Music from the Netherlands. Focus play the National Stadium in Dublin.
Progressive rock group Focus played the National Stadium in May 1973. The performance was recorded for the programme 'The Music Makers' and broadcast in November 1973.
The lineup includes Thijs van Leer on keyboards, Jan Akkerman on guitar, Pierre van der Linden on drums, and Bert Ruiter on bass guitar.
Focus began life as a backing group for the Dutch version of the rock musical. When they finished their run with the show in 1969, they went out on their own. While Focus are a rock group, they have a background in classical music. Thijs van Leer studied flute and composition at the Amsterdam Conservatoire, Jan Akkerman studied the guitar at the Amsterdam Music Lyceum, Pierre van der Linden worked under the percussionist of the Dutch Symphony Orchestra, and Burt Leiter is completely self-taught.
Focus performed at the National Stadium on 9 and 10 May. The support act was Limerick band 'Reform' who later went on to appear on 'On Stage at the Stadium' in 1976.
This episode of 'Music Makers' was broadcast on 21 November 1973.
Photo by Roy Bedell.
'Music Makers' was an RTÉ Television light entertainment series that featured well-known performers in jazz and popular music. The first episode in this series was broadcast on 21 May 1973.
