FOCUS TRIBUTE HOMEPAGE – 30 YEARS

Elvis Never Entered Our House - My father had what he called "grown-up records." His collection consisted mainly of Brazilian popular music, followed by a great deal of classical music and some jazz. Rock music, however, was simply not welcome. He wasn't a fan of the genre, and I clearly remember hearing him make less-than-flattering comments about Elvis Presley on more than one occasion.
When I finally began choosing my own music, I was drawn to disco, which had become a huge craze during the second half of the 1970s. My taste was heavily influenced by television and by my friends. At that point, I was still a long way from discovering real rock music.

My Father Became a Rocker? - One afternoon my father came home carrying... a rock compilation album! I couldn't believe my eyes. What had happened? Actually, nothing unusual. The album was a gift for one of his co-workers—probably another fan of Brazilian or classical music—and it was most likely part of some office joke. I put the LP on the turntable anyway and ended up recording two songs onto a cassette tape. I still remember them: "Roll Back the Water" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive and "Mamma Mia" by Left Side—coincidentally, a Dutch band. That was my very first encounter with real rock music.

In 1980 we moved to a new house. After years of renting, my father finally fulfilled his dream of owning the home he had worked so hard to build. One afternoon he arrived with a brand-new stereo system, perhaps to celebrate this achievement. Ironically, I was the one who used it the most—and, in fact, I still do to this day.

I spent countless hours listening to the radio—the Internet of its time—especially alternative music programs. Since I couldn't yet afford to buy my own records, I recorded countless songs onto cassette tapes.

I don't want to make this section too long because I intend to write another text dedicated entirely to that period and to everything I discovered through those remarkable radio programs.

Some of that singles from my childhood


Stumbling Along the Cornerstone Hocus Pocus - One Saturday morning in 1980, as we often did, we drove from our new neighborhood back to the supermarket where we used to shop before moving. While my parents went inside to buy groceries, I decided to stay in the car, sitting in the parking lot listening to the radio.That was the day I heard Focus for the very first time. The song was "Hocus Pocus." I don't even need to say how amazed I was. Because I still knew so little about music, I immediately thought to myself: "This band is going to be huge!" Little did I know that the band had already broken up.

Looking back, it's easy to imagine how much wonderful music I missed throughout the 1970s—partly because I was too young, and partly because of the musical 'apartheid' that existed in our home. Fortunately, I made up for lost time during the following years. I spent most of the 1980s digging through used record stores, collecting everything I could find by Focus, as well as progressive rock in general.

IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS DARKNESS


It was 1995. There were no smartphones, no Android, no Google, no Facebook, no Instagram, no eBay, and no Amazon. DVDs didn't exist yet. Nobody had ever heard of MP3 files. People were still fascinated by the relatively new compact disc, eagerly replacing their beloved vinyl albums from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with digital editions. If you wanted to watch a movie or a cartoon, you rented a VHS tape from Blockbuster or your neighborhood video store. Demand for CDs and videotapes was booming, and thousands of specialty stores sprang up across the country, competing with the large supermarket chains.

The first PC we'll never forget - It was in this environment that we bought our very first computer: an IBM Aptiva Multimedia PC with a 14-inch monitor, a 14.4 kbps fax modem, a CD-ROM drive, and stereo speakers. Apple computers were prohibitively expensive in Brazil, and were found almost exclusively in large companies.

The package also included an HP DeskJet 850C printer and an enormous HP ScanJet 4C flatbed scanner. Both had just been introduced to the market, making the purchase a major financial investment. To make it happen, my father spent months researching computers, carefully clipping newspaper articles and advertisements and filing them away in a small folder with elastic bands. Every clipping came from the newspaper classifieds.

Time in front of the computer quickly became a fiercely contested privilege between my brother, my mother, and me. Ironically, my father—the person who had bought the computer—used it the least. He struggled with the mouse and, I suspect, found it discouraging.

Before then, I had never been particularly interested in computers or their seemingly complicated operating systems. But Windows 3.1 completely changed my perspective. I fell in love with its graphical interface. Being able to organize files into folders, edit documents without worrying about making irreversible mistakes, and simply explore this new digital world felt nothing short of revolutionary.

