Day Off Week 18 2026

We haven't had a formal day off for a while but we tried to have one last Tuesday. There were a few things that needed to be dealt with but otherwise there was time for reading, coffee and to receive a parcel of books by Benjamin Beddome, vry kindly sent by someon eno longer needing them. In the evening I drove up to The Stables, Milton Keynes, to catch Focus on their latest tour. Bed by midnight.

House Of The King

Great version

Focus - No Hang Ups - (Live on Danish TV 1974 RMHD)

New Album from Focus

A new Focus album is officially released today. Like other recent albums its cover is graced with a pleasing piece of Roger Dean artwork. The opening two tracks - the tongue in cheek titled Fjord Focus and Focus 13 (yes 13, not 12) have been out for a while. These are the first two of a total of ten tracks, all written by our lead man Thijs van Leer, except for tracks 4-6 by the other members of the band. In reverse order - Born to be you is by Menno Gootjes, All Aboard is by Udo Pannekeet and Meta Indefinata is credited to drummer Pierre van der Linden, though it is not a drum track. As with any Focus album, it takes a while to get into what is going on but initial impressions are positive. All the tracks, as one might expect, are instrumental, although to have no vocals or voices at all is unusual if not unique. Acoustic guitar and flute are heard and plenty of piano and even may be some synthesisers appear. Uniquely, Bowie is a solo piano piece from van Leer. Born to be you is piano heavy too with no drums or bass as is the opening of Bela. One of the tracks was apparently completely improvised in the studio.

10 Favourite TV Theme Tunes

1. Don't Ask Me (House of the King by Focus)
2. BBC Cricket (Soul Limbo by Booker T & The MGs)
3. Tomorrow's World (Johnny Dankworth)
4. Batman (Neil Hefti)
5. Doctor Who (BBC Radio workshop)
6. Golden Girls (Thank you for being a friend by Andrew Gold)
7. Thirty Something (W G Snuffy Walden)
8. Friends (I'll be there for you by The Rembrandts)
9. Cheers (Where everybody knows your name by Gary Portnoy)
10. Robinson Crusoe 1964 TV Series (Robert Mellin and Gian-Piero Reverberi)

Happy Christmas From Focus 1972

Focus at Bush Hall West London April 20 2023

Shortly after arriving home from the conference I headed out again to West London, to a new venue for me, where Focus were playing - Bush Hall. Bush Hall is a lovely old building and it was an all seater gig. Not good with numbers but several hundred filled the place, with few empty spaces. Nice to meet Elias Weine Weg who had come all the way from Norway to be there. Some nice old geezers did a semi-acoustic blues to set things on their way. Then came the mighty Focus - on form with their usual set. The only surprise all evening was when one of Menno's guitar strings snapped and he had to abandon his favourite Gibson for another green one (didn't seem to make any difference). I probably know ths set (complete with solos from all four) too well to enjoy it to the max. It would be nice to hear live some of the other stuff they have on record.

Thijs van Leer - Rondo (Grand Gala 1974)

The brilliant Thijs van Leer is 75 today. Hope to see him and his band this month

(Conductor the late Rogier van Otterloo; voice the late Letty de Jong)

Focus in Cardiff

Photo Credit> Barry Morris

Focus's latest London gig was on a Sunday so I decided to head to South Wales to catch them in Cardiff. They were at the Earl Haig Club in Whitchurch, Cardiff. I have several family members nearby, although most were away. (New definition of agonising - Focus come to a place near you and you are in California!). Anyway I stayed with my son and his family and had some quality time with my grandson and his parents. We were able to have a McDonalds breakfast the next day before I left, which was nice. It was also nice to meet up with my oldest friend Steve who was there with his wife and sister and her finance. (We enjoyed chatting - his new hip, when will retire, etc). Focus were on form. Not everyone present was a true Focus fan so they missed out La Cathedrale and went straight to Harem Scarem. Enjoyed Focus 7 and Song for Burt, the less familiar items, and plenty of AQQA in the encore. Great stuff.

