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It won’t be a surprise, to any one who knows me, when I tell you how much I
like bands with girls; The Bangles, Jefferson Airplane, Wendy & Lisa,
Sweetwater, The Archies (does Betty and Veronica count?) to name a few of my
favorites. Shocking Blue is no exception to this rule. As a kid, I had the
single "Venus" and also loved the B- side, "Hot Sand". Not too long ago, I
saw the video for "Venus" at Donnie’s house and decided to see what I could
learn about this band. Shocking Blue was formed in 1967 by Robby van Leeuwen
(born in Hague 1944), guitarist for "The Motions". The first band lineup was
singer - Fred de Wilde, guitar/ songwriter - Leeuwen, bass - Klassje van de
Wal and drums - Cornelius van der Beck. This combo had a small hit in
Holland with "Lucy Brown Is Back In Town" but Robby had always wanted to try
a female singer. When Wilde went off to do his military service, he was
replaced with Mariska Veres, a sexy dark haired singer with a voice
often compared to Grace Slick. When Fred returned it was too late to rejoin,
as the new line- up was a huge success. Now with Mariska (born in Hague
1949) the bands sound changed with the release of their first record "Send
Me A Postcard" in February of 1969 on the Pink Elephant label. It was a top
20 hit in Holland. The second record "Long And Lonesome Road" was a minor
hit but soon to follow was their third record "Venus". Written by van
Leeuwen in a tiny room at his parents home, it would change all of their
lives forever. Released in the US on Colossus, "Venus" would reach #1 on the
Billboard charts (December 13, 11969) and would remain in the Hot 100
for 14 weeks. It made the top 10 in the UK (# 8 January 1970) but
surprisingly would not reach #1 in their home, Holland! This made Shocking
Blue the first Euro band to enjoy a #1 hit single in the US. "Venus" would
reach #1 once more in 1981 when covered by Stars On 45 and then again in
1986 when recorded by Bananarama. Now the band was a smash and was in
tremendous demand for albums and worldwide touring. Taking their name from
an Eric Clapton song "Electric Blue" and their music direction from the west
coast sound and well blended pop melodies, Shocking Blue would become one of
the busiest and most successful acts of the seventies. They would cover vast
distances on tour, crammed together in an uncomfortable station wagon
working with such bands as Sly & The Family Stone, Ike & Tina Turner and
Three Dog Night. While other bands of this era were often known for their
drug influences, Leeuwen said that they were quite straight. No one was more
surprised by their success than the band themselves. The US tour was a bit
of a strain on them and they commented "the country was too big!. "Mighty
Joe" was a smash hit in Germany and would reach #43 in the US (3/ 7/ 70)
during its 7 weeks on the charts. "Long And Lonesome Road" stayed on the US
charts for 5 weeks reaching #75 (6/ 6/ 70). "Never Marry A Railroad Man" was
#1 in Holland and went gold in Germany and Japan. "Acka Raga", a psychedelic
number featured an Indian Sitar as did "Love Buzz", covered in 1988 by
Nirvana. It was said to be a cross between a Hebrew Lament and an Indian
Raja. "Inkpot", recorded in 1972, had somewhat naughty lyrics with a double
meaning. The line goes "Put some love in your heart like you put some ink in
your inkpot". "Let Me Carry Your Bag" would be their first flop. All in all,
they would have about 50 hits in Holland! They wrote most of their own songs
but since they were in demand to put out so much music, so quickly, they
used some cover songs to ease the writing pressure. They covered songs such
as "Jambalaya", "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" and "Mississippi Delta".
Klassje would leave the band after 5 years on the road and then Mariska
would leave to pursue a solo career in 1975. Shocking Blue CD’s are
available at Circle Sky Records and come highly recommended by the staff.
They include:
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At Home
– "Venus", "Acka Raja", "Long And Lonesome Road", "Love Buzz" |
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Scorpio’s
Dance – "Mighty Joe", "Hello Darkness", "Send Me A Postcard"
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3
rd
Album
– (actually their 4
th
) "Shocking You", "Blossum
Lady", Never Marry A Railroad Man" |
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InkPot/
Attilla – "" Tobacco Road", "Inkpot", "Rock In The Sea", "Eve And The
Apple" |
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Dream On
Dreamer/ Good Times – "Where The Picknick Was", "This America"
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Singles A’s
& B’s – "Lucy Brown Is Back In Town", Harley Davidson", "Wild Wind", "Pickin’
Tomatoes", "Hot Sand" |
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