The band was founded in 1967 by guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen, a veteran of the famous Dutch rock band The Motions. Name " Shocking Blue" was inspired by Eric Clapton's Electric Blue lyrics from the song "Strange Brew". In addition to van Leeuwen, the band included drummer Cornelius van der Beek, bassist Klaasche van der Wal and vocalist Fred de Wilde. The band's second single, "Lucy Brown Is Back in Town", peaked at number 21 in the Dutch Top 40, and was released on the Pink Elephant label. One day, the band's manager attended a party where the Bumble Bees performed with their amazing vocalist Mariska Veres, and decided that she would be the perfect addition to Shocking Blue (Robbie would agree with him at the first audition). Mariska, whose father was a Hungarian gypsy and her mother was a native of Germany French-Russian origin, she often sang with her father, who played the violin in a gypsy orchestra. Before being invited to Shocking Blue, she recorded a solo single called “Topkapi” and gained experience in various groups. She replaced Fred de Wilde, and, without a doubt, it was her vocals that became the magnet that attracted viewers and listeners; her ringing voice gave the music a distinct rhythm and blues sound. As Robbie said: “When Mariska came, everything immediately started spinning, and one of the first singles - Venus - became a great hit.”
The group's next single, "Mighty Joe", became number one in Holland and, like its predecessor, was present in all charts.
Shocking Blue successfully combined beat and rhythm and blues with the oriental sound of the Indian sitar.
Robbie didn't mind if the band included a few cover versions of old songs on their albums, since it's a constant task to write new material was too much of a burden for him. “We did everything ourselves, and radio station DJs would like to hear something completely new from us every time. But the large number of albums led to the fact that the group was forced to supplement them with cover versions. It was extremely difficult for me to write all the music and lyrics alone.” Guitarist Leo van de Ketteray played with the band for several months in 1970-1971. Mariska, Robbie, Cornelius and Klashe were together for three years: they toured the world, visiting such distant corners as Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and South America. Although the band continued to produce excellent and often innovative singles and chart positions in Europe, Robbie van Leeuwen fell into depression. He was depressed by the band's limited success, and as a result, quarrels began to occur within Shocking Blue.
First Klaasche left, replaced in 1971 by Henk Smitskamp. In 1973, van Leeuwen himself left the group for a while, and his place was taken by Martin van Wijk, who had previously played in two Dutch groups - Fairy Tale and Jupiier. He became the leader of Shocking Blue, and the new material was already the result of his research, introducing a certain amount of glam rock and funk into the music of Shocking Blue.
Without Robbie, Shocking Blue still held on, but in 1974, Mariska also left the group, deciding to start solo career, and the team finally broke up. The last single, “Gonna Sing My Song,” was released in 1975. In 1979, Robbie wanted to revive the group, and the song “Louise” was even recorded. However, the song was not released and the reunion did not take place. However, at the end of 1984 Shocking Blue reunited and played two shows at the Back-to-the-Sixties festival.
Robbie van Leeuwen - guitar, sitar, backing vocals (1967-1973)
Fred de Wilde - vocals (1967-1968)
Clasche van der Wal - bass guitar (1967-1971)
Cor van der Beek - drums (1967-1974)
Mariska Veres - vocals (1968-1974)
Leo van de Ketteray - guitar (1970-1971)
Martin van Wijk - guitar (1973-1974)
Henk Smitskamp - bass guitar (1971-1974)
party where the Bumble Bees, with their amazing vocalist Mariska Veres, were performing, and decided that she would be the perfect complement to Shocking Blue. Robbie was immediately captivated by her vocal style, which was quite different from other performers. Mariska, half Hungarian gypsy and half German, often sang with her father, who played violin in a gypsy orchestra.
Before being invited to Shocking Blue, she recorded a solo single called “Topkapi” and gained experience in various groups. She replaced de Wilde, and, without a doubt, it was her vocals that became the magnet that attracted viewers and listeners; her ringing voice gave the music a distinct rhythm and blues sound. As Robbie said: “When Mariska came, everything immediately started spinning, and one of the first singles - Venus - became a great hit.”
In Holland, Venus peaked at number three, while topping the charts in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Germany. The recording attracted the attention of the newly founded American company Colossus. Label head Jerry Ross signed Shocking Blue and was rewarded for his entrepreneurship when Venus reached the top of the US charts in February 1970. It goes without saying that the group was extremely popular at home and had approximately fifty hits in the Dutch charts, while their recordings also sold well in France and Japan. The band's next single, Mighty Joe, reached number one in Holland and, like its predecessor, was present on all charts.
