Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967. They were part of the Nederbeat movement in the Netherlands. The band had a string of hit songs during the counterculture movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, including "Send Me a Postcard" and "Venus", which became their biggest hit and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and many other countries during 1969 and 1970. The band sold 13 million records by 1973 but disbanded in 1974. Together with Golden Earring, they are considered the most successful Nederbeat band, because they had their best hits charted abroad and especially in the United States.

Nederbeat is a genre of rock music that began with the Dutch rock boom in the mid-1960s influenced by British beat groups and rock bands such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Much like British freakbeat, it is essentially the Dutch counterpart to American garage rock. Among the best-known Nederbeat groups are the Golden Earring, The Motions, The Outsiders and Shocking Blue.