They’ve been at the forefront of progressive music since 1969, but Focus show no signs of slowing down with latest studio album Focus 12. Prog caught up with mainman Thijs van Leer, ahead of their recent North American shows as part of Asia’s Heat of The Moment Tour line-up, to find out more about their new material and why he’s so happy to get back on the road.
In the days when we imagined musicians retire at a certain age, it was comforting to think that they might all do so together. Perhaps, we pondered, they might relive their glory days assembled in some sort of rest home for ageing prog folk. As it has turned out, few are taking that option, and instead many are playing, recording and touring well into their 70s and beyond – with their fanbase only too happy to support them.
At the time of writing, Thijs van Leer – generously sideburned founder-member of Dutch prog trailblazers Focus – is preparing to tour the US supporting Asia as part of their Heat Of The Moment package, alongside former Wishbone Ash man Martin Turner and fellow Euro prog legends Curved Air. And according to van Leer, he’s anticipating a more social occasion than most.
“Myself and Pierre [van der Linden, longtime drummer] are going to share a bus with Geoff Downes and Sonja Kristina, both of whom are good friends of mine,” he tells Prog. “So I’m looking forward to that, and I’m really excited about playing those shows.”
Van Leer recently had lunch with Asia’s new singer and bassist, Harry Whitley, the 29-year-old Welshman who’s stepped in to the formidable shoes of the late John Wetton. “A nice guy and a great musician,” says van Leer, who is no stranger to recruiting younger faces.
Back in 1997, he reformed Focus with Menno Gootjes, then in his early 20s, on guitar. He had the daunting task of replacing Jan Akkerman, the fretmaster with whom many fans will always identify the band’s classic sound. Although that regrouping didn’t last long, Gootjes would rejoin the band in 2010, and has become a key part of the current Focus sound – as heard on new album Focus 12. “He’s a virtuoso,” says van Leer. “And he’s become a good friend now. He interprets every song so beautifully and so intensely.”
Another relative youngster has been on bass since 2016: 46-year-old Udo Pannekeet, whose languid lines add jazz-rock flair to the sound. “He’s just amazing, a virtuoso on the six- string bass,” says van Leer. “He plays a solo during the live set, which you just have to see.” Meanwhile the other elder statesman of the band, van der Linden, need not feel overshadowed. Van Leer says of the 78-year- old: “He’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest, drummer on Earth.”
On the release of previous album Focus 11 in 2018, the veteran keyboardist, flute player and occasional vocalist said it was his favourite of the band’s records. And just as surely as the new release is entitled Focus 12, he has a new chart-topper in his hit-parade of his own long-players. “Yes, of course – 12 is now my favourite Focus album!”
All of which again reflects the undying enthusiasm that oozes from van Leer when it comes to leading the band he formed 55 years ago. And even if longtime fans are unlikely to let the new record replace the likes of Focus II (aka Moving Waves) or Focus 3 in their affections, there’s a lot to like in its eclectic 10 tracks.
The seven-minute Fjord Focus is a real fanfare of an opener, incorporating explosive drum rolls, noodling neo-classical keyboard runs and angular guitar soloing, all wrapped around jazz-informed chord progressions. As such, it recalls the band’s most infectious moments, but elsewhere on Focus 12 there’s contrasting territory to be explored.
To me, the ultimate progressive musician of those days was Frank Zappa
The electronic, almost ambient textures of Meta Indefinita make for an atmospheric, almost soundtracky listen, in-between the flute-led folk-prog reverie of Positano and the intriguingly named piano rumination, Bowie. “It’s inspired by my granddaughter; Bowie is her name,” van Leer explains. Nothing personal then, David.
Many of the tracks are shape-shifting experiences, as when Focus 13 lures us in with slow, yearning guitar meditation then fires up the engines for a high-octane jazz-rock romp. Then Béla starts life as a contemplative piano piece before suddenly being shot into space by Gootje’s skydiving guitar, and Nura’s hymnal classical pastiche performs a handbrake turn into flute-laden folk-prog and then boogieing blues-rock. A similar trick is pulled on final piece Gaia, which veers from channelling Handel into bouncy passages that could have been used for a 70s TV theme. It’s a case of expecting the unexpected, then, drawing on time-honoured techniques that have become synonymous with prog over the years.
But dare we call this album – once again adorned in a typically fantastical Roger Dean sleeve – a progressive rock record? Why no, van Leer insists. “In the moment that we started, in 69, 70, the word ‘progressive’ was not yet used. It was just instrumental rock that we played. That’s what I still think it is. I cannot identify myself too well with the word ‘progressive.’ To me, the ultimate progressive musician of those days was Frank Zappa. He combined modern classical music with rock. That to me was progressive.”
