Friday 8 December 2017


Triggered by last week's work related track here's another story.
At my first job we produced the artwork for a local giveaway newspaper called 'Focus'. It was mostly adverts for businesses in the South London area, with articles to fill in the gaps. One filler was a very basic music page. I'd been asked by the Paper's owners if I'd like to compile this section and as it involved 'free' LPs sent to me to review any lack of journalistic ability on my part had been overlooked by all concerned.
Early in 1972 I heard there was a rock band called Focus and thought this was a coincidence worth exploring. So I wrote to the record company 'Blue Horizon' who released their music in the UK. They replied and sent me a press release that informed me they were a Dutch band. They also sent me their single 'Tommy' which was off the recently released album 'Moving Waves'.
The single and it's 'B' side were fantastic and as a result, despite no one having heard of them, I starting wittering on to friends about this great Dutch band Focus. Some months later, at the end of May, they made an appearance on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test'. 
Suddenly the same friends are calling me up and raving about them. The word was out. That British TV debut included a performance of 'Hocus Pocus'. Melody Maker newspaper voted Focus as 'Brightest Hope' that year. They played the Reading Festival in August followed by the MM Poll Awards at the Oval cricket ground in September. A return appearance on the OGWT in December sealed it and host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band.
Their new record label Polydor had issued a latest LP 'Focus 3' in November and then had to press more records to meet the demand.
A single off the album was released in early 1973 and reached No.4 in the UK chart. The single was called 'Sylvia'.

This track was also on my dad's cassette tape I made for him - remember that story? see: http://billblogs2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/musicassettes-or-compact-tape-cassette.html

More >
May 1972: The original OGWT appearance on YouTube, comes complete with the almost compulsory equipment breakdown, that was such a part of 'live' concerts in the early 70s. 


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