Thou Shalt Not Type in Vain - I picked up the Windows 3.1 manual that came with the computer, and it became my Bible. I went to bed reading it and woke up reading it. I memorized every detail of the operating system and its built-in programs. From there, learning about computer hardware was only a small step. Before long, I was upgrading the machine myself, replacing the hard drive—still commonly called a "Winchester" back then—and installing additional RAM.

At the magazine publishing company where I worked, QD Editora, our department already had a computer, but I wasn't the one who operated it. Having my own PC at home meant I could now enjoy the same technological resources I had at work—only from the comfort of my own house. In many ways, that's still true today.

Now You're Going to Have the Internet! - The weeks surrounding the turn of 1995 into 1996 went by as I learned programs such as CorelDRAW and PageMaker while spending countless late nights playing DOOM and Heretic. Then, one afternoon around the middle of 1996, I visited one of my closest friends from school, Ricardo.

Out of nowhere, he looked at me and said something completely unexpected: "Now You're Going to Have the Internet!" He handed me a 3.5-inch floppy disk—the kind that could hold the enormous amount of 1.44 MB—and a folded sheet of paper held together with a rubber band. The paper contained instructions, passwords, and everything needed to 'install' the Internet on my computer. The software included Trumpet Winsock for the connection itself and Netscape Navigator 1.1 for browsing the Web. Since he still didn't have a computer equipped with a modem, he decided to give me those files as a gift. The Internet service provider would be APCD (São Paulo Dental Surgeons Association), through an account belonging to his father.

LET THERE BE LIGHT


Everything worked perfectly. Within moments, we heard that unforgettable sound—the strange electronic handshake of a modem connecting to a telephone line. At that instant, we experienced our first glimpse of what would eventually become a lifetime connected to the Internet.

A pilgrimage - Naturally, nothing resembled the Internet we know today. What passed for social media back then were the Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs): black screens filled with plain text and no images. There we could download files, play games, exchange messages, and participate in text-based discussion forums. Before long, my house became something of a 'Mecca' for friends. Almost every evening they would come over, eager to experience and understand this mysterious thing called the Internet—a subject everyone had heard about, but almost nobody had actually seen.

Even the main storyline of one of Brazil's most popular television soap operas at the time, Explode Coração, revolved around the Internet. That helped spark the curiosity of millions of people who had never even touched a computer.

Pandora's Box - Commercial Internet access in Brazil officially began in 1996, thanks to the Minister of Communications, Sérgio Motta, who decided that the Internet should be made available to the general public rather than remain restricted to academic institutions.

Today it seems almost unbelievable that the government once considered keeping the Internet confined to such a limited environment. At the time, however, that idea seemed perfectly reasonable. Looking back, it gives us a clear sense of how dramatically the world has changed—although even today many governments still attempt to regulate or control the very Pandora's Box they helped open.

The movement is static - Brazil's first major Internet portal, UOL, had begun operating only a few months earlier, in April 1996. The profession of "webmaster" didn't even exist yet. Most websites were static pages, usually created by enthusiastic amateurs. User interaction was minimal. At best, an animated GIF would provide the illusion of movement. Streaming video was simply unimaginable over a 14.4 kbps dial-up connection. Yet those primitive websites fascinated us. Until then, virtually all of our information came from books, magazines, television, or radio. Suddenly, a completely new source of knowledge had appeared.

People eagerly searched for information on politics, the arts, science, hobbies, and, naturally, sex. As for me, being completely obsessed with music, I immediately searched for my favorite artists: Focus, Gentle Giant, Van der Graaf Generator, Santana, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jethro Tull, Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), Frank Zappa, and many others. To my disappointment, however, I found very little information about the band I loved most: Focus.


AND IT ALL STARTED WITH A MOUSE... AND A NOTEPAD!


One weekend I visited an acquaintance of mine, Alexandre Fejes Neto, a respected figure in Brazil's computer industry. He had served as editor of the Brazilian edition of PC Magazine and had also hosted a computer technology program on Rádio USP.

