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 - - - - - - - - - -
Send Me a Post Card
Shocking Blue Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Will break my heart
Send me a postcard,darling
How can I make you understand
I wanna be your woman
Here I'm waiting for a little sign
Waiting till the end of time
Send me a postcard now
I can't taste a lonely night
I need someone I can turn to
Look out for the day I get a little sign
I want to know your own mind
Now
Now please don't let me down
Ain't no lover like me in town
Send me a postcard,darling
Send me a postcard now
The lyrics of "Send Me a Postcard" by Shocking Blue express a plea for communication and connection. The singer, who is identified as a woman in the third line, worries about the pain of loneliness and begs for a sign of affection from her beloved. The idea of a postcard, a physical object with a message from the loved one, emphasizes the need for tangible, concrete proof of love and attention. At the same time, the postcard represents an imagined journey, a way for the singer to escape her current situation and perhaps even join her lover in a far-off place.
The first stanza of the song establishes the emotional state of the singer, who is on the verge of heartbreak due to her isolation. The repeated use of the word "postcard" in subsequent lines emphasizes its importance as a lifeline for connection. The second stanza makes it clear that this connection has not yet been established, and the singer is hanging on in desperation for any kind of communication. The third stanza presents a plea for action, a demand that the lover not let the singer down and instead make the effort to send a postcard. The final line, "Ain't no lover like me in town," adds a note of assertiveness and pride to the singer's plea, suggesting that she is deserving of love and attention and will not settle for less.
Line by Line Meaning
Before loneliness
Indicating the importance of not being left alone
Will break my heart
Emphasizing the severity of loneliness and its impact on the singer's emotions
Send me a postcard,darling
Asking for any kind of communication to feel less alone
How can I make you understand
Expressing the artist's frustration at not being able to convey their feelings effectively
I wanna be your woman
Expressing the artist's romantic interest
Here I'm waiting for a little sign
Highlighting the singer's feelings of uncertainty and anticipation
Waiting till the end of time
Emphasizing the singer's willingness to wait indefinitely for a sign of affection
Send me a postcard,darling
Reiterating the request for communication
Send me a postcard now
Urging immediate action to alleviate the loneliness
I can't taste a lonely night
Expressing the artist's discomfort with being alone
I need someone I can turn to
Conveying the singer's desire for emotional support
Look out for the day I get a little sign
Anticipating a positive response from the person being addressed
I want to know your own mind
Expressing the singer's interest in understanding the person's thoughts and feelings
Now
Emphasizing the singer's urgency and impatience
Now please don't let me down
Asking for reassurance that the person won't disappoint or reject
Ain't no lover like me in town
Expressing the artist's confidence in their ability to be a great lover
Send me a postcard,darling
Reiterating the request for communication
Send me a postcard now
Urging immediate action to alleviate the loneliness
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
johnny zell
Before loneliness will break my heart,
Send me a postcard darling.
How can I make you understand?
I wanna be your woman.
Here, here I'm waiting for a little sign,
Waiting 'til the end of time.
Send me a postcard darling.
Send me a postcard now.
Send me a postcard darling.
Send me a postcard now.
I can't take the lonely night,
I need someone I can turn to.
Look out for the day I get a little sign,
I want to know you're all mine, now..
now please don't let me down, ain't no lover like me in town.
Send me a postcard darling.
Send me a postcard now.
Send me a postcard darling.
Send me a postcard now.
Before loneliness will break my heart,
Send me a postcard darling.
How can I make you understand?
I wanna be your woman.
Here, here I'm waiting for a little sign,
waiting 'til the end of time.
Send me a postcard darling.
Send me a postcard now.
Send me a postcard darling.
Send me a postcard now.
비정한세상
Before loneliness will break my heart,
Send me a postcard darling.
How can I make you understand?
I wanna be your woman.
Here, here I'm waiting for a little sign,
Waiting 'til the end of time.
Send me a postcard darling.
Send me a postcard now.
I can't take the lonely night,
I need someone I can turn to.
Look out for the day I get a little sign,
I want to know you're all mine, now..
now please don't let me down, ain't no lover like me in town.
WF
The bassist is on fire. Send that man a postcard!
Carlos Rivera
yeaaaa that Bassist is so cool!
Bertus Woudwijk
pmfnr sadly he died last week...
Errible
Bertus Woudwijk what? Seriously?
Shorty Beck
That's the incomparable Klaasje van der Wal. He was my Facebook friend.
Your Maw
and mine too my friend. one of the best bass players ive ever had the pleasure to know, along with jack bruce (cream) - both gone but NEVER forgotten by us true heads. PEACE <3
Talleyrandful
We had a party at high school in The Hague in 1968, just one year before Venus was released. And some genius managed to have Shocking Blue play for us the entire evening. They played this song as well of course. That was fabulous :-) A class mate of mine even danced with Mariska during a break because I promised him a beer if he would dare to ask her.
I could imagine this guy Paul Overman has been grateful to me for the rest of his life :-)
md
That's sick!
Redcrop Uk
Love your recount of your time spent in the presence of Shocking Blue.. what a great story
Benn255 B
This needs to be top comment, love it!!