Shocking Blue's by far biggest hit was Venus, which went to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970. 'Venus' returned to the top of the U.S. charts in 1981 as part of the Stars on 45 Medley and was also successfully covered by artists such as Greece's Olympians (1970), Bananarama (1986), Japanese singer Yoko Nagayama (1986).
Nirvana covered the song Love Buzz for their debut album Bleach in 1989, and it was released as their first single. The British Group The Prodigy also sampled Love Buzz for their song 'Phoenix' on their 2004 album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.
Before 'Venus' the group had only had two minor Dutch hits in 1969: Long Lonesome Road and Send Me A Postcard. In 1970 two more hits followed: Mighty Joe and Never Marry A Railroad Man, the latter almost provoking a strike by workers on the London Underground when posters advertising the single in the Underground stations were put on display.
Shocking Blue had several more hits in The Netherlands and beyond. The group started to dissolve in 1973 when Van Leeuwen called it quits. Singer Mariska Veres left the group to start a solo-career in 1974 and Shocking Blue folded.
Mariska Veres died on December 2nd, 2006, after a short battle with cancer. She was just 59 years old.
Members
The initial line-up consisted of
Robbie van Leeuwen (guitar, sitar and backing vocals) (1967–1973)
Fred de Wilde (vocals, 1967–1968)
Klaasje van der Wal (bass guitar, 1967–1972, deceased in 2018)
Cor van der Beek (drums) (1967–1974, deceased in 1998)
Later members were
Mariska Veres (vocals, 1968–1974, deceased in 2006)
Leo van de Ketterij (nl) (guitar, 1970–1971)
Martin van Wijk (guitar, 1973–1974)
Henk Smitskamp (nl) (bass guitar, 1972–1974)
Also
Wim Voermans
Jan Pijnenburg (nl)
Michael Eschauzier
André van Geldorp (nl)
Charles Pesch
Discography
Albums
1967 Shocking Blue (Polydor) also known as Beat with Us (German title) #31 US
1969 At Home (Pink Elephant)
1970 Scorpio's Dance (Pink Elephant) also known as Sally Was A Good Old Girl (Japanese title)
1971 Third Album (AKA Shocking You, Pink Elephant)
1972 Inkpot (Pink Elephant) – The official music of Mark Six
1972 Live in Japan (Pink Elephant)
1972 Attila (Pink Elephant) also known as Rock in the Sea (Japanese title)
1972 Eve and the Apple (Same as Attila with one different track, Polydor)
1973 Ham (Pink Elephant)
1974 Dream on Dreamer (Same as Ham, but with 3 different songs and 6 alternate versions, Polydor)
1974 Good Times (Pink Elephant)
Singles
Year Title US UK AUS NED NOR GER FRA NZ BEL JPN
1967 Love is in The Air / Fix Your Hair Darling - - - - - - - - - -
1968 Lucy Brown is Back in Town / Fix Your Hair Darling - - - 21 - - - - - -
1968 Send Me a Postcard / Harley Davidson - - - 10 4 - 4 - - -
1969 Long and Lonesome Road / Fireball of Love 75 - - 17 - - 6 - - -
1969 Venus / Hot Sand 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 1 - 15
1969 Mighty Joe / Wild Wind 43 45 43 2 - 6 8 - - -
1970 Never Marry a Railroad Man / Roll Engine Roll 102 - 40 1 5 10 1 4 19
1970 Hello Darkness / Pickin' Tomatoes - - - 4 - - - - 12 -
1971 Shocking You / Waterloo - - - 10 - - 1 - 21 -
1971 Serenade / Sleepless at Midnight 110 - - - - - - - - -
1971 Blossom Lady / Is This a Dream - - - 2 - - - - 3 -
1971 Out of Sight, Out of Mind / I Like You - - - 6 6 - - - 5 -
1972 Inkpot / Give My Love to The Sunrise - - - 5 - 21 1 - 4 -
1972 Rock in the Sea / Broken Heart - - - 14 - - 3 - 21 -
1972 Eve and the Apple / When I was a Girl - - - 15 - - 1 - 18 -
1973 Let Me Carry Your Bag / I Saw You in June - - - - - - 2 - - -
1973 Oh Lord / In My Time of Dying - - - 14 - - - - 6 -
1974 This America / I Won't be Lonely Long - - - - - - - - 16 -
1974 Dream on Dreamer / Where The Pick-Nick Was - - - - - - 4 - - -
1974 Good Times / Come My Way - - - - - - - - - -
1975 Gonna Sing My Song / Get It On - - - - - - - - - -
1980 Louise / Venus - - - - - - - - - -
1986 The Jury and The Judge / I am Hanging on to Love - - - - - - - - - -
1990 Venus '90 (UK Only) - 75 - - - - - - - -
1994 Body and Soul / Angel - - - - - - - - - -
Love Machine
Shocking Blue Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Boy, without love you can't go on
It makes the whole world turn around
The love machine
The love machine makes a woman feel bound
Love started to weep and dream
