Shocking Blue
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.[2] 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.
Shocking Blue | |
|---|---|
 Shocking Blue in 1970 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | The Hague, Netherlands |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1967–1974 (reunions: 1979, 1980, 1984) |
| Labels | |
| Past members |
|
History
Original era
Shocking Blue was founded in 1967 by the Motions guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen. Other members of the group at this time were Fred de Wilde, Klaasje van der Wal (1 February 1949 – 12 February 2018)[3] and Cor van der Beek (9 June 1949 – 2 April 1998). They had a minor hit in 1968 with "Lucy Brown is Back in Town". When De Wilde was the band's lead singer, the band originally had a sound that was described as cross between the Beatles and Brothers Four.
De Wilde left in 1968 after joining the Dutch army, and van Leeuwen was introduced to Mariska Veres, singing at that time with a club band. He persuaded her to take over the vocals, and the group recorded a worldwide hit with the song "Venus", which had entered the Veronica top 40 hit parade at position #12 the 12 July 1969 and had peaked at number three on 26 July 1969 in the Netherlands. The song was released in the United States and the United Kingdom at the end of the year and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970. It subsequently sold 350,000 copies in Germany and topped the U.S. chart for three weeks, the first song from the Netherlands to do so. It sold over one million copies there by January 1970 and received a gold record awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America. Global sales exceeded five million copies.[2] Other hits include "Send Me a Postcard" in late 1968 and "Long and Lonesome Road" (often mistakenly named as "Long Lonesome Road") in 1969.[4]
"Venus" was followed by "Mighty Joe" (flip-side "Wild Wind") in 1969 and "Never Marry a Railroad Man" (flip-side "Roll Engine Roll") in 1970, both of which sold over a million records. The latter became a top-ten hit in several countries around the world.[2][5] Later songs were successful in Europe, Latin America, and Asia, including "Hello Darkness", "Demon Lover" (1970), "Shocking You", "Blossom Lady" and "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" (1971), "Inkpot", "Rock in the Sea" and "Eve and the Apple" (1972) and "Oh Lord" (1973), but they failed to make the charts in the U.S. or U.K.
Klaasje van der Wal left towards the end of 1971, following their first trip to Japan (which spawned a live album). In 1974, Robbie Van Leeuwen quit, and Mariska Veres left later that year, leading to the band's split. Veres went on to pursue a solo career until 1982.
Reunions
Shocking Blue reformed with its most famous line-up in 1979 and recorded "Louise" as their first single since their break-up in 1974. The song was never released. They did, however, perform live in 1980 with earlier songs such as "Venus" and "Never Marry a Railroad Man".
The band attempted another comeback in 1984 and released a new single "The Jury and the Judge" with "I Am Hanging on to Love" as the B-side in 1986.
In 1994 the single "Body and Soul" was released.
Cover versions
- Bananarama covered "Venus" in 1986, hitting number one in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and reaching the UK top 10 (#8).
- Nirvana covered the song "Love Buzz" as their debut single in 1988; it also appeared on their 1989 album Bleach.
- The Prodigy covered the song "Love Buzz" on their 2004 album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, retitling the song "Phoenix".[8]
- Amy Gore & Her Valentines covered "Send Me a Postcard" in 2012 on the album In Love.
- Mint Royale remixed Shocking Blue's version of "Acka Raga" (Acka Ragh)(itself a cover from John Mayer and Joe Harriott's Indo-jazz fusions song of the same title) for their 1999 track "From Rusholme with Love", featured in several films of the time.
- Gyllene Tider from Sweden, the band Roxette frontman Per Gessle headed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, covered "Send me a Postcard" as "Skicka ett vykort, älskling" ("Send a postcard, darling") on their 1980 debut album Gyllene Tider.
- Jess and the Ancient Ones covered "Long and Lonesome Road" on their 2013 EP Astral Sabbat.
- The Mr. T Experience covered "Send Me a Postcard" on their 1990 album Making Things with Light.
- Big Business covered "Send Me a Postcard" as a bonus track on their 2009 album Mind the Drift.
- Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit and Edsilia Rombley covered a remixed of "Venus" by DJ Pieter Gabriel for the flag parade introducing the 26 finalist countries of Eurovision Song Contest 2021.
