Wild & Wacky... Focus - Hocus Pocus | FIRST TIME LISTEN!!! 

Timestamps: 00:00 - Start 00:01 - Intro 00:53 - Reaction 11:48 - Outro

This man is Thijs van Leer and he is a genius

Van Lier is not on drugs during this. He is 100% immersed in his music and it shows in his face.

The song is a lot longer but they were only given a short slot on the TV show. The producer asked them to cut the song down to fit but they refused and just played it at double speed

there are several interviews where members of Focus have discussed the creation of "Hocus Pocus." In one interview, keyboardist and vocalist Thijs van Leer recalled that the song came about during a rehearsal session when he and guitarist Jan Akkerman were goofing around. Van Leer said, "It came from nowhere; a piece of pure improvisation, inspired by the fun of playing together." Another interview with van Leer revealed that he had never yodelled before he wrote "Hocus Pocus," and he attributes his yodeling to a divine inspiration. He said, "I still think it came from heaven." In a separate interview, drummer Pierre van der Linden described the song's structure as a rondo, with a powerful rock riff alternating with varied solo "verses" performed by van Leer. These verses showcase van Leer's virtuosity on a variety of instruments, including the organ, accordion, flute, and whistle. The band's bassist, Cyril Havermans, also commented on the song's success, stating that it "came out of nowhere" and became a "big hit." He attributed the song's popularity to its unique blend of styles and van Leer's "crazy ideas." Overall, the interviews with Focus members provide a fascinating glimpse into the creative process behind their iconic song "Hocus Pocus." The song's improvisational origins, van Leer's diverse vocal and instrumental talents, and the band's willingness to experiment all contributed to its lasting popularity.

Not much drugs for Thijs van Leer ... he is a classical trained musician. He was just preparing for playing it way faster than normal to fit the song into the broadcast time

Sheer genius from this band ... talented musicians playing extremely tight! What is not to like?

so this song is longer but when they were told that they dont have enough time on stage to do the song they just sped it up :D only a few of bands to get a standing ovation on the show! Guitarist was considered one of the best at his time, btw focus are still on the road

I love watching reactions to this song. Everyone is always shocked for a bit and almost always they are all in by the second.😊😂

Saw this band number of times during the early 70s. People rightly find this song entertaining but their other music is also fantastic, but unfortunately ignored. This was their single at the time from the album Moving Waves, which was followed by Sylvia from their next album Focus 3. They are still touring regularly.

If yuo haven´t heard anyone play on a flute in a diffrent way, whatever you mean by that. Please listen to Jethro Tull, My god

With a mix of high-intensity rock, polka beats, yodelling and a bit of crazy fun, they were actual masters of many instruments and their voices creating some of the most eccentric, fun hit songs of all time. Thanx for fun reaction, Peace

This is how you play a near 7-minute track in an allotted 4 minute slot without missing anything out. You just play it twice as fast. The track also started out as pre-concert warm-up piecel As for the flute, the bit you are referring to is Thijs van Leer (keys/flute) and Jan Akkerman (guitar) playing alternate notes - you will note Thijs takes a breath each time.

Greatest front man in the history of rock - lol !!!

Being a Dutch prog-rock band, Focus often produced music that didn’t depend on language so that anyone listening could enjoy it just as much. The vocalist/keyboardist/flautist (Thijs Van Leer) is quite well known for a very difficult flute technique which involves singing notes into the flute as you play it, creating a sort of “double track” effect. The guitarist (Jan Ackerman) was voted the best guitarist in the world by the readers of “Melody Maker” (Britain’s biggest selling music magazine at the time). This was an era where we had, Hendrix, Page, May, and many others, and this guy came out on top.

The "special" flute sounds were made by the guitar. But you just witnessed something you hardly get these days. It's called skills.

What a riff. Jan Akerman...such an underrated musician.

This used to be played on mainstream radio when it came out.

No no, Thijs was not on drugs, but a very FOCUSed and professional, driven musician.

Focus are still playing to this day and in the uk next year Not bad considering the lead vocalist is 75 and can still yodel I've seen them a few times and they are always fun

Mind melting still after 50 years.

I LOVE watching first-time reactions to this awesome song, and yours were fantastic!! 😂

1000% clean Thijs all the time; just incredibly well educated.

'Hocus Pocus' came out while I was in college, near the beginning of heavy metal. I don't like metal, but I *love* this song. It just goes to show that today's grandparents were cooler than most people realize. Thihs van Leer reminds me of archaeologist Phil Harding of 'Time Team'.

The singer is not on drugs. He is doing this to loosen his musclesfor extreme controlled singing he’s going to do. This are top musicians.

He’s not on drugs. He was just warming up his mouth.

No drugs, just talent and great showmanship and innovation. Jan Akkerman was voted one of the greatest guitarists of his time and still playing. He's also a great Lute player. Focus and Tull, my two favourite bands.

