This Dutch band had two hit singles in the UK in 1973, this one and "Sylvia". The latter was a new release at the time while this one was an older recording that suddenly caught on, possibly after the band had appeared on "The Old Grey Whistle Test" or some other TV programme that gave exposure to rock music at the time. Both the Focus hits were in the charts simultaneously for eight weeks. Of the two, I personally prefer "Hocus Pocus". The single version was shortened down to just over three minutes. I have posted the full-length album version which is well over six minutes.
One of my very favorite instrumentals of the 1970s. This song peaked at #9 in the US. Sylvia only made it to #89, but since I owned the album, I may have that song somewhere in my collection since I digitized my album collection some time ago and burned them onto CDs. I also had solo albums by Thijs van Leer (flute) and Jan Akkerman (guitar). They were very different from the sound of Focus. van Leer was classical while Akkerman was new age sounding.
In the UK, "Sylvia" went higher (#4 in fact), while "Hocus Pocus" peaked at #20 here. The band had only the two singles in the UK charts, but they had five Top 30 albums, with "Moving Waves" enjoying a 34-week run thanks to the inclusion of the long version of "Hocus Pocus". It's one of my favourite 70s rock instrumentals as well. :)
