Shocking Blue
(Unofficial Site)


Mariska Veres (lead vocal)
Robbie Van Leeuwen (guitar, sitar)
Klaasje Van Der Wal (bass)
Cornelis Van Der Beek (drums)




"Venus" is the only song in the history of the Billboard charts to hit number one three times (first time on February 7, 1970, second time on June 20, 1981 by "Stars On 45"; third time on September 6, 1986 by Bananarama).


Thank you for visiting this site devoted to the one of my favorite bands, Shocking Blue (Netherlands). Although the group broke up in 1974, I still love to listen to their music and consider their lead singer, Mariska Veres, one of the best rock divas of all time.

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In my opinion, Shocking Blue did not get the credit that they deserved. In spite of the fact that their hit single "Venus" reached the Number One position in US on February 7, 1970 and stayed eight weeks in the Top Ten, Shocking Blue have never been well known in USA. I tried to find more information about Shocking Blue in American rock references, but most of them did not mention Shocking Blue. Others mentioned Shocking Blue in regard to Bananarama (They covered "Venus" in 1986, and "Venus" again reached Number One) and Nirvana (They covered Shocking Blue's "Love Buzz"). I don't think this situation is fair. I also cannot agree with those, who labeled Shocking Blue as a One-Hit-Wonder. The albums and singles recorded by the best Shocking Blue line-up were far above average (especially, "At Home") and contain at least 10 great songs, which sound quite contemporary even nowadays. I would include their talented leader, Robbie van Leeuwen, who was an author of almost all their songs (music and lyrics), in the top 50 of all the rock songwriters. This site is my humble attempt to remind the World about Shocking Blue.

I welcome any comments and suggestions.
If you have any Shocking Blue's video materials,
please, let me know.

Gregory Ofman


Biography Mariska Veres Pictures and music clips
Discography List of Songs



Links to Shocking Blue related pages

Alex Gitlin's Shocking Blue page
Alex's Nederpop Encyclopedia(Shocking Blue)
Shocking Blue biography at SonicNet
Beyond the Venus (article at Virginia Music Flash)
Shocking Blue page (in English and Russian)
Shocking Blue biography at Yahoo!
UBL.com Shocking Blue page





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Last updated: August 14, 2006

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