Death of Hans Cleuver

We are sorry to hear of the sad passing of Hans Cleuver. Born in Indonesia in 1947 he was a co-founder and first drummer for, Focus. From a musical family, Hans Cleuver drummed for the band during two periods - 1969-70 and 1997-98. He was also personal manager to both Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman at times and ran the multi-award-winning Cleuver Drumschool in Den Haag/the Hague. He was the husband of singer Bojoura and father to their children who include the drummer Emilie Cleuver.

Personnel Graph 2

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Personnel Graph 1

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Focus Drummers

The main Focus drummer has been Pierre Van Der Linden who originally worked with Jan Akkerman in Brainbox. After leaving in 1973 he rejoined the band more than once. The original drummer was Hans Cleuver. In the early days on at least one trip Akkerman's late brother Cocky sat in. Other main drummers have been the Englishman Colin Allen, the Americans David Kemper and Steve Smith and the appropriately named Dutchman Bert Smaak. When the current Focus first reformed the drummer was Ruben Van Roon and in 2004 Hans van Oosterhout was playing with them. Other Focus drummers include Richard James and Henk Zomer (one gig in Amersfoort in 1977).

Focus Lyricists 01

Focus vocal tracks are rare but there are some. Lyrics for these tracks have never come from Akkerman or van Leer, the main composers. The band has always looked elsewhere - and in various directions. Here are five of those they have called on.

1. Eric Cleuver

2. Mike Hayes v

3. Jan Staal v

4. Publius Vergilius Maro Virgil v

5. Hazrat Inayat Khan v