"Never Marry a Railroad Man" also topped the Dutch charts; followed by "Hello Darkness", "Shocking You", "Long Lonesome Road", "Blossom Lady" and "Inkpot". "Shocking Blue" successfully combined beat and rhythm and blues with the oriental sound of Indian sitar.
Robbie didn't mind if the band included some cover versions of old songs on the albums, since constantly writing new material was too much of a burden for him. “We did everything ourselves, and radio station DJs would like to hear something completely new from us every time. But the large number of albums led to the fact that the group was forced to supplement them with cover versions. It was extremely difficult for me to write all the music and lyrics alone.” Guitarist Leo van de Ketteray played with the band for several months in 1970-1971. Mariska, Robbie, Cornelius and Klashe were together for three years: they toured the world, visiting such far-flung places as Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and South America. Although the band continued to produce excellent and often innovative singles and chart positions in Europe, Robbie van Leeuwen fell into depression. He was depressed by the band's limited success, and as a result, quarrels began to occur within Shocking Blue.
First Clashe left, replaced in 1971 by Henk Smitskamp. In 1973, van Leeuwen himself left the group for a while, and Martin van Wijk took his place. Without Robbie, Shocking Blue still held on, but in 1974, Mariska also left the group, deciding to start a solo career, and the team finally broke up. In 1979, Robbie wanted to revive the group, but for some reason this did not happen then. However, at the end of 1984, Shocking Blue reunited and played two shows at the Back-to-the-Sixties festival.
This team was founded in 1967 by guitarist Robbie Van Leeuwen (b. October 29, 1944), a veteran of the famous Dutch rock band "The Motions". The name "Shocking Blue" was inspired by Eric Clapton's song "Electric Blue". In addition to Van Leeuwen, the starting lineup included drummer Cor Van Der Beek (b. April 8, 1948), bassist Klaasje Van Der Wal (b. December 1, 1949) and vocalist Fred De Wilde. The first single, "Love Is In The Air", did not make much of an impression, but the second, "Lucy Brown Is Back In Town", had already reached number 21 in the Dutch Top 40. One day, the band's manager, who was present at a party where the band was performing, Bumble Bees, with the amazing vocalist Mariska Veres (b. October 1, 1947), decided that she would be the perfect complement to Shocking Blue. Robbie was immediately drawn to her vocal style, which was quite different from other performers.
Mariska, half Hungarian and half German, often sang with her father, who played violin in a gypsy orchestra. Before being invited to Shocking Blue, she managed to record a solo single (“Topkapi”) and gain experience in various groups. Veres replaced Wild and, with her sonorous voice and beautiful appearance, immediately became the center of attention, both audio and visual. As Robbie said: "When Mariska came along, everything started to take off and one of the first singles ("Venus") became a huge hit."
In Holland, "Venus" took third place, while at the same time topping the charts in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Germany. The recording attracted the attention of the newly founded American company Colossus. Label head Jerry Ross signed Shocking Blue and was rewarded for his entrepreneurship when Venus reached the top of the US charts in February 1970. It goes without saying that the group was extremely popular at home and had approximately fifty hits in the Dutch charts, while its recordings also sold very well in France and Japan. The next single, "Mighty Joe", reached number one in the Netherlands and, like its predecessor, was present in many other charts.
The "Never Marry A Railroad Man" EP also topped the top Dutch lists popularity, and was followed by such hits as "Hello Darkness", "Shocking You", "Long Lonesome Road", "Blossom Lady" and "Inkpot". In their work, "Shocking Blue" successfully combined beat and rhythm and blues with psychedelia and the sound of the Indian sitar. The full-lengths followed one after another, so Robbie did not mind if the group included several covers on the albums, since constantly writing new material was too much of a burden for him.
Guitarist Leo Van De Ketteridge played with the band for several months in 1970-1971. Mariska, Robbie, Kor and Klaasje were together for three years: they toured the world, visiting such far-flung places as Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and South America. Although the band continued to produce excellent and often innovative singles and chart positions in Europe, Robbie Van Leeuwen fell into depression. He became frustrated by the team's limited success, which led to infighting within Shocking Blue. First Klaasje left, replaced in 1971 by Henk Smitskamp. In 1973, Van Leeuwen himself left the group for a while, and Martin Van Wijk took his place.
Without Robbie, Shocking Blue still somehow held on, but in 1974 Mariska also left the group, deciding to start a solo career, and the team finally broke up. Attempts to revive the project were made in 1979 and 1984, but these reunions were short-lived. In the 90s, Mariska received permission from Robbie to use the name "Shocking Blue" and for several years toured under this guise with musicians who were not related to the original lineup. On December 2, 2006, Veres died of cancer.