Focus at Powerhaus

Got to see Focus last week at the Powerhaus in Camden Town last Thursday. Our tickets had the wrong date and the wrong venue but the right band and so it all worked out well after a long, long wait. Everybody looked a little older but there was no diminution in the commitment and skill one associates with this great band and we had a two hour without a break beginning with Focus 1 Anonymus and ending with Hocus Pocus and an encore of Focus 3, Answers Questions Questions Answers. On the way there were many delights including a rendition of Brother dedicated to Bert Ruiter, former bassist, the news of whose death had reached the band earlier in the day and an ensemble version of Moving Waves that they are working on and that I had never heard before. Great stuff then on the whole despite what is now the familiarity of the set with nice solos and very tight playing. Decent crowd too. Claire Hamill kicked us off with her gentle songs and a version of Yes's Mood for a day by her guitarist.

Day Off Week 21 2021

Last Tuesday there was time for some TV and a coffee out but most of the time went on reading. I had several books for my birthday and made a big dent in several of them. I have now finished the book onf Focus which is full of interest for fans. As so often with this sort of book the proof reading (if any was done at all) is appalling. Mr Lambe if there is going to be a second edition, please please let me proof read it. I'm happy to do it for free. I enjoyed the Gavin Peacock in the main. It is a football book really but with a few twists. As I read, I realised I had seen Gavin play for QPR back in 2001. I'd taken the older boys there on some sort of cheap tickets deal in connection with the local school. The Richard Osman is lovely and undemanding. So that is

Decades – Focus in the 1970s Stephen Lambe

A Greater Glory: My Journey from the Pitch to the Pulpit Gavin Peacock h/b

The Thursday Murder Club Richard Osman

John and Betty Stam: Missionary Martyrs Vance Christie

Captive to the Word of God: A Particular Baptist Perspective Stuart Brogden

10 Songs with Latin lyrics

These pop songs all have Latin words

1. Gaudete (Steeleye Span)
2. Gloria (U2)
3. Benedictus (Simon & Garfunkel)
4. O Caritas (Cat Stevens)
5. Pie Jesu (Sarah Brightman)
6. Ave Maria (Leslie Garret, Amanda Thomson)
7. Round goes the gossip (Focus)
8. Pax Deorum and Tempus Vernum (Enya)
9. Afer Ventus and Cursum perficio (Enya)
10. Regina caeli, O filii et filiae (Sinéad O'Connor)

Two LPs

My sister was going through her LP collection the other day and spotted these two albums (a pink one and a blue one) which she knew were mine. They are Thijs van Leer's unique 1975 solo album O my love! and the 1985 reunion album featuring van Leer and Jan Akkerman. The pictures of van Leer on the two albums tells a sad story of apparent physical decline. I hadn't really thought of O my love! in this way but with its gatefold sleeve and with Paul Buckmaster playing a role similar to that of George Flynn on Tabernakel, it can be seen as something of a reply to Akkerman's statement of the previous year. On both we have entirely solo efforts - Akkerman on Lute and van Leer on piano - as well as the expected group efforts with fine session musicians. Both albums were recorded in America - Akkerman's in New York on Atlantic and van Leer's in Los Angeles on Philips. They even both feature pictures of their wives of the time, Lammy and Roselie Peters. I love both albums but van Leer's is a rather curious one on the whole.

Ken Plays Sylvia on Radio 2

Enjoyed hearing this on the radio earlier in the week

365 Albums 301-315

1. Under the Iron Sea Keane 2006
2. Bingo Ekseption 1974
3. Bonaparte's Retreat (Chieftain's 6) The Chieftains 1976
4. October U2 1981
5. Phaedra Tangerine Dream 1974
6. Dark Sky Island (deluxe) Enya 2015
7. Roll Back Horslips 2004
8. Logos Live Tangerine Dream 1979
9. Focus at the BBC Focus 1976
10. America America 1972
11. Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival 1968
12. Live at Trading Boundaries Thijs van Leer 2015
13. Mindmirror Ekseption 1975
14. Swung Vol 2 Swung 2014
15. Look Away Doc & Merle Watson 1978

