Jan Akkerman
As a founding member of seventies Dutch rock group Focus, guitarist Jan Akkerman is Dutch royalty in his homeland.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
In 2005, he was given the Golden Harp Award, Holland’s most prestigious music prize, and in 2012, Akkerman was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau, a royal honour recognising the contributions he made to Dutch music and his influential work.
Many Australians would be familiar with Focus’ two biggest early seventies international hits, Hocus Pocus and Sylvia, both of which were instrumentals.
Hocus Pocus noted for its yodelling section, was given a new lease of life in 2010 when used by Nike as an ad for the that year’s FIFA World Cup.
The track has also appeared in many TV shows such as Top Gear, Supernatural, and My Name is Earl.
“There is something about instrumental music that can connect with people worldwide,” Akkerman told Musical Musings.
"A friend of mine made a remark in a song that says, ‘words are made to lie!’
“I could never suspect that 50 years later, the song is still a happening thing.
“When the organ player in the band Thijs van Leer started yodeling on the piece when we were jamming on it, we said, ‘yeah, man, keep on doing that’.
“Not realising that it would have so many consequences arising from doing that.”
In the wake of the group’s international success, they toured Australia for the first time in 1974.
For Akkerman, it proved to be a profound experience.
“Somehow, I got caught up with an Aboriginal guy and he took me to a school somewhere in the middle of nowhere where he asked me to play in front of some school children,” he said.
“And they just sat there and listened and didn't want me to stop playing.
“Afterwards, I found that out he was a teacher.
“And I started being interested in the story of the Aboriginals.
“He gifted me a book on the Dreamtime.
“It was a wonderful and memorable experience.”
Come December, Akkerman is set to release a new live album titled My Focus - Live Under The Rainbow which was recorded during Akkerman's UK tour earlier this year.
“It was a great honour to play there again,” Akkerman said.
Music news
Brit-pop group Pulp, led by Jarvis Cocker, has announced a 2026 Australian tour.
The group, which first toured our shores in 1998, will embark on its third tour down under in February and March of next year.
The group recently released its eighth studio album titled More back in June this year.
In a recent interview, Blondie's Debbie Harry stated that due to the recent death of drummer Clem Burke, and with guitarist Chris Stein no longer able to tour due to ill health, she does not want to perform under the Blondie name, instead may move forward under a different, with Blondie Presents as one of the possible name choices.
Original KISS drummer Peter Criss has announced a forthcoming self-titled solo album set for release on December 19.
The album will feature appearances by John 5, Billy Sheehan and Paul Shaffer.
AC/DC has announced a 2026 extension to their current Power Up world tour. The new dates kick off in February 2026 in Brazil, and will finish up in September 2026 in the United States.
The Australian leg of their current tour begins next week in Melbourne before wrapping up in Brisbane on December 18.
The ground literally shook when Brit-pop legends Oasis performed their Melbourne shows last week.
The crowd jumping up and down during the group’s performance was picked up by the Seismology Research Centre 5km away in Richmond.
From the Diaries: Train
In June of 2010, at a busy boutique hotel on vibrant Chapel St, South Yarra, I got to do a live interview with Jimmy Stafford, guitarist from American pop-rock band Train.
The band had been riding high on the back of their fifth album, Save Me, San Francisco which had been released the previous year and from which the ukulele-driven single, Hey, Soul Sister garnered the band a #1 in 16 countries.
During our 20-minute chat, Jimmy talked about the band’s recent changes to their line-up and management and how they were coping in the wake of their second wind of success with Hey, Soul Sister.
The band had spent the previous few years in hiatus as well as, went through a number of changes and reassessment of their career path.
“We kind of lost it [interest in the band] as maybe we took it for granted a bit” he said.
“And we started chasing rainbows because of the success of Drops Of Jupiter. It was like, ‘now we got to do to this again’ and so you keep trying to write songs for the wrong reasons.
“Then a couple of original band members left or were let go for different reasons. So, we brought new people in and because of that, the whole band chemistry changed.”
The band chemistry changed again when in 2016, after eight albums with Train, Jimmy finally departed the band and another chapter of the band’s history came to an end.
He was replaced by guitarist Luis Carlos Maldonado. And the chemistry changed again when Maldonado departed the group in 2021 and was replaced by Taylor Locke.
This week’s global chart toppers
AUS: No.1 - The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift
US No.1 - The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift
UK No.1: - Golden - HUNTR/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna & Rei Ami
Fun fact
The next time you listen to Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze, take note of the opening chord that is being played. The chord is known as a tritone — which was given the name of ‘the devil’s interval’ and banned from church music in the Renaissance for sounding too evil.