{"id":224926,"date":"2025-10-25T15:38:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T15:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/224926\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T15:38:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T15:38:07","slug":"hocus-pocus-by-focus-the-story-behind-the-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/224926\/","title":{"rendered":"Hocus Pocus by Focus: the story behind the song"},"content":{"rendered":"

Focus<\/a>\u2019s Hocus Pocus is among the most eccentric hit songs of all time, its unforgettable mixture of high-intensity rock, polka beats and yodelling (yes, yodelling) mirroring the lunatic nature of the band that created it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In 1970, positive reviews of progressive rock<\/a> band Focus\u2019s debut album In And Out Of Focus had failed to translate into sales. Such was the apathy that the Dutch group self-released a single called House Of The King.<\/p>\n

A year later, at the second time of asking, and with a new rhythm section of bassist Cyril Havermans (who left after the album was recorded, to be replaced by Bert Ruiter) and drummer Pierre van der Linden, the band needed to come up with something spectacular.<\/p>\n

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The benchmark song that they craved emerged while guitarist Jan Akkerman and keyboard wizard\/singer Thijs van Leer<\/a> goofed around during a rehearsal session.<\/p>\n

\u201cShortly before leaving for England to record the second album, we were playing at a castle, when the guitarist suddenly played that riff,\u201d van Leer recalls of the birth of their breakthrough song. \u201cThen completely spontaneously Pierre threw in a two-bar drum solo and I started yodelling. It came from nowhere; a piece of pure improvisation, inspired by the fun of playing together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even more odd than having yodelling on a rock track is the fact that until that day van Leer had never yodelled before. Why did he pick such a pivotal moment to start? \u201cI still think it came from heaven,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Like many composers of hits, van Leer knew instantly that he and Akkerman had created something of lasting value.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAlthough I wasn\u2019t aware that it might become a rock\u2019n\u2019roll classic, I had a feeling in my spine that it would make history,\u201d he says. \u201cWithout boasting, it was something that I just knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hocus Pocus was recorded partly in London in April\/May 1971. The band were impressed that Polydor Records had paired them with Mike Vernon, who had produced Fleetwood Mac<\/a> and John Mayall.<\/p>\n

Apart from the addition of a manic flute solo, a flourish of accordion and some scat vocal ad-libs, the track was put down in just a couple of takes, and in almost exactly the same form as it had emerged at the castle.<\/p>\n

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With no lyrics per se, it was van Leer who proposed giving it a title that rhymed with the band\u2019s name. \u201cWe even considered calling it Crocus for a short while,\u201d he confides with a smile.<\/p>\n

Focus really found their feet with their second album Moving Waves (on which Hocus Pocus was the opening track), which later prompted eventual long-term producer Mike Vernon to observe: \u201cYou wonder if it\u2019s the same band [as the debut]\u201d.<\/p>\n

But it was the decision to make Hocus Pocus a single by slashing three minutes from its original six-and-a-half that eventually established Focus as stars on both sides of the Atlantic. Hocus Pocus reached No.20 in the UK on its second release, a year after its original 1972 release, and No.9 in the US more than a further year later.<\/p>\n

As demonstrated by Focus\u2019s 1973 album Live At The Rainbow, Hocus Pocus was slightly elongated when performed live, but the band resisted the temptation to make it the centrepiece of their show. These days it rarely lasts for longer than 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Moving Waves album did have Eruption, a song that took up a whole side of vinyl and which we still play live, but even at its longest Hocus Pocus was more like a single,\u201d explains van Leer.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother thing that separated us from so many bands was that we play loudly and quietly,\u201d he adds. \u201cWe dared to be vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as resurfacing during the end credits of Steve Coogan\u2019s cult TV comedy Saxondale, Hocus Pocus has been covered by several rock bands including Iron Maiden, Helloween and Marillion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose other versions made me proud, but I don\u2019t like any of them,\u201d admits van Leer. He does, however, praise the most unusual rendition of all. \u201c[Classical violinist] Vanessa Mae\u2019s is the best of all,\u201d he says. \u201cShe sent the song up brilliantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Focus continue to tour and record. And van Leer concedes that Hocus Pocus still overshadows their every move. \u201cThe song deserves its place in rock history, and of course we continue to embrace it,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n

Originally published in Classic Rock issue 113 (November 2007)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Focus\u2019s Hocus Pocus is among the most eccentric hit songs of all time, its unforgettable mixture of high-intensity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-224926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}