Last update 05/28/08Robbie van Leeuwen(Robbie van Leeuwen; October 29, 1944, The Hague, the Netherlands) - guitar, sitar,
backing vocals (1967-1973)
Mariska Veres(Mariska Veres; October 1, 1947 - December 2, 2006, The Hague, Netherlands) - vocals (1968-1974)
Clashe van der Wal(Klaasje van der Wal, 01 February 1949, La Haye, the Netherlands) - bass guitar (1967-1971)
Cor van der Beek(Cornelius van der Beek; 06 June 1948, Rotterdam, Netherlands) - drums (1967-1974)
The history of "Shocking Blue" is inextricably linked with Robbie van Leeuwen, born on October 29, 1944 in The Hague. In the first half of the 60s, being influenced by British rock, Robbie seriously delved into musical research, and best place for this purpose, than the group “Motions”, at that time it was simply impossible to find in Holland (before “Motions” Robbie flashed in “Ricochets” and “Atmospheres”). Most of the Dutch bands of the first half of the 60s, such as "Johnny Kendall & The Heralds", "ZZ & The Maskers", "The Hunters" and even "Golden Earring", performed beat-rock, and only a few, including there were "Motions", proudly "cutting" rhythm and blues, in this case - in the spirit of British "mods". But due to a conflict with the band's vocalist Rudy Bennett in 1967, Robbie left and began searching for like-minded people. The first project on this thorny path was "Six Young Riders", where Henk Smitskamp and Rene Nodelijk played together with Van Leeuwen. His life was short-lived, and in the same 1967 Robbie gathered new musicians: vocalist Fred De Wild (ex.-"Hu & Hilltops"), bassist Klaasje van der Wai and drummer Cornelius Van Der Beek (Cornelius van der Beek, ex. - "Sect", in some sources his name is spelled Cornelis, but most often simply Cor). Van Leeuwen was involuntarily inspired by Eric Clapton to come up with the name "Shocking Blue". Once upon a time he had the imprudence to write the song “Electric Blue”, which inspired our hero to his exploits. During this period, changes began in the appearance of the Dutch rock scene. "Golden Earring" began to gradually move away from the beat-rock sound towards blues, and a little later, hard rock, "Cuby & Blizzards" and "Q65" began to gain wide popularity, such "cool" bands appeared in the near future as " Harpers Bizarre", "Livin` Blues", "Exception", "Brainbox". The main events of this rock whirlpool took place in the city of The Hague, from which our heroes began their journey. It should be noted here that in a few years critics will call The Hague “Dutch Liverpool” and “European San Francisco”.
In 1967, the first album "Beat With Us" was released (according to other sources, it was simply called "The Shocking Blue"). According to the old habit, it is kept in the "Mod" rhythm and blues key, it is somewhat reminiscent of music British bands"The Who" and "Small Faces". However, for those years it was natural. It should be noted the original arrangement of the song with which Elvis Presley's career began - "That"s All Right (Mama)". But this was not yet the music that Robbie Van Leeuwen wanted to play, because his eyes were directed west of London - into the distant the city of San Francisco. And something incomprehensible was happening there - hippies, psychedelia, rock and roll, marijuana, LSD... From this cocktail, like mushrooms after rain, groups with new, unusual music began to appear - "Grateful Dead". ", "Quicksilver Messenger Service", "Moby Grape", "Country Joe & The Fish" and, of course, the unsurpassed "Jefferson Airplane". Robbie and his team decided to emulate these Californians.
In 1968, only one single was recorded, “Lucy Brown Is Back In Town” / “Fix Your Hair Darling,” which was more in the tradition of “Move” (and partly “Tomorrow”). But the main event of the year for the group was the departure of Fred De Wilde. 
He had problems related to his military service, and Fred broke up with the group.
Van Leeuwen had long secretly dreamed of female vocals. The manager of "Shocking Blue" Ceec Van Leeuwen looked for a suitable candidate at the jazz festival in Luisdrecht, and the issue was finally decided at a party organized by "Golden Earring" in honor of their first "hit No. 1". Before this wonderful event, Mariska Veres was the name new member group, managed to work with Blue Fighters, Danny & Favorites, Motowns, Mysteres, Bumble Bees. It was from the latter that she was lured away by the more dexterous “Shocking Blue”. With the changes in composition came a new style: melodic moves in best traditions"Jefferson Airplane", a powerful rhythm section in the spirit of " Rolling Stones", and Mariska performed miracles with her voice and could easily compete with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. It must be said that this lady was a very colorful figure: the daughter of a German woman and a Hungarian gypsy, she embodied everything in her appearance and voice best qualities these peoples. By the way, her visual attractiveness played an important role in the success of the group.