- Bob Mould covered "Send Me a Postcard" on the 2019 album Sunshine Rock.
- The DT's covered "Send Me a Postcard" and Hello Darkness on the 2020 limited edition Vinyl 7" from Get Hip Recordings - GH-269
Members
- Former members
- Robbie van Leeuwen (guitar, sitar and backing vocals, 1967–1973)
- Fred de Wilde (vocals, 1967–1968)
- Klaasje van der Wal (bass guitar, 1967–1971; died 2018)[9]
- Cor van der Beek (drums, 1967–1974; died 1998)
- Mariska Veres (vocals, 1968–1974; died 2006)
- Leo van de Ketterij (guitar, 1970–1971; died 2021)
- Martin van Wijk (guitar, 1973–1974)
- Henk Smitskamp (bass guitar, 1972–1974)
- Wim Voermans (bass guitar, 1984-1986)
- Jan Pijnenburg (drums, 1985-1986)
- Michael Eschauzier (keyboards, 1993-2006)
- André van Geldorp (guitar, vocals, 1987-2006)
- Charles Pesch
- Gerben de Bruijn (drums, 1993-1998)
- Michel Schreuder (drums, vocals, 1998-2006)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
- Shocking Blue (also known as Beat with Us, German version) (1967)
- At Home (also known as The Shocking Blue, 1970 American version) (1969)
- Scorpio's Dance (also known as Sally Was a Good Old Girl, Japanese title) (1970)
- Third Album (also known as Shocking You) (1971)
- Inkpot (1972)
- Attila (also known as Rock in the Sea, Japanese title, and Eve and the Apple) (1972)
- Ham (1973)
- Dream on Dreamer (1974)
- Good Times (1974)
Live albums
- Live in Japan (Recorded on July 28 and 30, 1971, at Tokyo Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan) (1971)[10]
Compilation albums
- Charted or certified compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| NED [11] | ||
| The Golden Years of Dutch Pop Music |
|
39 |
- Other compilation albums
- 1969 Sensational Shocking Blue (Discofoon)
- 1970 Shocking Blue (Pink Elephant)
- 1971 Hello Darkness (Pink Elephant)
- 1972 The Shocking Blue, Perfect Collection (Polydor)
- 1972 The Best of Shocking Blue (Pink Elephant)
- 1973 Shocking Blue's Best (Metronome)
- 1973 With Love from... Shocking Blue (Capri)
- 1978 The Shocking Blue Double Deluxe (Polydor)
- 1980 Venus (Piccadilly)
- 1981 The Shocking Blue Greatest Hits (CNR)
- 1986 Best of Shocking Blue (CNR)
- 1986 Classics (21 Records)
- 1986 The Best of Shocking Blue (Victor)
- 1990 The Very Best of Shocking Blue (Red Bullet), (Arcade, 1993)
- 1990 Shocking Blue 20 Greatest Hits (Repertoire)
- 1990 Venus (Castle Communications AG)
- 1994 A Portrait of Shocking Blue (Castle)
- 1995 The Golden Hits (Red Bullet)
- 1997 Singles A's and B's (Repertoire)
- 1997 Shocking Blue Grand Collection (A.R.O.)