Radio for deaf people - Alexandre had developed an extraordinary project: the world's first radio program designed for deaf listeners. Instead of transmitting spoken information, the broadcast carried digital data encoded as audio signals. A software program running on the listener's PC decoded those sounds through the computer's sound card and transformed them into readable information displayed on the screen. In other words, even someone who could not hear could receive information broadcast over conventional radio waves. The project earned him national recognition and awards.

After noticing how fascinated I was with the Internet and everything surrounding it, he suddenly asked me: "Why don't you create a website?" The question caught me completely off guard. I remember thinking to myself: "Does he think I'm some kind of computer genius?" I replied that I had absolutely no idea how to build a website. "It's simple," he answered. "Just write an HTML page using Windows Notepad." That single sentence would change everything.

I went home with that idea stuck in my head. Of course, I could have searched the Internet to learn how to create a website, but, by coincidence, I already had a computer magazine containing an introductory article on HTML commands. I wasted no time. After reading it for just a few minutes, I sat down in front of my computer and created my very first web page using nothing more than Windows Notepad. It displayed my photograph in the center of the page along with a short block of text. It worked!

Alexandre Fejes Neto

"PERCHÉ NON PARLI?!," AS MICHELANGELO WOULD SAY


From that day on, my entire focus would be on building a website worthy of Focus—forgive the pun. Using my HP flatbed scanner, I began digitizing the band's LP covers. I gathered every piece of information I had collected over the years. The most important source was the band's biography published in Rock Progressivo, written by Valdir Montanari—the first major Brazilian book dedicated to progressive rock, published in 1985.

Synergy - Years later, when Focus launched its own official website, that very same biography by Montanari was adopted as the band's official biography, something that made the author immensely proud, as he later told me personally. It is worth mentioning that Montanari also hosted Sinergia, a progressive rock radio program broadcast by Rádio USP during the late 1980s. One of the show's signature themes was "Harem Scarem" by Focus.

Click the buttons below to listen to a clip from the SINERGIA program that was aired on May 25, 1987, on 97 FM:

 

PLAY

STOP

Between August and October of 1996, I worked tirelessly on the HTML files and images that would eventually become the website. Then, on November 5, 1996, after weeks of work, the FOCUS TRIBUTE HOMEPAGE officially went online. It was hosted on GeoCities, the free web-hosting service that became enormously popular during the early years of the Web. The site would remain there for many years, until GeoCities eventually shut down, forcing me to move it to its own independent domain.

Compared with what it has become today, the website contained relatively little information. Even so, I honestly believe it was the best Focus website available anywhere at the time. I still remember another Focus webmaster telling me one day: "It seems you're more dedicated to having a Focus website than I am." He was right. I was completely absorbed by the project. Whenever I found myself near a computer, I took the opportunity to show people my creation. I was constantly experimenting with new HTML techniques, improving the site's appearance and navigation. Almost every day visitors could notice something new.

The Progressive Rock book, from Valdir Montanari. His Focus biography was used by the Focus' Oficial Site


Do you have a Website? - One afternoon I visited QD Editora, the publishing company where I worked -and still work today. Our director, Luciano, enthusiastically announced that the company finally had its own website. He proudly showed me every page. "It looks great," I said sincerely. Then I added: "Would you like to see my website?" He looked at me with genuine surprise. "Do you have a website too?" I explained that it wasn't exactly a personal website, but one I had created for a Dutch rock band called Focus.

After browsing through several pages, he turned to me and said something I have never forgotten: "If I'd known you could build websites like this, I would have hired you to create ours!" To me, that was far more than a compliment. It was the encouragement I needed to continue.

Over the following years, for a variety of reasons, I ended up designing websites for several companies during the turn of the millennium (without bugs). But that's another story - one I hope to tell someday.

HOLLYWOOD IS LOOKING FOR THIJS VAN LEER


What I never imagined was the impact the website would soon have. Because there was an enormous demand for information and so few websites available, people from all over the world began contacting me almost immediately after the site went online in November 1996. Most wanted to know where they could buy Focus CDs or Thijs Van Leer's solo albums.