While one prog trope that Focus don’t employ on this record is an overarching theme, it’s a more collaborative effort than ever, with Gootjes and Pannekeet handling production duties and co-writing several tracks. As for the input of trusty lieutenant van der Linden, that just seems to come naturally, whether or not passages take shape from improvisation between the quartet.
“He’s got an instinct for what he has to play on a track,” says van Leer, “Even when it’s a song I have presented to him, there’s never too much discussion about what he’ll play – his approach is always very beautiful and very genius.”
For a group from the Netherlands to get noticed in the UK and America was almost impossible
The avuncular figure of van Leer may be the, erm, focal point of Focus both physically and creatively; but even in their early days, when there was more attention paid to Akkerman, his name dominated the compositional credits. But he was always willing for bandmates to contribute, and it was that kind of team effort that resulted in trademark song Hocus Pocus, conjured up (see what we did there?) in the spring of 1971. Initially intended as a parody of a rock song for the Focus II album as it “lacked a rock song,” it was released internationally 18 months later and bagged the band a global hit. Since then, it’s enjoyed a new lease of life in the streaming age, with help from a Nike ad before the 2010 World Cup.
“For a group from the Netherlands to get noticed in the UK and America was almost impossible,” van Leer explains. “But we had a publisher [Hubert Terheggen] who worked for Radio Luxembourg and he made connections with England, and later with America.”
During Britain’s electricity blackouts of February-March ’72, the band were resourceful enough to bring a truck containing generators with them to ensure their shows went ahead. They were greeted by packed houses, Akkerman later concluded, “because it was the only thing that was going on.” They appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test in May, then returned in December, and began to really build a following, helped by the song that they played in both those appearances. Hocus Pocus was released in the UK at the end of the year, with Sylvia following close behind.
“The second time we played was so important for us,” says van Leer. “We were in this very small studio, playing Hocus Pocus and Sylvia. And after that it seemed like we had the whole world wanting to see us.”
Perhaps the element that most casual observers will remember is the keyboardist’s distinctive yodelling refrain on Hocus Pocus, something he still tackles now, along with old favourites such as House Of The King and parts of Eruption. “I still get a lot of pleasure out of it,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun, and people want to hear it, so why not?”
We did all kinds of songs… Some were beautiful, but not all of them. That’s the only moment I would say I regretted
Are those successes the moments that stay with van Leer after half a century of performing? “Yes, along with a few concerts we’ve played, and being knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands [in 2008] – that was a beautiful moment.”
He’s not a great one for anecdotes, is Mr van Leer, so probing him for more colour into episodes in his backstory can prove frustrating. For instance, does he think the conflict between him and Akkerman helped fire up the creative process? “The creative tension helped, here and there. At other times it did not help. So it’s difficult to define that adequately.”
Is he still in touch with Akkerman? “Not really, no. But on Saturday [at an Amsterdam festival two days after we speak] he’s playing, and Focus is also playing.” Will he say hi? “I don’t know. We will see.” Have the pair ever discussed reuniting again at any point recently? “No.”
Any regrets? Anything he’d like to do differently if he had his time again? “No... Well, maybe the record we did with PJ Proby [1978’s Focus Con Proby]. I wasn’t so happy with that. We did all kinds of songs, some written by my ex-wife, Roselie, and me as a co-composer. Some were beautiful, but not all of them. So that is the only moment that I would say I regretted.” That record followed Akkerman’s departure in 1976, with van Leer said to have been looking for a new vocalist to complement his and Roselie’s music. Focus split for the first time shortly after Focus Con Proby’s ill-fated release.
Meanwhile, did punk’s rise around that time have any impact on Focus’s success? “Ummm... no. I didn’t suffer at all.” Did you like any punk or new wave music? “Yes.” Any artists in particular? “Uuuuh... no... it was a very long time ago.”
Sometimes the shows are shorter, but we play with the same passion… I love it all. It’s so much fun
Moving swiftly on, then – which van Leer has evidently been trying to do with Focus ever since; initially with Akkerman for short-lived reunions in 1985 and 1990, and since then, in a series of line-ups that began to solidify into its current shape when he welcomed van der Linden back in 2004. Recent activities suggests he and his band are enjoying a late Indian summer to their career, and enjoying life as much as ever – even if he doesn’t express it in many words.
“I’m already writing for the next album. And for now, we play shows to thousands of people with Asia... and to hundreds of people at our own shows. In big venues and small theatres. Sometimes the shows are shorter, but we play with the same passion. We’re back in the UK soon playing more old stuff, from Moving Waves and Focus 3. But I love it all. It’s so much fun.”