- 1998 Shocking You (Laserlight)
- 2000 Shocking Blue Golden Collection 2000 (Lighthouse)
- 2000 All Gold of the World Shocking Blue (Mekkophone & Castle Communications)
- 2004 Shocking Blue Greatest Hits (Red Bullet)
- 2011 The Very Best of Shocking Blue (Part One - The A Sides) (Red Bullet)
- 2011 The Very Best of Shocking Blue (Part Two - The B Sides) (Red Bullet)
- 2022 At Home (The Singles) (Music on Vinyl; RSD limited edition 10" pink vinyl)
Box sets
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| NED [11] | ||
| The Blue Box |
|
83 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NED [12] |
AUS [13] |
AUT [14] |
BEL [15] |
CAN [16] |
GER [17] |
NOR [18] |
SWI [19] |
UK [20] |
US [21] | ||||
| 1967 | "Love Is in the Air" b/w "What You Gonna Do" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Shocking Blue | |
| 1968 | "Lucy Brown Is Back in Town" b/w "Fix Your Hair Darling" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Send Me a Postcard" b/w "Harley Davidson" | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | |||
| 1969 | "Long and Lonesome Road" b/w "Fireball of Love" | 16 | — | — | — | 72 | — | — | — | — | 75 | ||
| "Venus" b/w "Hot Sand" | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | At Home (international version & reissues) | ||
| "Mighty Joe" b/w "Wild Wind" | 2 | 43 | 16 | 3 | 22 | 5 | — | 6 | 43 | 43 | Non-album single | ||
| 1970 | "Never Marry a Railroad Man" b/w "Roll Engine Roll" | 1 | 40 | 15 | 1 | — | 12 | 5 | 6 | — | 102*[23] | ||
| "Sally Was a Good Old Girl" b/w "Long and Lonesome Road" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Scorpio's Dance | ||
| "Hello Darkness" b/w "Pickin' Tomatoes" | 4 | — | — | 14 | — | 44 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| 1971 | "Shocking You" b/w "Waterloo" | 10 | — | — | 29 | — | 45 | — | — | — | — | Third Album | |
| "Serenade" b/w "Sleepless at Midnight" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Blossom Lady" b/w "Is This a Dream" | 2 | 78 | — | 4 | — | 41 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" b/w "I Like You" | 6 | — | — | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1972 | "Inkpot" b/w "Give My Love to the Sunrise" | 5 | 97 | — | 4 | — | 12 | — | — | — | — | Inkpot | |
| "Rock in the Sea" b/w "Broken Heart" | 14 | — | — | 23 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | Attila | ||
| "Eve and the Apple" b/w "When I Was a Girl" | 15 | — | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Eve and the Apple | ||
| 1973 | "Let Me Carry Your Bag" b/w "I Saw You in June" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Oh Lord" b/w "In My Time of Dying" | 14 | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Ham | ||
| 1974 | "This America" b/w "I Won't Be Lonely Long" | — | — | — | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Dream on Dreamer" b/w "Where the Pick-Nick Was" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Good Times" b/w "Come My Way" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Good Times | ||
| 1975 | "Gonna Sing My Song" b/w "Get It On" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 1986 | "The Jury and the Judge" b/w "I Am Hanging on to Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990 | "Venus '90" | — | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 78 | — | ||
| 1994 | "Body and Soul" b/w "Angel" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Videos
- 2004 Greatest Hits Around the World (Red Bullet)
References
- Breihan, Tom (14 December 2018). "The Number Ones: Shocking Blue's "Venus"". Stereogum. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 267 and 285. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- "Klaasje van der Wal, Haags popicoon, is overleden". Haag Media (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- "Shocking Blue". Alex Gitlin. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
- "Hits of The World". Billboard. 9 January 1971. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- "Mariska Veres, 59, Singer for Shocking Blue, Dies". The New York Times. 8 December 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- "News: Obituaries Mariska Veres Singer with Shocking Blue". The Independent. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- Matos, Michaelangelo (30 September 2004). "Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned". Rolling Stone. Vol. 958. p. 190 – via Proquest.
- de Waard, Peter (8 March 2018). "De mooie jongen van Shocking Blue, die al in 1975 zijn gitaar in de wilgen hing". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- The Shocking Blue – Live In Japan at Discogs
- "Dutch Albums". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- "Discografie Shocking Blue". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 273. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- "Venus '90" (ARIA Charts): "Shocking Blue – Venus '90". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- "Austrian Charts > Shocking Blue". Austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- "Belgian Singles". ultratop.be. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- Canadian Singles:
- "Long and Lonesome Road" "RPM Top 100 Singles - June 27, 1970" (PDF).
- "Venus" "RPM Top 100 Singles - January 31, 1970" (PDF).
- "Mighty Joe" "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 25, 1970" (PDF).
- "German Singles" (in German). Charts.de GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 22 August 2022. Type Shocking Blue in the search field
- "Discography Shocking Blue". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- "Swiss Charts > Shocking Blue". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- "SHOCKING BLUE - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- "Shocking Blue - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- "RIAA GOLD & PLATINUM". riaa.com. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- "Bubbling Under The Hot 100". Billboard. 23 January 1971. p. 56.
External links
- Shocking Blue discography at Discogs
- Shocking Blue at IMDb
- Shocking Blue biography
- Shocking Blue discography
- Shocking Blue (unofficial) at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2009)