The Shocking Blue was formed in 1967 by guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen, a veteran of a well known Dutch rock band, The Motions. The band’s name was inspired by an Eric Clapton track called “Electric Blue”.
Joining Van Leeuwen in the group were drummer Cor van Beek, bass player Klaassje van der Wal and lead singer Fred de Wilde. In the spring of 1968, Shocking Blue were signed to Dureco, an independent company in the Netherlands.The group’s first single, “Lucy Brown Is Back In Town”, was released on the company’s Pink Elephant label and went to number 21 on the Dutch top 40.
Shortly after this, Shocking Blue’s manager and music publisher attended a party celebrating the success of Golden Earring’s first number one song in Holland. A band known as the Bumble Bees, fronted by the strong and striking female singer Mariska Veres, performed at the party, and the two men thought she would be a perfect addition to Shocking Blue. Robbie was immediately impressed by her vocal style, quite different from most local singers of the day. Mariska, half-Hungarian and half-German, had often sung with her father, who played violin in a gypsy orchestra. She recorded a solo single called “Topkapi” and had gained experience singing with different groups before she was asked to join Shocking Blue. She replaced de Wilde as a lead singer and, no doubt, became the eye- and ear-catching attraction of the band; her soul-tingled voice gave the music a distinct R&B sound. Says Robbie: “Once Mariska joined everything happened very quickly because one of the first singles we did was “Venus” which was a huge hit”.
But this is the first album of Shocking Blues, without Mariska Veres:
Shocking Blue is the debut studio album by the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue. It was released in 1968 on Polydor. In Germany, the record was released in 1970 under the title Beat With Us.
It´s a good Beat album, but they came too late … the the beat music wasnßt the sound of 68 !
The first two singles of Shocking Blue
Personnel:
Cor van der Beek (drums)
Robbie van Leeuwen (guitar, background vocals)
Klaasje van der Wal (bass)
Fred de Wilde (vocals)
Original front + backcover
Tracklist:
01. Love Is In The Air (Dimitri/v.Leeuwen) 2.41
02. Ooh Wee There’s Music In Me (v.Leeuwen) 2.46
03. What You Gonna Do (v.Leeuwen) 2.21
04. Little Maggie (v.Leeuwen) 2.52
05. Jail My Second Home (Dimitri/v.Leeuwen) 2.28
06. What’s Wrong Bertha (Hay/v.Leeuwen) 2.30
07. Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu (Smith/Vincent) 2.03
08. That’s Allright (Crudup) 2.27
09. Crazy Drunken Man Dreams (Dimitri/v.Leeuwen) 2.55
10. Beggarman (Dimitri/v.Leeuwen) 2.35
11. Hold Me, Hug Me, Rock Me (Davis/Vincent) 2.04
12. Where My Baby’s Gone (Dimitri/v.Leeuwen) 5.05
ManyFantasticColors 