One e-mail, however, deserves special mention. It came from someone introducing himself as a Hollywood film composer and music producer. He was the real thing. His name was Mark Mancina. Among his credits were the soundtracks for major Hollywood productions and record production work with bands such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Yes. I have reproduced his e-mail below exactly as I received it:

“10/dez/97 Rodrigo: My name is Mark Mancina and I am a film composer (Speed, Twister, Conair) and record producer (ELP and YES). I can't find any of the Van Leer Introspection cds anywhere here in the states. Do you know where I could order them? I'd really appreciate your help. thanks Mark Mancina”

At that time, websites like Amazon and eBay were still in their infancy, and finding rare CDs online was genuinely difficult. That e-mail became definitive proof that my website was being visited by people all over the world. And if Hollywood had discovered it... ...then the rest of the world probably had as well. It was an extraordinary feeling.





DID YOU KNOW FOCUS IS BACK?


Throughout the decades that the website has been online, I have received invaluable help from countless fans and contributors. There are simply too many to name individually. They came from England, the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, the United States, Brazil, Spain, Japan, Argentina, Russia, France, Portugal, and many other countries.

The Focus Army - Among them, however, a few deserve special recognition: Peet Johnson, from Australia. He wrote what is undoubtedly the most comprehensive biography ever published about Focus—a book I will mention again later in this story. Steffen Staugaard, from Denmark, is both an outstanding musician and, without question, the country's greatest Focus fan. I should also mention Bert Monster, Irene Heinicke, and Jan van Beek from the Netherlands. Jan was the founder of the band's official fan club during the 1970s—the FFA (Focus Fan Association).

The first Focus' site layout (1996)


Tim Baugh - Among all the messages I have received through the website, one of the most important came from Timothy Baugh, whom I consider perhaps the greatest Focus fan I have ever known. Tim deserves special recognition because he was one of the very first people to contact me and because of his extraordinary generosity. Over the years he shared with me an enormous amount of material from his personal archives, helping transform the website into what it eventually became.

His very first message was:

“18/abr/97. Did you know that Focus have reformed with Thijs van Leer, Bert Ruiter, Hans Cleuver and Wiliam van Dike on guitar? Let me know if you want more details. Tim Baugh, England.”

Needless to say, that news immediately captured my attention. Focus was getting back together? What incredible news! From that day forward, Tim and I exchanged e-mails on a regular basis.

Thanks to Tim, the digital edition of the Oxford Encyclopedia even included, for a period of time, an entry mentioning the Focus website—something that filled both of us with enormous pride.

Sadly, Tim is no longer with us. Yet his contribution lives on throughout the website, in every photograph, document, and piece of information credited to him. Perhaps I never thanked him enough while he was alive. So let me do it here. THANK YOU, TIM! From the very beginning, he offered to help me with the website. And he certainly did.

Even so, it would still take another five years before the reunited Focus finally returned to the stage and began touring the world once again.

Jan Akkerman and Tim Baugh - Chester-UK, July 27, 1998

The Writer of Oz - One of the most significant events of these thirty years also deserves to be recorded here. In 2013, my friend Peet Johnson published 'Hocus Pocus: The Strife & Times Of Rock's Dutch Masters' - the definitive biography of Focus.

Peet is one of the most passionate Focus fans I have ever known and has been an invaluable contributor to the website for many years. Working from his home in Australia, he devoted years to researching the band's history. The book is based on dozens of interviews, extensive archival research, and countless documents relating to every stage of Focus's career. It also includes contributions from the band members themselves. The result is, in my opinion, the most complete, accurate, and authoritative account of Focus ever published. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the band's remarkable journey.



The most complete Focus Biography, from Peet Johnson

THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE DOES EXIST!


I realize that, back in the 1970s, Brazil seemed like a very distant place to much of the world. Very little of international significance happened here, and we lived through an almost endless succession of political and economic crises—something that, unfortunately, has not changed all that much over the past fifty years. People often said that touring South America simply wasn't worth the effort. The distances were enormous, the costs were high, and the logistics were exhausting.

