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Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague. It was part of the movement in the Netherlands that got generally known under 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 as the most successful Nederbeat-band, as far as the criterion is scoring hits abroad and especially in the United States.

Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue in 1970
Background information
OriginThe Hague, Netherlands
Genres
  • Psychedelic rock
  • Nederbeat
  • garage pop[1]
Years active1967 (1967)–1974 (1974)
(reunions: 1979, 1980, 1984)
Labels
  • Pink Elephant
  • Polydor
  • Phonogram
  • Polygram
  • Universal
  • Mercury
  • Penny Farthing
  • Colossus
Past members

History



Original era


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 persue 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



Members


Former members

Timeline



Discography



Albums



Studio albums


Live albums


Compilation albums

Charted or certified compilation albums
Title Album details Peak chart positions
NED
[10]
The Golden Years of Dutch Pop Music
  • Released: 2015
  • Label: Universal
39
Other compilation albums

Box sets


Title Album details Peak chart positions
NED
[10]
The Blue Box
  • Released: 2017
  • Label: Red Bullet
83

Singles


Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications Album
NED
[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 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
"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



See also



References


  1. Breihan, Tom (14 December 2018). "The Number Ones: Shocking Blue's "Venus"". Stereogum. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  2. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 267 and 285. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  3. "Klaasje van der Wal, Haags popicoon, is overleden". Haag Media (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  4. "Shocking Blue". Alex Gitlin. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  5. "Hits of The World". Billboard. 9 January 1971. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  6. "Mariska Veres, 59, Singer for Shocking Blue, Dies". The New York Times. 8 December 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. "News: Obituaries Mariska Veres Singer with Shocking Blue". The Independent. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  8. Matos, Michaelangelo (30 September 2004). "Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned". Rolling Stone. Vol. 958. p. 190 via Proquest.
  9. 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.
  10. "Dutch Albums". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  11. "Discografie Shocking Blue". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  12. 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.
  13. "Austrian Charts > Shocking Blue". Austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  14. "Belgian Singles". ultratop.be. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  15. Canadian Singles:
  16. "German Singles" (in German). Charts.de GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 22 August 2022. Type Shocking Blue in the search field
  17. "Discography Shocking Blue". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  18. "Swiss Charts > Shocking Blue". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  19. "SHOCKING BLUE - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  20. "Shocking Blue - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  21. "RIAA GOLD & PLATINUM". riaa.com. Retrieved 27 September 2022.



На других языках


[de] Shocking Blue

Shocking Blue war eine niederländische Rockband, die 1967 in Den Haag gegründet, 1974 aufgelöst und mehrfach neu gebildet wurde. Ihr größter Erfolg war Venus aus dem Jahr 1969.
- [en] Shocking Blue

[es] Shocking Blue

Shocking Blue (español Azul impactante) fue una banda neerlandesa de rock formada en 1967. Fundada por Robbie van Leeuwen, Fred de Wilde, Klassje van der Wal y Cornelious van der Beek, Fred de Wilde sería sustituido más tarde por la cantante Mariska Veres —fallecida en 2006—, a la cual se comparó con Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane) por su potente voz. El grupo se disolvió en 1974.

[ru] Shocking Blue

«Shocking Blue» — голландская рок-группа из Гааги, существовавшая с 1967 по 1974 год. Известнейшая песня группы «Venus» («Венера») в феврале 1970 года заняла первое место в чарте Billboard Hot 100.



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