Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in 1967. They were part of the

Nederbeat Nederbeat (also: Nederbiet) is a genre of rock music that began with the Netherlands, Dutch rock boom in the mid-1960s influenced by British Beat music, beat groups and rock bands such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Much like British frea ...

movement in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. 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 Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

", 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 million records by 1973 but disbanded in 1974. Together with

Golden Earring Golden Earring were a Dutch rock music, rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Tornados. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on the Dutch chart, reached the top ...

and the George Baker Selection, they are considered the most successful Nederbeat band, because their best hits charted abroad and especially in the United States.

History

Original era

Shocking Blue was founded in 1967 by the Motions guitarist

Robbie van Leeuwen Robbie van Leeuwen (born 29 October 1944) is a Dutch musician who was a guitarist, sitarist, background vocalist and main songwriter for multiple Dutch bands, including The Motions and Shocking Blue, with whom he recorded the worldwide hit "Ven ...

. Other members of the group at this time were Fred de Wilde, Klaasje van der Wal (1 February 1949 – 12 February 2018) 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 a cross between

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and Brothers Four. Shocking Blue - Cash Box 1969

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 "

", which entered the Veronica top 40 hit parade at position No.12 the 12 July 1969 and 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 Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

awarded by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Global sales exceeded five million copies. Other hits include " Send Me a Postcard" in late 1968 and "Long and Lonesome Road" (often mistakenly named as "Long Lonesome Road") in 1969. "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. 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.

Legacy

Drummer Cor van der Beek died on 2 April 1998 at age 49 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Mariska Veres died of gallbladder cancer on 2 December 2006 at age 59 in The Hague, Netherlands. Bassist Klaasje van der Wal died on 12 February 2018 at age 69.

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

"Venus" in 1986, hitting number 1 in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and reaching number 8 in the UK.

Members

Principal members

*Cor van der Beek – drums, percussion (1967–1974; died 2006) *

– guitars, sitar, mandolin, backing vocals (1967–1973) *Klaasje van der Wal – bass guitar (1967–1971; died 2018) * Mariska Veres – lead vocals (1968–1974; died 2006)

Other members

*Fred de Wilde – lead vocals, guitars (1967–1968) * Leo van de Ketterij – guitars (1970–1971; died 2021) *Martin van Wijk – guitars (1973–1974) *Henk Smitskamp – bass guitar (1972–1974)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

*''

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 of the 1960s, counterculture movement of the 1960s and e ...

'' (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 Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

'' (also known as ''Rock in the Sea'', Japanese title, and ''Eve and the Apple'') (1972) *''

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'' (1973) *'' Dream on Dreamer'' (1974) *''

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'' (1974)

Live albums

*'' Live in Japan'' (Recorded on July 28 and 30, 1971, at Tokyo Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan) (1971)

Compilation albums

;Charted or certified compilation albums ;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

Singles

Videos

*2004 ''Greatest Hits Around the World'' (Red Bullet)

References

External links

* *
Shocking Blue biography

* {{Authority control Dutch psychedelic rock music groups Nederpop Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1974 1967 establishments in the Netherlands 1974 disestablishments in the Netherlands Female-fronted musical groups Mixed-gender bands Colossus Records artists