For more uniqueness on the flute, check out Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath"

So this was a 6 minute song but they were told they only had 3 minutes to perform it on stage so everything about this was way faster than intended. I think it really works and the frantic nature of it works as well but the normal song isn't quite this good imo.

he screamed into the flute, dude vocalized into the mouthpiece

They didn’t need any substances. They’re from the land of Yodeling. That was the guitar backing the flute.

When Thijs plays the flute , he's humming with his voice along with it. A technique also use by Ian Anderson of Jethro tull.

The song was actually much slower and a little longer originally, but the band was only allowed a limited time slot and were determined to get as much in as possible, hence the speed and him making those facial expressions at the beginning to exercise his face muscles and prepare.

He wasn't on drugs. He was doing facial exercises to make it easier to blow your mind.

No drugs here. He was just warming up for yodeling.

So the album cut (Which I own) is at 6:41 When they appeared on Midnight special, they were asked to cut the song down to 4 minutes. Rather than do that, they instead doubled the tempo to make the song fit in the 4 minutes they had. Once that was accomplished no reason to go back, every time they played live they doubled the tempo. BTW, Jan Akkerman was considered by many the best guitarist in the world at that time and he absolutely shreds it here. Thijs Van Leer is a consummate artist. Also, I believe this may be the only time a performance on Midnight special go a standing O.

The problem with listening to Hocus Pocus (which is obviously a lot of fun) is that it gives the wrong impression about the band. Tunes like Eruption, Love Remembered, Anonymous Two, Janis; these tell you so much more about the beauty and sheer class of music the band could produce.

Perfectly spherical. Like a full moon.

One of my groups back in the day.

His pre-tweaking was for a reason. I watched Midnight Special every week growing up and this was the only standing ovation I saw. Thijs van Leer was like Jethro Tull meets Ted Nugent and reincarnates.

If it ain’t dutch, it ain’t much!!

The flute bit you mention is actually the guitar doing some unison bends in sync with the flute

Saw them last month in UK still awesome

I am always amused by those who assume that somebody (or all of them) was drug-addled in this performance. I'd love for them to provide evidence of their own performance at this level of drug-addled excellence 🙂

Maybe you should listen Jethro Tull... Ian Andreson can play on flute, really :D

I believe he gets that unique sound by singing into the flute. As one of the other commentators mentioned, think of Jethro Tull!

The sound inbetween the flute is the guitar

That's not crazy, that's Dutch.

It was the 70s in Amsterdam- people had a lot of freedom of expression...and the drugs were good, but most of all Thijs is a genius.

You owe me money.. 😁 Not drugs, but a facial warm up for what he was about to do. Don't feel bad though, the first time every reactor sees this they call it out as craziness.

The seventies, may friend, the seventies

I want another pass at this song. Wait...I had another pass in the 70's/80's. My band used to use the main riff as the 'break music' so we could go and booze up after a set. At the end of the night, we'd play the whole song to close out. We never got the flute part in, but I was able to yodel and whistle, so we used that. When I look back now, I reckon it mighta been quite sad, but we used to pat ourselves on the back and move on like heroes. 😁

And this is the short version, this actual performance has two more parts

The riff is actually pretty complex with lots of wacky chords

Van leer is classically trained

he sings and screams into the flute while playing it, hence the weird sound

How about a nice slow powerful bluesy rock song from the first RUSH album called Here Again

'£100 that guy's on drugs.' No, he isn't. Your bank details, please.

I Love that look on your face Bro! AMAZING!!!!!MZ

How do you make the flute that noise? You modulate with your vocal cords lol! I say that as non-musician lol! Ever heard of Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull?

The best reaction to this performance, my compliments to you, so young...from 🇮🇹

They were an awesome band, although this madness isn't typical.

Have a listen to Jethro if you like the flute

LOL!! I had the same reaction way back when!!

8:40 That is simply backing guitar.

Might be on drugs. But he's basically warming up his facial musculature. He just as very .. unique way of doing that. 8:55: You don't. He drew breath and the e-guitar chimed in.

Imagine him in "your" football team...

to much pauses bro

you can't do what he is doing on drugs

He's Swedish, not Swiss. I think those are different countries.

Hang on to your tights boils and ghouls. Get some masterwork. Weird, yes, unique, also, can I love it? Does the pope wear a hat?

The fairy voice mother does a reaction to the whole song,, you might want to react to a reaction,,,lmao

How did you flap your ear like that at 0:39?

He's not on drugs. He's just acting silly in a silly song

He's using his mouth to make sounds along with the flute

No need to try for an explanation here There isn't one.

he moves the mouth and rest of his face for prepair his voice.

Nick, sorry no offence but go do your homework and dive into the musical past ok; music is already dead since digital (read amateurs) took over, just pick up music again before roughly 1980 and make a new beginning from there

I'm going to need Slaughter to Prevail to do this song. Just sayin.

[ts guitar

They had to cut the time in half.

Nina Hagan Band will take the yodeling to a whole new level for you. 70s punk from Germany. Makes Focus look old and tame….

Please note that no drugs were harmed in the making of this masterpiece!🥰🤣👍

The guitar played the lead with(answering) the flute near the end of the solo