In 1969, the album “At Home” was released, from which the musicians themselves began counting down their discography. To all the advantages of the group was added the sitar, which Van Leeuwen masterfully mastered. The greatest success was the single "Venus" - in February 1970, it quickly burst to the top of the charts in England, the USA and many European countries. It was a serious bid for success, but unfortunately, the triumph of "Venus" did a disservice to "Shocking Blue". Many - and completely in vain - began to consider them "one-hit wonders." But overall, luck was with the group.
In 1970, Shocking Blue released another album, Scorpio's Dance, which, thanks to the two-part composition of the same name, can be called quasi-conceptual. The signature sound covered the widest stylistic range: these include hard rock riffs in “Send Me A Postcard”, psychedelic blues in “California Here I Come”, “Demon Lover” and, finally, folk psychedelia in “I Love Voodoo Music”. .
In January 1971, Shocking Blue began recording their next album. Appears here new character- second guitarist Leo van der Kettery. Released in March '71, "The Third Album" became a true masterpiece of the European version of "west coast rock". It is interesting that, unlike most of their colleagues, the Shocking Blue musicians had nothing to do with the drug cult that reigned at that time. This, of course, did not benefit the image, but Shocking Blue, like Ted Nugent, Mike Pinera, or, say, the musicians of Jethro Tull, devoted more energy and time to creativity, rather than drinking bouts and orgies. True, it so happened that the creative takeoff coincided with the first difficulties: tired of the race recent years, Van Der Wal left the group (in "Antilope"), and with him Van Der Ketteri. Their place was taken by an old friend of the group, former bassist of the groups "Willy & Giants", "Motions", "Sandy Coast", "Six Young Riders" and "Livin` Blues" - Henk Smitskamp. He gave the group a new charge of creative energy, which in 1972 materialized in the form of two new studio albums ("Inkpot" and "Attila") and the live "Live In Japan". The concert record perfectly shows the work of the group without studio bells and whistles - as they say, we play what we can. But it must be said that they were capable of a lot, and it is surprising that this album is still stuck on the list of rarities. By this point, "Shocking Blue" had traveled virtually the entire civilized world - from the USA to Indonesia and South America. 
For example, in the States, Shocking Blue performed in conjunction with the then top stars - Sly & The Family Stone and Three Dog Night.
In 1973, the next album, "Dream On Dreamer", was released, bringing a clear focus on folk-rock sound. And at the same time, Shocking Blue had its first big failure: critics simply tore the new single with the song “Let Me Carry Your Bag” into pieces. Tension increased sharply within the group, Van Leeuwen was at the limit, because he wrote all the material - four albums in a year and a half, a lot of singles, numerous tours, plus pressure from the record company... In general, completely exhausted, the captain left the ship . ABOUT solo swimming ex-leader of the group - a little later, but for now we will continue the saga of “Shocking Blue”.
In 1974, Martin van Wijk, known for his work in two Dutch bands, Fairy Tale and Jupiier, took over as guitarist. He surprisingly quickly became the leader of Shocking Blue, and the new material was already the result of his research. It must be said that Martin successfully introduced a certain amount of glam rock and funk into the music of “Shocking Blue”. And although at first glance these styles did not quite fit into the traditions of the group, it’s simply hard to call the album “Good Times” a black sheep. In memory of the breakaway Van Leeuwen in new album included the song "Nashville Rebel" - one of his last recordings for the group. The process of disintegration caused by the departure of the group's patriarch could not be stopped. In 1974, Mariska began her solo career, Henk moved to “Livin` Blues”, and Cor and Martin started a joint project “Lemming”. A little later, Kor followed Smitskamp’s example and also joined the ranks of “Livin` Blues”, who only benefited from this acquisition. After a year of working with "Livin` Blues" Core moved to "Headline".
In 1975, the last single, “Gonna Sing My Song,” was released, which put an end to the history of “Shocking Blue.” Robbie Van Leeuwen has formed a new experimental group "Galaxy Lin". The next stop on Robbie's creative path in the late 70s was the Mistral project. The result was three singles, and on all three different vocalists sang - Sylvia Van Asten, Mariska Veres and on the most famous - "Starship 109" - Marian Chattelene.
In 1984, Shocking Blue got together to perform at the Back-To-The-Sixties-Festival in Den Bosch, along with Q65 and other lesser-known Dutch bands. In addition to the old hits "Shocking Blue" they cut two legendary numbers: "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit" - the most famous hits Jefferson Airplane. In honor of the band's revival, the musicians recorded a new single, "Jury And the Judge" / "I`m Hanging On To Love", which was released in 1986. After which the group disappeared from the horizon.
