"Hocus Pocus" is a song by the Dutch rock bandFocus, written by keyboardist, flautist and vocalist Thijs van Leer and guitarist Jan Akkerman. It was recorded and released in 1971 as the opening track of their second studio albumMoving Waves. An edited version was released as a single on the Imperial, Polydor and Blue Horizon labels in Europe in 1971, but failed to chart. A faster re-recording of the song was released in Europe in 1972. Buoyed by a live performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test in December 1972 and a subsequent barnstorming British club tour, this version rose to No. 20 on the UK charts in late January 1973. "Hocus Pocus" was also released as a single on the Sire Records label in the United States and Canada in 1973. It reached No. 9 in the US and No. 18 in Canada during the spring and summer of that year. The song was given new life when it became the musical signature of the NikeWrite the Future advertising campaign, shown during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. That year the single re-entered the UK charts at No. 57 on and the Dutch charts at No. 48. In 2017, the song was used in the film Baby Driver. "Hocus Pocus" has been covered by the Vandals, on their debut LP, When in Rome Do as The Vandals, in 1984; by Helloween on their album Metal Jukebox in 1999; and by Iron Maiden for the European version of their DVD single "Different World" in 2006.
Description
"Hocus Pocus" takes the form of a rondo, consisting of alternation between a powerful rock chord riff with short drum solos and then varied solo "verses" which include yodeling, eefing, organ playing, accordion, scat singing, flute riffs, and whistling. The single version is significantly edited from the album version. "Hocus Pocus 2" is a slightly faster version with some funk elements and rhythms added. It was released as a single in its own right in Europe and was the B-side to the North American release of "Hocus Pocus". When performing live, Focus would play "Hocus Pocus" even faster.
Use in media
TNT used the song as an introduction to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons as well as Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Phoenix Suns and Seattle SuperSonics during the 1997 NBA Playoffs. The song has also been used in the British motoring show Top Gear during one of The Stig's power laps, on series 6 episode 1, testing a Mercedes-BenzCLS55 AMG; as the exit music on the second series of the BBC TVsitcomSaxondale; in the film The Stoned Age; in a 2008 McDonald's commercial featuring the website Line Rider; in a 2010 Nike football World Cup advertisement titled "Write the Future"; in the third season episode of My Name is Earl entitled "Early Release", when Earl is locked in solitary confinement; and in the 2008 Supernatural episode "Ghostfacers". The song was used in the episode "Chris" in the Channel 4 teen drama Skins. During a scene where Chris tries to sell a CD player for pizza, the song can be heard playing in the background while Chris and Sid are about to get kicked out of a music shop, the music plays as they end up making their way to a tip where they end up selling the CD player The song was sampled for J. Cole's 2010 single "Blow Up". "Hocus Pocus 2" was included in GuitarFreaks & DrumMania V5 Rock to Infinity and was also used in the 2014 remake of Robocop during a live-fire test with Robocop against a large number of robot drones and the character Mattox. The Cincinnati Reds used a sample of the song as the opening television credits during the 1973 season which displayed clips of the 1972 National League Championship Series in which Johnny Bench hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the fifth and final game as well as George Foster scoring the pennant-winning run on a wild pitch. The song has also been featured on HBO'sVinyl, and on season 7 of Showtime'sShameless. The song was also used in the 2013 documentary '1'. In this film about Formula 1 racing, the pulsing song was the backdrop for in-car footage of Ayrton Senna's qualifying lap at the Monaco Grand Prix. The song was prominently featured in a scene in Edgar Wright’s 2017 filmBaby Driver, elements of the track having been used in Wright's 2007 film Hot Fuzz by composer David Arnold. The song was used in the trailer for Pixar's 2020 film Onward. It was also used in DreamWorks' 2020 film Trolls World Tour.
