FOCUS ... RAINBOW TO REUNION

In May 1973 the Pye Mobile recorded the band in concert for two nights at London's Rainbow Theatre. This gig marked something of a turning point, consolidating six months of continued success but emphasising the need for new material. The existing set was lifted by the band's talent for improvisation. As Jan Akkerman pointed out "every night is different...if people have heard us four or five nights, it's all right. Because they still hear new things."

The following months were to see some soul searching within the band as they struggled to find a new musical identity. Constant touring had created something of a musical hiatus. According to Van Leer:"The amount of touring dates jeopardised the quality of our composing. We gradually lost the feeling with our roots which was Continental European - that's also what you see in the progression of the music. We seem to lose control of this European 'classical' quality."

The first signs of a change in direction, and inner pressures, came in the autumn of 1973. Prior to a second major concert tour of the States, drummer Pierre Van Der Linden quit. Colin Allen, formerly with Stone The Crows and John Mayall, was brought in as a replacement. The heavier approach adopted by the band at this time is reflected in the fourth album, "Hamburger Concerto".

The line-up for the fourth album, featuring new drummer Colin Allen

By 1975 Focus were losing impetus. Drum duties on the next album "Mother Focus" were shared by Allen and session man David Kemper but the band frequently slipped into a sort of bland muzak. The album review in the English music paper "Sounds" described this latest offering as "muddled and directionless" and furthermore "...what's certain is that they have lost the incisive thrusting side of their nature."

By late-1975 Jan Akkerman became disenchanted with playing the same set night after night, he also resented Thijs Van Leer's parallel solo career.(In Holland he was one of the best-selling solo artists with his "Introspection" series of semi-classical albums). Van Leer concedes that his solo success had a negative effect on Focus.

The Focus story ends with the release in 1978 of "Focus Con Proby". Thijs Van Leer and Burt Ruiter teamed up with '60s star P.J.Proby. This unlikely liaison came about because the band's manager had a contact with the head of Proby's fan club in Holland. Guitar duties were shared by Philip Catherine, a jazz-rock player drafted in at short-notice soon after Akkerman's departure, and Dutchman Eef Albers. On drums was Steve Smith who later joined Journey.

"Focus Con Proby"(1978) and "Focus"(1985)

The band's last performance took place in 1978 in Terneuzen, Holland. Van Leer recalls: "I didn't feel it quite right without Jan ... I was very much involved with solo concerts at the time. The rehearsals with the band were not a priority for me." Van Leer and Akkerman did reunite on record in 1985 and a full Focus reunion took place in 1990 for a Dutch television special. After an abortive attempt to re-form Focus in 1997 with original band members, Van Leer has recently assembled a new incarnation of the band.

Focus at the time of their spring 1976 UK tour -

(left to right) Bert Ruiter, David Kemper, Thijs Van Leer, Philip Catherine

Historically, Focus will be remembered as the band who paved the way for a new wave of continental European music in the early Seventies. However, the band was falling apart in 1974 because they could not come up with the unique material of the early albums, the "European" sound that Van Leer recognised as a key to their success. This resulted in the later albums which failed to break new ground and ended up sounding like pastiche of their more heavyweight contemporaries.

However in spite of the pressures of stardom, and an intense personal and musical rivalry, Jan Akkerman and Thijs Van Leer produced some brilliant and durable music.

The Focus reunion in 1990 for a Dutch TV show. It was to be a final outing

©1991-1996 David Randall. All rights reserved.

FOCUS BIOGRAPHY Part 1