Dutch guitar virtuoso, Jan Akkerman, and organ/flute player, Thijs van Leer, were internationally succesful in the first half of the 1970s as the main players in Amsterdam-based progrock band, Focus. They were never friends, quite on the contrary: 'sworn enemies' would be a more accurate description. Their ongoing conflicts eventually led to Akkerman's departure from the group in 1976.

In spite of all the feuds and bitterness Van Leer and Akkerman joined forces again in 1985 to record an album together, entitled Focus (but credited to Jan Akkerman & Thijs van Leer), and play shows. It was never going to work - and it didn't.

Van Leer and Akkerman shared a stage once more at the 1993 North Sea Jazz Festival, as a tribute to legendary Dutch music entrepreneur, Paul Acket (1922-1992).

It is a safe bet that Akkerman and Van Leer will never work together (or even speak) again. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.