From memory, I can recall only a handful of major international artists who ventured here during the first half of the 1970s: David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears (1972), Santana (1973), Alice Cooper and Miles Davis (1974), Rick Wakeman and the Jackson Five (1975).

Most of those artists were already on large-scale world tours, making South America merely one additional stop along the way. Unfortunately, the greatest progressive rock bands never came: Focus, Yes, PFM, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Camel, and many others. We never had the opportunity to see them during the peak of their creative years.

The second Focus' site layout (2000)


Back to the Future - Let's return to 1996. As I mentioned earlier, there were no social media platforms as we know them today. There were no smartphones, either. The relatively small number of people who had Internet access discovered new information almost exclusively through websites. Most of those sites were amateur productions, yet many already contained remarkably valuable content. One resource that deserves special mention was the Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock (GEPR), an outstanding online reference covering virtually every progressive rock band imaginable. Sadly, it no longer exists.

Day after day, more people came online, eager for information. The Focus website began attracting visitors from all over the world. Along with those visitors came interaction. People exchanged e-mails, many of which I published on the website itself in the section called "Focus On Fans." Soon people realized something rather unusual: The world's largest Focus website was being produced... in Brazil. To me, that never seemed strange. After all, Jan Akkerman's official website, Akkernet, was maintained in England by an English fan. That has always been the true spirit of the Internet: knowledge has no borders.

Inca Roads - But not everyone knew Focus. Whether people know an artist often depends on their generation. I remember a story told to me by a dear family friend, Fernando, who was also a devoted Focus fan. In the late 1990s, while visiting the famous ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, he met a group of young Dutch backpackers. Trying to start a conversation, he smiled and proudly said: "I'm a huge fan of the Dutch band Focus!" The reaction was not what he expected. The young people looked at each other with complete confusion. Not one of them had ever heard of Focus.

Later I shared that story personally with Thijs van Leer. I could tell he was genuinely disappointed. At that moment it became clear to me that Focus deserved to be rediscovered by an entirely new generation. Young listeners deserved the opportunity to experience the extraordinary artistry of these remarkable musicians.

So Brazil Knows Focus? - Yes. It certainly does. Just like in many other countries, "Hocus Pocus" received considerable radio airplay throughout Brazil during the 1970s. Every Focus album was officially released here by PolyGram. It doesn't surprise me that word about the website eventually reached the band itself. In fact, I have always believed that learning they had a loyal and enthusiastic audience in South America played a role in Focus deciding to include the continent in its worldwide reunion tour beginning in 2002.

When the band's manager at the time, Willem Hubers, sent me an advance promotional copy of the new album Focus 8, I was absolutely thrilled. Inside the booklet he included a personal acknowledgment thanking me "for keeping the website alive." That single sentence meant more to me than words can express. It confirmed that the band not only knew about my work... ...they genuinely appreciated it.

The text inside the promotional edition of Focus 8, with the acknowledgment for the Site

Now we knew that Focus had resumed its activities and that the band was aware they had fans in Brazil. Therefore, in the following pages I will describe my personal experiences with the band's visits to my country beginning in 2002, as these are events that I personally experienced.

CROSSING THE EQUATOR LINE



Nothing could have prepared me for the excitement I felt when I learned that Focus would finally perform in Brazil. After all those years, the moment I had dreamed about was becoming reality. I was finally going to hear those unforgettable compositions performed live—in my own country.

Focus 8 – In 2002, after performing in several South American capitals, the band's first Brazilian concert would take place in Rio de Janeiro. At the time I was living in São Paulo, more than 400 kilometers away. The performance was part of the Rio Art Rock Festival. Because I had helped promote the event through the Focus website, the festival organizers invited me as their guest. My seat was at the very first table, directly in front of the stage.

Before the concert, however, I had already met the band at their hotel. Between 2002 and 2003 I had the privilege of accompanying the band at several events in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, spending time with that unforgettable lineup both on and off the stage.

