Shocking Blue - Venus (1998) • TopPop

Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967. They had a number of psychedelic rock hits throughout the counterculture movement during the 1960s and early 1970s, including “Send Me a Postcard“, “Love Buzz“, and “Venus,“ the last of which became their biggest hit and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and many other countries during 1969 and 1970. The band sold 13.5 million records by 1973 but disbanded in 1974. The Shocking Blue were founded in 1967 by The Motions guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen. Other members of the group at this time were Fred de Wilde, Klaasje van der Wal (1 February 1949 – 12 February 2018) and Cor van der Beek (9 June 1949 – 2 April 1998). They had a minor hit in 1968 with “Lucy Brown is Back in Town“. De Wilde left in 1968 after joining the Dutch army, and van Leeuwen was introduced to Mariska Veres, singing at that time with a club band. He persuaded her to take over the vocals, and the group recorded a worldw