Focus – Cruise to the Edge 2017 Artist Feature #2

Focus are a unique band that have the distinction of having both a huge mostly-instrumental hit song and one that also happens to contain yodeling.  “Hocus Pocus”, their 1971 hit from their second album, catapulted the band to stardom, which was unexpected for the Dutch progressive band.  The group was formed by vocalist and keyboardist Thijs van Leer and has gone through many lineup changes over the years.  The main lineup disbanded in 1978 and the group reformed in 1985 and have been touring ever since.

Transatlantic did a cover of the group’s song “Sylvia” on the bonus disc of ‘Kaleidoscope’. They performed that song and “Hocus Pocus” with van Leer on tour which is captured on the live album ‘Kaliveoscope’.