Focus in Family - Later in 2002 I was able to present Thijs van Leer with a painting I had created based on the cover of his solo album Bach for a New Age. He was genuinely touched by the gift. During one of his later visits, he told me that he had proudly hung the painting in one of the main hallways of his home. Then, smiling, he added that his wife had eventually asked him to move it somewhere else because, according to her, she had grown tired of seeing his face every time she walked through the house.

The painting I did and gave to Thijs Van Leer as a gift, which had to be moved

I should also mention another great Brazilian Focus fan—my friend Altino. Together with his wife and children, he personally welcomed the band at the airport on several occasions and helped organize memorable gatherings with both the musicians and Brazilian fans. They even created T-shirts bearing the phrase "Focus in Family." Thijs proudly wore those shirts during concerts around the world. For years people wondered what "Focus in Family" actually meant. Now you know.

Thijs Van Leer and the Focus Family, at Kiss FM - São Paulo, 09 May, 2005

Did You Say... Thijs van Leer? - By then, my enthusiasm for Focus had become contagious. Even my mother had become interested in the band. She learned the musicians' names and enjoyed hearing me tell stories about my adventures with them. 

One day she was talking with one of my cousins about my frequent trips to see Focus. When she happened to mention the name Thijs van Leer, my cousin suddenly stopped and looked at her in surprise, and asked: "Did you say Thijs van Leer?" As it turned out, her husband had worked for Philips and had lived in the Netherlands for several years during the 1970s after being transferred to the company's headquarters.

Like my own father, he preferred Brazilian popular music and classical music. So while the name Focus meant little to them, Thijs van Leer immediately rang a bell. She smiled and said: "We have one of Thijs van Leer's LPs at home. Tell Rodrigo I'll save it for him." It was most likely one of the Introspection albums.

Unfortunately, I have never received that record. Perhaps it still exists somewhere, carefully stored away. And if you're reading this, Silvia—and yes, purely by coincidence your name is the same as one of Focus's best-known songs—I hope you're still keeping that LP safe for me!



Silvia and Thijs Van Leer

"Tom Jobam?" - In March 2003, one day before Focus performed in São Paulo, several fans and I met the band at their hotel. Thijs told us he wanted to attend what he believed was a tribute concert dedicated to the legendary Brazilian composer Tom Jobim. So we took him—and drummer Bert Smaak—to SESC Pompeia, one of São Paulo's best-known cultural centers. The rest of the band stayed behind at the hotel.

As the performance unfolded, however, Thijs seemed increasingly puzzled. He didn't recognize a single composition. Only afterward did we discover the misunderstanding. The concert was not a tribute to Tom Jobim. It honored another Brazilian composer named Jobam—João Batista Martins. The similarity between the names had caused the confusion. Fortunately, the mistake turned out to be a wonderful surprise. Both Thijs and Bert thoroughly enjoyed the performance, which celebrated Brazilian instrumental music and featured outstanding musicians such as Banda Mantiqueira, Bocato, Alex Bessa, Silvinho Mazuca, and many others.

After the concert, the musicians invited us backstage to chat for a while. Not long afterward, they suggested we all head to a jazz club called Garoa, located in São Paulo's southern district. It was an intimate venue, with a small stage and walls decorated with classic jazz album covers. We gladly accepted.

After dinner and a few drinks, Thijs asked for a microphone. Moments later, he was on stage, improvising with the house musicians in an unforgettable jam session. One of the musicians present, Michel Freidenson, told Thijs how much he loved the composition "Focus V." He even confessed that it had been the soundtrack to his wedding. Smiling, Thijs immediately sat down and played it. Michel was overwhelmed with emotion.

On the stage stood an upright bass belonging to the late American musician Pete Woolley. Our friend Elias Frederico, another passionate Focus fan, was invited to play alongside Thijs. That evening, one of his lifelong dreams came true. After that magical night, Michel Freidenson and Thijs van Leer became close friends—a friendship that would later lead to another remarkable chapter in this story.

