About this concert
The band from the 60’s that just keeps giving.
Featuring Thijs Van Leer, Pierre Van Der Linden, Menno Gootjes and Udo Pannekeet, Focus return to European concert stages during 2023/24.
Fresh from the studio where they are recording their eagerly awaited new album, they will traverse Europe to give their loyal fans what they always want - a good time, and timeless music.
Each song breathtakingly unique, and each performance different to the one before.
How much longer will Focus tour?
We have had 50 years of this amazingly spectacular show, and Focus have achieved so much in this time span.
From Polydor's record plant closing to other bands to press nothing but Focus for ten days to meet demand, to being a favourite of Bob Harris on The Old Grey Whistle Test, and to holding positions in the UK top ten charts in both singles and albums.
And now for the interesting facts of Focus: Focus have featured in the orchestra pit for Victor Spinetti’s musical Hair; have claimed a knighthood; soundtracked on a 2010 football World Cup commercial featuring Wayne Rooney; and not forgetting that Hocus Pocus was featured in the iconic car chase sequence, after the bank heist in 2017 movie Baby Driver and also featured in Disney’s Classic TROLLS WORLD TOUR Movie 2020
The men of Focus are looking forward to seeing you all on their ‘Hocus Pocus Tour’ at their favourite venues, and a few exciting new ones too.
www.focustheband.co.uk
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Our beautiful traditional theatre hosts professional work of the highest calibre, from folk, world and blues to classical music, stand up comedy to celebrity talks, dance...
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Focus Biography
Focus is a Dutch progressive rock band founded by classically trained organist/flautist Thijs van Leer in 1969, along with guitarist Jan Akkerman.
They are one of the most well-known and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. They successfully fuse inspired jazz, rock, and blues improvisation, classical musical structures, and accessible pop melodies into a powerful and instantly recognizable sound.
Akkerman's technical mastery of the guitar and the often unpredictable brilliance of his improvisations were the perfect counterpoint to Van Leer's extensive knowledge of musical styles and disciplined approach to composition. Van Leer's tongue-in-cheek musical references include the reworking of motifs from an early Monteverdi opera in the extended piece "Eruption" on the Moving Waves album, the contrapuntal passage in the middle section of "Carnival Fugue" on the Focus 3 album, the Renaissance-era harmonic progressions in "Anonymous II" (also on Focus 3), and the quote from the first chorale of J.S. Bach's oratorio St. Matthew's Passion in the track "Father Bach" on "Mother Focus".
Focus are possibly best known for their "Hocus Pocus", a top 40 hit from the Moving Waves LP, which included inspired bits of yodeling (believe it) and explosive guitar work.
The works of both composers display an impeccable melodic sense more often found in pop songs and Broadway showtunes than in progressive rock compositions. It is to the regret of many rock fans that Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman were unable to continue their collaboration, as together they were more than the sum of their formidable parts.
Akkerman's "House of the King" (from the "In and Out of Focus" album) is the title theme of 'Don't Ask Me', a science-based British TV show of the 1970s that made household names of Dr. Magnus Pyke and Professor David Bellamy. It is also the title theme of Steve Coogan's BBC2 sitcom Saxondale. It is often mistaken for a Jethro Tull song.
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2. There is also a hip hop producer called Focus. He is an up and comming producer and has produced tracks for The Game, Tony Yayo, Stat Quo and Bishop Lamont among others. His solo record is set to be released in the future.
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3. Bígbítová kapela z Valašska
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4. Focus is also the name of an up and coming Hip-Hop artist from the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Check out www.myspace.com/trimmerakafocus for more.
Read MoreThey are one of the most well-known and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. They successfully fuse inspired jazz, rock, and blues improvisation, classical musical structures, and accessible pop melodies into a powerful and instantly recognizable sound.
Akkerman's technical mastery of the guitar and the often unpredictable brilliance of his improvisations were the perfect counterpoint to Van Leer's extensive knowledge of musical styles and disciplined approach to composition. Van Leer's tongue-in-cheek musical references include the reworking of motifs from an early Monteverdi opera in the extended piece "Eruption" on the Moving Waves album, the contrapuntal passage in the middle section of "Carnival Fugue" on the Focus 3 album, the Renaissance-era harmonic progressions in "Anonymous II" (also on Focus 3), and the quote from the first chorale of J.S. Bach's oratorio St. Matthew's Passion in the track "Father Bach" on "Mother Focus".
Focus are possibly best known for their "Hocus Pocus", a top 40 hit from the Moving Waves LP, which included inspired bits of yodeling (believe it) and explosive guitar work.
The works of both composers display an impeccable melodic sense more often found in pop songs and Broadway showtunes than in progressive rock compositions. It is to the regret of many rock fans that Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman were unable to continue their collaboration, as together they were more than the sum of their formidable parts.
Akkerman's "House of the King" (from the "In and Out of Focus" album) is the title theme of 'Don't Ask Me', a science-based British TV show of the 1970s that made household names of Dr. Magnus Pyke and Professor David Bellamy. It is also the title theme of Steve Coogan's BBC2 sitcom Saxondale. It is often mistaken for a Jethro Tull song.
*********************************************************************************************************
2. There is also a hip hop producer called Focus. He is an up and comming producer and has produced tracks for The Game, Tony Yayo, Stat Quo and Bishop Lamont among others. His solo record is set to be released in the future.
*********************************************************************************************************
3. Bígbítová kapela z Valašska
*********************************************************************************************************
4. Focus is also the name of an up and coming Hip-Hop artist from the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Check out www.myspace.com/trimmerakafocus for more.
Rock
Hip Hop
Progressive Rock
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