After a couple of well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left the band due to personal circumstances, and was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a tour of North and South America and Europe.

In 2004, van der Linden replaced Smaak on drums and in July 2006, Niels van der Steenhoven replaced Dumée on the guitar. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, the ninth Focus studio album released in September 2006 by the Dutch label Red Bullet Records, which currently owns the band's back catalogue.

In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57.

In 2011, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. Also in 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show.

The band released their tenth studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012.

On 14 April 2014, the band released their eleventh studio album Golden Oldies as a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs.

In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians.

In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus will tour Europe.

Music

Akkerman's "House of the King" was originally a Dutch single release, before being included on the UK album In and Out of Focus, which featured tracks from 'Focus Play Focus" in a different playing sequence plus "House of the King" (the track is not on the band's Dutch debut). The same version, not a re-recording, was included on the 1973 double vinyl release of Focus 3 (but was omitted from the CD version of that album), and later became the title themes of the BBC children's television shows "Encounter France: and "Merry-go-Round", both 1979, then Don't Ask Me, a science-based British TV show of the 1970s that made household names of Magnus Pyke and David Bellamy. It is also the title theme of Steve Coogan's BBC 2 sitcom, Saxondale.

Band members

Discography

Studio albums