'''Robbie van Leeuwen''' (born 29 October 1944, [[The Hague]]) is a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] musician<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Robbie van Leeuwen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/949195/Rob-Van-Leeuwen/filmography}}</ref> who was [[guitar]]ist, [[sitar]]ist, background vocalist and main songwriter for the Dutch bands, including [[The Motions (band)|The Motions]], [[Shocking Blue]] and [[Galaxy-Lin]]. His most well-known compositions are [[Shocking Blue]]'s most famous songs, "[[Venus (Shocking Blue song)|Venus]]", which was a US and UK No. 1 hit, "[[Love Buzz]]", which was covered by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] and released as their first single, and "[[Scorpio's Dance|Deamon Lover]]".
His best-known compositions are [[Shocking Blue]]'s most famous songs, "[[Venus (Shocking Blue song)|Venus]]", which was a US and UK No. 1 hit, "[[Love Buzz]]", which was covered by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] and released as their first single, and "[[Scorpio's Dance|Deamon Lover]]".{{cn}}
Originally the guitarist for the Motions, a [[Nederbeat]] band influenced by [[The Rolling Stones]] and [[The Pretty Things]], he decided to start Shocking Blue as a Dutch equivalent of [[Jefferson Airplane]], which would combine a hard-edged rock style with a powerful and attractive female vocalist.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}
With the death of bassist Klaasje van der Wal in 2018, van Leeuwun is now the solitary surviving member of the band's classic line-up.