The magic night at the Garoa Bar in March, 13 - 2003 - From left to right: Michel Freidenson, Thijs Van Leer, Silvinho Mazuca, Pete Woolley (in memoriam), Walmir Gil, Nailor Azevedo, Bert Smaak, Fabio Sales and Elias Frederico.

Barbecue Session - In 2005, together with a large group of Brazilian fans, we organized a huge barbecue at Elias Frederico's home. Focus was our guest. The afternoon naturally evolved into another spontaneous jam session. Among those present were outstanding Brazilian musicians such as Michel Freidenson and Nuno Mindelis, who had been named Best Blues Guitarist in the World by Guitar Player magazine in 1998. It was one of those rare occasions when there was no clear line separating musicians from fans. Everyone shared the same table, the same conversations, and above all, the same love of music.

From then on, Focus became a regular visitor to Brazil. I fondly remember the tours of 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2017. Whenever they came, our group of fans would reunite with the band. Every visit felt less like meeting famous musicians and more like welcoming old friends. Those were magical moments, filled with laughter, friendship, unforgettable conversations, and, naturally, wonderful music.

Barbecue and Jam-Session with the fans in São Paulo, May, 28 - 2005. From left to right: Nuno Mindelis, Michel Freidenson, Elias Frederico and Bobby Jacobs




OUR BIGGEST MISTAKE


During my very first meeting with Thijs van Leer, I asked him why Focus had never performed in Brazil during the 1970s. Without hesitation, he replied: "That was our biggest mistake." Judging by everything that happened afterward, it was a mistake the band genuinely tried to correct, returning to Brazil again and again over the years.

One clear example was their growing collaboration with Brazilian musicians. The fact that guitarist Jan Dumée had lived in Brazil for some time and spoke Portuguese fluently made those collaborations much easier. Perhaps the finest result of this cultural exchange was the release of Focus 8.5 – Beyond the Horizon, also known as Focus And Friends, in 2016. The album brought together Dutch and Brazilian musicians in a remarkable blend of jazz, fusion, and world music, under the musical direction of Brazilian pianist and composer Márvio Ciribelli. An interesting footnote is that Márvio's sister, Milena Ciribelli, one of Brazil's best-known television sports presenters, is also a great admirer of Focus.

Milena and the drawing she got from Thijs Van Leer - São Paulo, September, 16 - 2017


North Sea - Another Brazilian musician with an international career, Michel Freidenson, once shared a wonderful story with me. In 2004, after performing with the Michel Freidenson Jazz Quartet at the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival, he called Thijs van Leer and asked whether he might stop by his home in the Netherlands. Thijs replied that he could spare about half an hour. That "half-hour visit" ended up lasting the entire day. The two musicians talked, played together, and eventually enjoyed a private jam session. Sadly, no one thought to record it. For Focus fans like us, that remains one of those unforgettable musical moments that exists only in the memories of those fortunate enough to be there.

Michel Freidenson visiting Thijs Van Leer at his house in Holland, July - 2004

South Sea - I cannot fail to mention an event that marked Focus's visit to Brazil in 2005. It was the trips that the fans took with the band to the coastal city of Ubatuba, on the northern coast of the state of São Paulo. Fortunately, I was invited to join them on one of these visits. Ubatuba is a true paradise, with more than 90 beaches, each more beautiful than the last. Thijs van Leer simply fell in love with the place and asked to return. Bobby was equally impressed by its beauty and named one of the songs on the band's next album, Focus 9 / New Skin, "Sylvia's Stepson - Ubatuba."

Bobby Jacobs, Geert and Thijs Van Leer in Ubatuba - 2005

CONCLUSION


From the earliest days of the Internet, websites were designed primarily to be viewed on desktop computers. Over time, however, websites gradually lost some of the novelty and excitement they once possessed. Today, Focus has its own official website. Social media, streaming services, smartphones, and countless other technologies have transformed the way people discover music and consume information. Like everyone else, the band adapted to this new reality.

Focus is now present across social media platforms, streaming services, and countless digital channels, reaching audiences that were not even born when the very first version of the Focus Tribute Homepage appeared on GeoCities on November 5, 1996. One excellent example is Elias Veine Viig, from Norway, whom I consider one of the greatest representatives of the new generation of Focus fans.