Day overcame the first grief
And now just in time to learn
The love machine
The love machine makes the world torn around
Grandma told the doctor's son
Boy, without love you can't go on
It makes the whole world turn around
The love machine
The love machine makes a woman feel bound
Love started to weep and dream
Day overcame the first grief
And now just in time to learn
The love machine
The love machine makes the world torn around
Makes the world torn around
The love machine makes the world torn around
Makes the world torn around
The lyrics of Shocking Blue's song Love Machine are a reflection on the power and importance of love in the world. The song begins with a snippet of wisdom passed down by the grandmother of the doctor's son, who insists that love is a fundamental requirement for human survival. Grandma recognizes that without love, life is meaningless and unfulfilling, and implies that it is something that cannot be ignored or neglected if we hope to find happiness.
The verse then transitions to a more dreamlike and poetic description of love's effect on the world. Love is portrayed as something that gives rise to hope and optimism in the face of grief and challenges. The love machine - presumably a metaphor for the power of love - is described as binding women to a feeling of emotional intensity and profound attachment. The song then returns to the original theme of the necessity of love. Love is something that makes the world turn and gives it meaning. Without it, life would be directionless and chaotic.
The lyrics may be interpreted as a call to action, urging those who hear them to recognize the value of love and appreciate how it influences and shapes their lives. The song's hopeful and optimistic tone implies that love is something that is always worth striving for and seeking out.
Line by Line Meaning
Grandma told the doctor's son
The singer is relaying advice from their grandmother to someone with a high social status.
Boy, without love you can't go on
The singer is stating that love is necessary to live a fulfilling life.
It makes the whole world turn around
The singer believes that love is an integral part of the world and its functioning.
The love machine
The artist is using the term 'love machine' as a metaphor for the power of love to control people's emotions.
The love machine makes a woman feel bound
The artist suggests that love can make people feel trapped or tied down to a specific person or situation.
Love started to weep and dream
The singer is describing the emotional response to love in a poetic way, using the verbs 'weep' and 'dream.'
Day overcame the first grief
The singer suggests that the passage of time can sometimes help people move on from past romantic pain and challenges.
And now just in time to learn
The artist implies that they have gained wisdom or understanding regarding love through their experiences.
Makes the world torn around
Repeating the phrase 'makes the world torn around' reinforces the idea that love can have a powerful, destabilizing effect on people and society.
The love machine makes the world torn around
The repetition of the previous line, with slightly different wording, reinforces the central metaphor of the song and its message about the nature of love.
Contributed by Violet N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
비정한세상
Grandma told the doctor's son
Boy, without love you can't go on
It makes the whole world turn around
The love machine makes a woman feel bound
Love started to weep and dream
Day overcame the first grief
And now just in time to learn
The love machine makes the world torn around
Grandma told the doctor's son
Boy, without love you can't go on
It makes the whole world turn around
Love started to weep and dream
Day overcame the first grief
And now just in time to learn
Алексей Ч
Супер музыка! Супер голос!
ra91342
Classic ! Love her voice a lot !
Jamolly
Kick ass bass sound and line! All-together a great song!
JAIR BORBA
Grande som!!! Desde Brasil!!!
Sea Soul
One of the best songs ever
honey bozo
the whole album is a classic - and puts Shocking Blue ahead of Jefferson Airplane I think...
Joe Kinneary
Agreed. They wrote melodies.
Peter Lydon
no.
Peter Lydon
...but a Dutch B plus fer sure.
honey bozo
@Peter Lydon well Peter - pls educate us and share which Jefferson Airplane album trumps this...