Hocus Pocus (song)

"Hocus Pocus" is a song by the Dutch rock band Focus, written by keyboardist, flutist, and vocalist Thijs van Leer and guitarist Jan Akkerman. It was recorded and released in 1971 as the opening track of their second studio album Moving Waves. An edited version was released as a single (with "Janis" as the B-side) on the Imperial, Polydor and Blue Horizon labels in Europe in 1971, but failed to chart in that year outside of the Netherlands (NL No. 10). Buoyed by a live performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test in December 1972 and a subsequent British club tour, the song rose to No. 20 on the UK singles chart in late January 1973. In the US, the song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Cash Box Top 100. The song was given new life in the new millennium, when it became the musical signature of the Nike "Write the Future" advertising campaign, shown during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. That year the single re-entered the UK chart at No. 57 and on the Dutch chart at No. 48.