Focus at Rainbow or Focus at Youtube? - Today, anyone can simply open YouTube and listen to virtually every Focus album or watch the once legendary Focus Live at the Rainbow concert. Years ago, I received countless e-mails from fans desperately searching for a copy of that VHS recording. Ironically, for many years the only version available was a television recording made from the Brazilian program Rock Concert during the 1970s. Today, that concert—and many others—has finally been released officially.

As a result, the role of the Focus website has naturally evolved. Its mission is no longer simply to introduce people to the band. Instead, it has become a central archive—a place where fans can find the most complete collection of information available anywhere about Focus. Every article, photograph, interview, recording, document, and historical detail has been gathered over three decades through the generosity of contributors from every corner of the world. In many respects, the website now contains even more information than can be found on Wikipedia.

During the years, every Focus fan looked for the video footage of this famous presentation


Moving waves - During the thirty years that the website has existed, life has changed for everyone—including Focus. Sadly, we lost dear friends along the way: Tim Baugh, Bert Ruiter, Hans Cleuver, Willem Hubers. Each of them played an important role in this remarkable journey. The band's lineup also evolved. Pierre van der Linden returned. Jacobs and Dumée moved on. Menno Gootjes and Udo Pannekeet joined the group, bringing fresh energy while preserving the musical spirit that has defined Focus for more than half a century. 

As I write these words in 2026, I am happy to know that Focus remains as active as ever, touring throughout Europe exactly thirty years after my website first went online. On the website's Live Records Known To Exist (LRKTE) section, I continue documenting every known concert recording preserved by fans around the world—a living archive that continues to grow year after year.

Making History - A few days ago, while watching the History Channel, I came across a documentary about the early days of Amazon and eBay during the 1990s. As I watched, I found myself thinking: "I lived through that era too." From the comfort of my living room, I was watching the story of a technological revolution in which, in my own modest way, I had also taken part. For a brief moment, I allowed myself to imagine something completely impossible. Perhaps one day the History Channel might produce a documentary about the creation of the world's largest website dedicated to Focus. No... Probably not. I'm just dreaming.

Having lived through those magical early years of the Internet—and having been able to contribute to them by building a website dedicated to artists I have admired throughout my life—has brought me immense personal satisfaction. When I look back on everything good that has happened to me, I have no doubt that this project ranks among the most meaningful experiences of my life. The website has never simply been a collection of pages. It has introduced me to extraordinary people. It has created friendships that span continents. It has opened doors I never imagined could exist. And above all, it has allowed me to give something back to the music that has brought me so much happiness over the years.

To Infinity... and Beyond! - One day I told my wife that I had started writing a short text to celebrate the website's thirtieth anniversary. At some point I realized that I had already written more than fifteen pages. She smiled and asked: "Who's going to read all of that?" I laughed and answered: "Probably no one." I wasn't writing it for an audience. I was writing it so that I would never forget everything wonderful that had happened along this incredible journey.

And now, sitting once again in front of my computer as I type these final lines, I can only hope that this adventure will continue for at least another thirty years.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of this story. See you online.

Warm regards,

Rodrigo Mantovani
Focus Tribute Homepage Webmaster
rodrigo.mantovani@gmail.com
mpq.com.br/focus
July 2026.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

Peet Johnson, Elias Frederico, Michel Freidenson, Altino José Paulo, Simone LM, Luciano SP, Ricardo Orsi, Tim Baugh (In memoriam), Alex Fejes Neto (In memoriam), Valdir Montanari, William 'Uncle Bil' from the Quadrophenia Discos Store (Galeria do Rock, São Paulo).
Images in this text: Author's archives, Chat GPT, Dola IA.

LINKS GALLERY:

• Focus in Rio de Janeiro 2002
  
  
• Focus in Sao Paulo 2003
  
  
• Focus at Garoa Jazz Bar (Sao Paulo) 2003
  
  
• Focus at 'Programa do Jo' (Sao Paulo) 2005
  
  
• More images and texts at: Neurotica Page