In the early 90s, Mariska Veres resumed musical activity in a jazz-rock vein with his group "Mariska Veres Shocking Jazz Quintet". Over the course of four days from November 10 to 13, 1992, the musicians recorded an album that could be listened to in early 1993. 
They didn’t puzzle over the name for a long time: “Shocking You!” - one of best songs in the repertoire "Shocking Blue" was perfect for this role. In the album, next to the old action films "Shocking Blue", cover versions of the songs "Golden Earring", "Jefferson Airplane", "The Zombies", "The Kinks" (all performed in the style of light jazz) are conveniently located. Inspired by her own luck, and in 1993 the singer enlisted the support of Robbie van Leeuwen and collected new version"Shocking Blue" She was accompanied by guitarist Andre van Geldorp, keyboardist Michael Eschauzier, Bert Meulink (bass player from the Veres "jazz quintet"), and Gerben de Bruijn on drums. ). The group actively performed throughout Europe; their concerts were especially successful in Germany, England and Belgium, and, naturally, in Holland. There were also line-up changes: in 1994, a new bassist, Paul Heppener, appeared, and four years later, the drummer changed. Actually, from April to November '98, this place was shared by Jeff van Veen and Michael Schreuder, but in the end the last one remained. There was also new material - in 1994 the group's single "Body And Soul"/"Angel" was released. Robbie van Leeuwen decided to shake things up and joined the group, but only as a producer. Mariska periodically performed at Oldie Festivals in Holland and even recorded several singles with Peter Tetteroo, the lead vocalist of another famous Dutch group of the 60s, “Tee Set”. The legendary "Shocking Blue" singer died of cancer at age 59 at home in the Netherlands. It happened on December 3, 2006...
Based on materials from "Rock Encyclopedias"
One day, the band's manager was present at a party where the group "Bumble Bees" performed with the amazing vocalist Mariska Veres, and decided that she would be the perfect addition to "Shocking Blue". Robbie was immediately drawn to her vocal style, which was quite different from other performers. Mariska, half Hungarian and half German, often sang with her father, who played violin in a gypsy orchestra.
Before being invited to Shocking Blue, she recorded a solo single called "Topkapi" and gained experience in various groups. She replaced Wild and, without a doubt, it was her vocals that became the magnet that attracted viewers and listeners; her ringing voice gave the music a distinct rhythm and blues sound. As Robbie said: “When Mariska came, everything immediately started to take off, and one of the first singles - “Venus” - became a great hit.”
Shocking blue "Venus" peaked at number three in Holland, while topping the charts in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Germany. The recording attracted the attention of the newly founded American company Colossus. Label head Jerry Ross signed Shocking Blue and was rewarded for his entrepreneurship when Venus reached the top of the US charts in February 1970. It goes without saying that the group was extremely popular at home and had approximately fifty hits in the Dutch charts, while their recordings also sold well in France and Japan. The band's next single, "Mighty Joe", reached number one in Holland and, like its predecessor, was present in all charts.
"Never Marry a Railroad Man" also topped the Dutch charts; followed by "Hello Darkness", "Shocking You", "Long Lonesome Road", "Blossom Lady" and "Inkpot". "Shocking Blue" successfully combined beat and rhythm and blues with the oriental sound of Indian sitar.
Shocking blueRobbie didn't mind if the band included some cover versions of old songs on the albums, since constantly writing new material was too much of a burden for him. “We did everything ourselves, and radio station DJs would like to hear something completely new from us every time. But the large number of albums led to the fact that the group was forced to supplement them with cover versions. It was extremely difficult for me to write all the music and lyrics alone ". Guitarist Leo Van De Ketteridge played with the band for several months in 1970-1971. Mariska, Robbie, Cornelius and Klaassier were together for three years: they toured the world, visiting such far-flung places as Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and South America. Although the band continued to produce excellent and often innovative singles and chart positions in Europe, Robbie Van Leeuwen fell into depression. He was depressed by the band's limited success, and as a result, quarrels began to occur within Shocking Blue.
First, Klaassier left, replaced in 1971 by Henk Smitskamp. In 1973, Van Leeuwen himself left the group for a while, and Martin Van Wijk took his place. Without Robbie, Shocking Blue still held on, but in 1974 Mariska also left the group, deciding to start a solo career, and the team finally broke up. In 1979, Robbie wanted to revive the group, but for some reason this did not happen then. However, at the end of 1984, Shocking Blue reunited and gave two concerts at the Back-to-the-Sixties festival.
