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". Name " Shocking Blue" was inspired by Eric Clapton's song "Electric Blue". In addition to Van Leeuwen, the starting line-up 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 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 captivated by her vocal style, which was very different from the 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 visually. 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 in the albums, since it was 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 depressed about 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 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 05/28/08One 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 group'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.
The band was founded in 1967 by guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen, a veteran of the famous Dutch rock band The Motions. The name "Shocking Blue" was inspired by Eric Clapton's "Electric Blue" 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 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 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 a 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)
The band was founded in 1967 by guitarist Robbie Van Leeuwen, a veteran of the famous Dutch rock band Motion. The name "Shocking blue" was inspired by Eric Clapton's song "Electric Blue". In addition to Van Leeuwen, the group included drummer Cornelius Van Der Beek, bassist Klaassier Van Der Wal and vocalist Fred De Wilde. The band's first 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 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.”
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 group'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.
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 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 the mid-seventies, Robbie returned to music industry with the group "Galaxy Lyn", more folk and jazz oriented than "Shocking Blue". He also became the producer of Mariska's solo single entitled "Too Young". Subsequently, Robbie released several hits at the Mistral studio. The team broke up in the early eighties, and in 1983 the guitarist moved from The Hague to Luxembourg, where he lived far from music business. In 1996 he returned to Holland.
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. They have proven that they are worthy of our memory: van Leeuwen still holds his own style, and Mariska has one of the most wonderful female voices. And their interpretations of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit" are as strong as their own.
In September 1993, Mariska Veres decided to breathe life into "Shocking Blue" new life. But from former musicians no one returned to the group. Robbie van Leeuwen allowed Mariska to keep the name "Shocking Blue" for her new group and even became the producer of the CD single "Body & Soul", released in 1994. The band performed at many festivals in the sixties and seventies, mainly in Germany.
