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.
After the addition of Akkerman to Van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album, Focus Plays Focus (1970), gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997.
In 2002, Van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw Van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006), and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 12 (2024). Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands.
History
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 as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later 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 for the new band; 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 as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly 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.
After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full-time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend 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, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them 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 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the 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 recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Mallorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group.
Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing.In and Out of Focus: The Music of Jan Akkerman & focus at Google Books. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". 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.
Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans on the condition that the group continue as Focus.
With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album.
1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known by its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences.
Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album earned Focus a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973.
Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, Van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out Van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and Van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member.