Shocking Blue

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For the 2010 Dutch film, see Shocking Blue (film).
Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue in 1970
Shocking Blue in 1970
Background information
OriginThe Hague, Netherlands
Genres
Years active1967 (1967)–1974 (1974)
(reunions: 1979, 1980, 1984)
Labels
Associated acts
Past members

Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967. They had a number of psychedelic rock 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.[1]

History[]

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)[2] 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". 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.[1] Other hits include "Send Me a Postcard" in late 1968 and "Long and Lonesome Road" (often mistakenly named as "Long Lonesome Road") in 1969.[3]

"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.[1][4] 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 enjoyed a solo career until 1982. Her singles "Take Me High" (1975) and "Lovin' You" (1976) were popular mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. She also released the singles "Tell It Like It Is" (1975), a cover version of Dusty Springfield's "Little By Little" (1976), and "Too Young" (1978).

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". They attempted another comeback in 1984 and recorded "The Jury and the Judge" with "I Am Hanging on to Love" as the B-side in 1986.

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.[5][6] Bassist Klaasje van der Wal died on 12 February 2018 at age 69.[2]

Cover versions[]

Members[]

Initial line-up
Later members
Additional members
  • Wim Voermans
  •  [nl]
  • Michael Eschauzier
  •  [nl]
  • Charles Pesch

Timeline[]

Discography[]

Albums[]

  • 1967 Shocking Blue (Polydor) also known as Beat with Us (German title)
  • 1969 At Home (Pink Elephant)
  • 1970 Scorpio's Dance (Pink Elephant) also known as Sally Was a Good Old Girl (Japanese title)
  • 1970 The Shocking Blue
  • 1971 Third Album (AKA Shocking You, Pink Elephant)
  • 1972 Inkpot (Pink Elephant)
  • 1972 (Pink Elephant)
  • 1972 (Pink Elephant) also known as Rock in the Sea (Japanese title)
  • 1972 Eve and the Apple (Same as Attila with one different track, Polydor)
  • 1973 (Pink Elephant)
  • 1974 (Same as Ham, but with 3 different songs and 6 alternate versions, Polydor)
  • 1974 Good Times (Pink Elephant)

Singles[]

Year Title US UK AUS[9] NED NOR GER FRA NZ BEL JPN CAN
1967 Love Is in the Air / What You Gonna Do - - - - - - - - - - -
1968 Lucy Brown Is Back in Town / Fix Your Hair Darling - - - 21 - - - - - - -
1968 Send Me a Postcard / Harley Davidson - - - 10 4 - 4 - - - -
1969 Long and Lonesome Road / Fireball of Love 75 - - 17 - - 6 - - - 72[10]
1969 Venus / Hot Sand 1 8 1 3 1 2 1 1 - 15 1[11]
1969 Mighty Joe / Wild Wind 43 45 43 2 - 6 8 15 - - 22[12]
1970 Never Marry a Railroad Man / Roll Engine Roll 102 - 40 1 5 10 1 4 19 -
1970 Sally Was A Good Old Girl / Long And Lonesome Road - - - - - - - - - -
1970 Hello Darkness / Pickin' Tomatoes - - - 4 - - - - 12 - -
1971 Shocking You / Waterloo - - - 10 - - 1 - 21 - -
1971 Serenade / Sleepless at Midnight 110 - - - - - - - - - -
1971 Blossom Lady / Is This a Dream - - 78 2 - - - - 3 - -
1971 Out of Sight, Out of Mind / I Like You - - - 6 6 - - - 5 - -
1972 Inkpot / Give My Love to the Sunrise - - 97 5 - 21 1 - 4 - -
1972 Rock in the Sea / Broken Heart - - - 14 - - 3 - 21 - -
1972 Eve and the Apple / When I Was a Girl - - - 15 - - 1 - 18 - -
1973 Let Me Carry Your Bag / I Saw You in June - - - - - - 2 - - - -
1973 Oh Lord / In My Time of Dying - - - 14 - - - - 6 - -
1974 This America / I Won't Be Lonely Long - - - - - - - - 16 - -
1974 Dream on Dreamer / Where the Pick-Nick Was - - - - - - 4 - - - -
1974 Good Times / Come My Way - - - - - - - - - - -
1975 Gonna Sing My Song / Get It On - - - - - - - - - - -
1980 Louise / Venus - - - - - - - - - - -
1986 The Jury and the Judge / I Am Hanging on to Love - - - - - - - - - - -
1990 Venus '90 (UK Only) - 78 - - - - - - - - -
1994 Body and Soul / Angel - - - - - - - - - - -

Compilations[]

LPs

  • 1969 Sensational Shocking Blue (Discofoon)
  • 1970 The Shocking Blue (Colossus) [US #31]
  • 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)

CDs

  • 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 & Castle Communications)
  • 2004 Shocking Blue Greatest Hits (Red Bullet)
  • 2017 The Blue Box (Red Bullet)

DVDs[]

  • 2004 Greatest Hits Around the World (Red Bullet)

See also[]

  • List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Klaasje van der Wal, Haags popicoon, is overleden". Haag Media. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  3. ^ "Shocking Blue". Alex Gitlin. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
  4. ^ "Hits of The World". Billboard. 1971-01-09. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  5. ^ "Mariska Veres, 59, Singer for Shocking Blue, Dies". The New York Times. 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  6. ^ "NewsObituaries Mariska Veres Singer with Shocking Blue". The Independent. 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  7. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (September 30, 2004). "Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned". Rolling Stone. Vol. 958. p. 190 – via Proquest.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - June 27, 1970" (PDF).
  11. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - January 31, 1970" (PDF).
  12. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 25, 1970" (PDF).

External links[]

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