Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague. It was part of the music movement in the Netherlands that was generally known by the name Nederbeat. The band had a number of hits throughout the counterculture movement during 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 were 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.
Aftermath
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.[6][7] Bassist Klaasje van der Wal died on 12 February 2018 at age 69.[3]
Cover versions
Bananaramacovered "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.
^Breihan, Tom (14 December 2018). "The Number Ones: Shocking Blue's "Venus"". Stereogum. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
^ abcMurrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 267 and 285. ISBN0-214-20512-6.
^ ab"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.
^ ab"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. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
"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.
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For the 2010 Dutch film see Shocking Blue film This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Shocking Blue news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague It was part of the music movement in the Netherlands that was generally known by the name Nederbeat The band had a number of hits throughout the counterculture movement during 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 BlueShocking Blue in 1970Background informationOriginThe Hague NetherlandsGenresPsychedelic rockNederbeatgarage pop 1 Years active1967 1967 1974 1974 reunions 1979 1980 1984 LabelsPink ElephantPolydorPhonogramPolygramUniversalMercuryPenny FarthingColossusPast membersMariska Veres Robbie van Leeuwen Fred de Wilde Klaasje van der Wal Cor van der Beek Leo van de Ketterij Martin van Wijk Henk Smitskamp Contents 1 History 1 1 Original era 1 2 Reunions 1 3 Aftermath 2 Cover versions 3 Members 3 1 Timeline 4 Discography 4 1 Albums 4 1 1 Studio albums 4 1 2 Live albums 4 1 3 Compilation albums 4 2 Box sets 4 3 Singles 4 4 Videos 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditOriginal era Edit Shocking Blue were 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 Edit 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 Aftermath Edit 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 6 7 Bassist Klaasje van der Wal died on 12 February 2018 at age 69 3 Cover versions EditBananarama 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 amp 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 which of the time citation needed 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 alskling 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 269Members EditFormer membersRobbie 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 nl bass guitar 1972 1974 Wim Voermans bass guitar 1984 1986 Jan Pijnenburg nl drums 1985 1986 Michael Eschauzier keyboards 1993 2006 Andre van Geldorp nl guitar vocals 1987 2006 Charles Pesch Gerben de Bruijn drums 1993 1998 Michel Schreuder drums vocals 1998 2006 Timeline EditDiscography EditAlbums Edit Studio albums Edit 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 Edit Live in Japan 1972 Compilation albums Edit Charted or certified compilation albumsTitle Album details Peak chart positionsNED 10 The Golden Years of Dutch Pop Music Released 2015 Label Universal 39Other compilation albums1969 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 Shocking Blue 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 amp Castle Communications 2004 Shocking Blue Greatest Hits Red Bullet 2022 At Home The Singles Music on Vinyl RSD limited edition 10 pink vinyl Box sets Edit Title Album details Peak chart positionsNED 10 The Blue Box Released 2017 Label Red Bullet 83Singles Edit Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications AlbumNED 11 AUS 12 AUT 13 BEL 14 CAN 15 GER 16 NOR 17 SWI 18 UK 19 US 20 1967 Love Is in the Air b w What You Gonna Do Shocking Blue1968 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 RIAA Gold 21 At Home international version amp reissues Mighty Joe b w Wild Wind 2 43 16 3 22 5 6 43 43 Non album single1970 Never Marry a Railroad Man b w Roll Engine Roll 1 40 15 1 12 5 6 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 single1971 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 Apple1973 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 Ham1974 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 Times1975 Gonna Sing My Song b w Get It On Non album single1986 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 Edit 2004 Greatest Hits Around the World Red Bullet See also EditList of one hit wonders in the United StatesReferences Edit Breihan Tom 14 December 2018 The Number Ones Shocking Blue s Venus Stereogum Retrieved 19 June 2022 a b c Murrells Joseph 1978 The Book of Golden Discs 2nd ed London Barrie and Jenkins Ltd p 267 and 285 ISBN 0 214 20512 6 a b 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 a b 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 gt 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 gt 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 amp PLATINUM riaa com Retrieved 27 September 2022 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shocking Blue 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shocking Blue amp oldid 1150836446, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