365 Albums 271-285

1. Jan Akkerman Jan Akkerman 1977
2. Jan Akkerman Live Jan Akkerman 1978
3. Can't Stand Noise Jan Akkerman 1983
4. White Eagle Tangerine Dream 1982
5. CU2 Live in Tokyo Jan Akkerman 2009
6. Fromage a Trois Jan Akkerman 2006
7. The Orchestral Tubular Bells Mike Oldfield David Bedford 1975
8. Blue Joni Mitchell 1975
9. Focus Con Proby Focus 1978
10. Focus 8.5 Beyond the Horizon Focus and Friends 2016
11. Golden Oldies Focus 2014
12. The Complete Guitarist or It Could Happen to You Jan Akkerman 1982
13. North Sea Jazz Legendary Concerts Jan Akkerman 2013
14. Forcefield II Forcefield 1988
15. White Ladies Trace 1976

365 Albums 241-255

1. Enya Enya (The Celts) 1987
2. Bayou Country Creedence Clearwater Revival 1969
3. Musical Melody Thijs van Leer 1994 *
4. Bookends Simon & Garfunkel 1968
5. Puccini's Cafe Jan Akkerman 1993
6. Goblin's Club Tangerine Dream 1996
7. Booster Tangerine Dream 2008
8. Crossroads Tracy Chapman 1989
9. Focus 8 Focus 2004
10. Heartware Original Jan Akkerman 1987
11. Heartware remastered Jan Akkerman 1998
12. Focus 9 Focus 2006
13. Ekseption '78 Ekseption 1978
14. Ship of Memories Focus 1976
15. Close Beauty Jan Akkerman

365 Albums 226-240

1. Hand me down Kate Rusby 2020
2. Seth Lakeman A Pilgrim's Tale 2020
3. What we did on our holidays Fairport Convention 1969
4. Focus 11 Focus 2019
5. The Focus Family Album Focus etc 2017
6. A Hard Days Night The Beatles 1964
7. Pendulum Creedence Clearwater Revival 1970
8. Full House Fairport Convention 1970
9. Liege and Lief Fairport Convention 1969
10. Unhalfbricking Fairport Convention 1969
11. Past Masters Vol 1 Vol 2 The Beatles 1988
12. The Glorious Album Thijs van Leer 1999*
13. Fairport Convention Fairport Convention 1968
14. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Simon & Garfunkel 1966
15. Focus 8.5 (Old Skin) Focus 2005

365 Albums 151-165

1. War U2 1983
2. The Yes Album Yes 1970 (M31)
3. Saved Bob Dylan 1980
4. The Chieftains 5 The Chieftains 1975
5. Tanx T Rex 1973
6. Peace Eurythmics 1999
7. Paradise Found Maddy Prior & the Carnival Band 2007 * (J5)
8. Focus X Focus 2012
9. Birds Trace 1975
10. Mind Wave Cyril Havermans 1974
11. Slow Train Coming Bob Dylan 1979
12. Let it Be The Beatles 1970
13. Introspection 3 Thijs van Leer 1977 (J10)
14. Underwater Sunlight Tangerine Dream 1986
15. Ekseption 5 Ekseption 1972

Blog of the Week 11

I'd quite forgotten to do this this week so perhaps this is the time to slip this one past you

Focus on Focus

Focus is the best of all bands

They are based in the Netherlands

Their mainstay is called Thijs van Leer

They play their music far and near

They play mostly instrumental

Sometimes rowdy, sometimes gentle.

The Dutch band Focus have been an obsession since I was a teenager and in 2007 I decided to make a blog, chiefly cataloguing their various tracks. My aspiration was to do something like Ian MacDonald did in Revolution in the head regarding the Beatles. I've never got near in reality but I continue to try and have added various other bits and bobs over the years. Perhaps the best thing is the way that it has opened up connections with other Focus fans. I think chiefly of Peet Johnson in Australia who has gone miles beyond me with a whole biography of Focus, which I have ended up giving editorial advice on. I think a new edition is due soon. See here. There is also Kjell Arne Nordli who very kindly sent me a stack of live recordings of Focus for free one time.

There are over 300 posts at present but I am conscious of many needing improvement and at least one series unfinished. There have been about over 67,000 views. It can be found here. Most popular post on the blog with over a thousand hits is one entitled Jan Akkerman - the classical element. You can find it here. .