Single:
Hocus Pocus entered the Australian singles chart* on 7 May 1973 and peaked at #15. The song was #97 on the Top 100 of 1973.
Album:
The song is on Moving Waves which entered the Australian albums chart* on 11 June 1973 and peaked at #15.
Songwriters:
Thijs van Leer, Jan Akkerman
Producer:
Mike Vernon
Record label of Australian release:
Polydor
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
Below is a live Midnight Special television version you have to see. They sped it up for TV… Thijs van Leer is a freak!
Wikipedia:
Hocus Pocus by the Dutch rock band Focus was written by keyboardist, flautist and vocalist Thijs van Leer and guitarist Jan Akkerman.
It takes the form of a rondo, consisting of alternation between a powerful rock chord riff with short drum solos and then varied solo “verses” (in the original all performed by Thijs van Leer) which include yodeling, eefing, organ playing, accordion, scat singing, flute riffs, and whistling.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(song)
Songfacts:
This song came together very quickly when the band was at their recording studio. Drummer Pierre van der Linden started playing some two-bar fills, and guitarist Jan Akkerman came in with a tune. Focus frontman Thijs van Leer decided this would be a good time to yodel, something he had never done before. “Everyone considered it a very funny joke,” he said. “But we found ourselves drawn back to the song.”
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/focus/hocus-pocus
The full album version of Hocus Pocus is on our Spotify playlists Bang a Gong – the 70s and Bang a Gong – rockin’ the 60s & 70s
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