Belgian rock refers to rock music produced inBelgium or written and performed by Belgian musicians. It was originally inspired byrock and roll music from America and the United Kingdom in the 1960s, but later evolved to be influenced by other genres includingalternative rock andelectronic music. Because Belgium is afederal state with strong cultural identities - aFrench-speaking area in the southern region ofWallonia as well as aDutch-speaking population in the north region ofFlanders - Belgian rock music uses these two national languages, as well as theEnglish language.
The history of Belgian rock echoes that of European rock: after the 1950s, during which rock pioneers introduced the new genre, rock evolved further under the influences ofbeat music andpop music. During the 1970s,hard rock andprogressive rock expressed new forms of rock, andpunk rock signalled a return to the simplicity ofrock and roll with Belgian bands likeThe Kids,Red Zebra, andHubble Bubble. During the 1980s and 90s,indie rock andalternative rock developed with an important scene inAntwerp;Deus was a particularly successful band from the Antwerp alternative scene.
In Belgium, as in Europe in general,rock and roll began to spread at the end of the 1950s, in part due to the presence of American troops stationed in Europe in the post-war period. Among the first rock and roll songs to arrive in Belgium wasRock Around the Clock (Decca, 1954) byBill Haley & His Comets.[1] In 1956 thefilm of the same name was released in Belgium, which kicked off a rock and roll craze.[1] Among the new pioneers of rock in Belgium there wereRocking Harry andShorty Lee Smith and the Wildcats who began playing between 1956 and 1957. In issue 25 of the newly formed music magazineJuke Box the first concert of Bill Haley & His Comets at thePalais des Beaux-Arts inBrussels was announced on October 30, 1958.[1] In 1959,Burt Blanca and the King Creoles released their"Oh, Carol! / I Love You So" (Hebra Records),Big Brown & The Gamblers followed this hit with"My Testament" (Palette, 1961),Clark Richard and his Tropical Stars released"Queen Of Love / Hot Rock Beat" (His Master's Voice, 1961) and Les Frangins released"Ye Youpi / Changhai" (Barclay, 1961).
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Surf music andinstrumental rock were influential for early Belgian rock music, brought to Belgium by UK bands likeThe Shadows. In 1957, the Belgian bandThe Jokers published their first 7" entitled"Drie Dagen En Drie Nachten" (CID).[2] This was followed by the remake of the Belgian folk songIk zag Cecilia komen with the new titleCecilia Rock (Philips, 1960). Among the many songs by the Jokers that later achieved popular success in Belgium wereRonny Boy (Discostar, 1963),Tabou (Discostar, 1964), andGemini Boogie (Arcade Records, 1965). An instrumental rock band, The Cousins, released a rock version of the folk songKili Watch (Palette, 1960).[3]
Other important releases of this period include the Shakespears ("Shake it over", 1965), the Pebbles ("Seven horses in the sky", 1968), andthe Wallace Collection ("Daydream", 1969). Other notable artists got evolved in the rock scene, including blues and folk musicians like the Antwerps protest singerFerre Grignard who released the songsRing Ring andDrunken Sailor in 1966.
In the mid-1960s, as a result of theBritish invasion, Belgian bands began to create a homegrown version of garage rock. The beat bandThe Pebbles were one of the most iconic bands of this movement. In 1965, they released a series of 7" singles --Let's Say Goodbye / Love Me Again (CBS),Love Me Again / It's Alright With Me Now (Dot Records),It's Allright With Me / Forever More (CBS), andHuma - La La La La (Président) -- which were also popular in Spain, France, and Italy.The Pebbles performed on the Dutch TV showFenklup on June 7, 1968.
In 1965 Les Godasses Verte released the 7"La Salade / Le Panier A Salade (CBS).[4] Les Night Rockers releasedEn Public Du Golf Drouot (Golf Drouot),I Can Tell (Barclay, 1965), andDance To The Rock (Golf Drouot, 1966).[5] The bandSylvester's Team releasedIt Reminds Me (Louis XVI) (Roover Records, 1965) andBeautiful Day / Hurt Me No More (Roover Records, 1966).[6] In 1968 they changed their name to Bird and the Bees and released their 7"Tiger Dans (Disques Vogue).[7]
Born from the offshoot of the Belgian rock bandLes Ombres, a band namedThe Klan released a series of singles and an album entitledJoin Us (Palette, 1967); The Klan opened for theRolling Stones at their Paris concert on April 10, 1967.[8]
For Belgium, 1967 was also the year in which the newpsychedelic rock developed, as evidenced byThe Pebbles 7" releaseI Got To Sing / You're Better Believe It (Barclay, 1967), their singleSeven Horses In The Sky (Barclay, 1968), and theirself-titled album (1969). The band shared the stage withJimi Hendrix and with theSmall Faces in a concert inParis.[9] In 1967, The Shakes began to develop a blues sound with strong psychedelic influences, clearly seen inCome On-A My House / Dust My Blues (Voom) andShoot Me Baby / You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (Ronnex Records, 1968).[10][11]Waterloo released the 7"Meet Again (Disques Vogue) in 1969 andPlastic Mind (Disques Vogue) in 1970.[9] The same year,Paul's Collection releasedMan / Music Is My Life (RCA, 1970) followed by four 7" singles.
Indie rock bands likeTC Matic andDe Kreuners, and manypunk rock-dark wave bands like Nacht und Nebel, the Paranoiacs andSiglo XX, began to draw a significant audience, and started to release songs in their mother language. Some, like theeurorock bandMachiavel and the pop/punk singerPlastic Bertrand, were also managed in a more commercial approach.
Among the notable bands with a strongjazz rock influences are theCos and theKandahar. TheCos debuted in 1973 with the albumPostaeolian Train Robbery (Plus Records, 1974). TheKandahar debuted with the 7" singleSurvivin' Boogie / The Dark Hole Rag (Dwarf, 1974) and then released their first albumIn The Court Of Catherina Squeezer (Dwarf, 1975). TheEsperanto Rock Orchestra achieved international fame with a self-titled album released byA&M Records.[12] Other notable bands includeTideline, Magenta,Machiavel, the Isopoda, the Nessie, the Phylter, the Flyte, and the Dragon.[12] The symphonic prog rock band,Banzai releasedHora Nata in 1974 on the Dutch label Delta.
At the end of the 1960s, ahard rock /heavy metal style of rock emerged that was characterized by a dense, powerful sound, with rhythmic bass lines in the foreground, highly amplified distortion, guitar solos, emphatic rhythms, and an overall high volume. Among the pioneer bands of this genre in Belgium areJenghiz Khan who released the seminal albumWell Cut (Barclay).[13][9][14] In 1971,Irish Coffee released a single entitledCarry On / Child (Triangle) and then a self-titled album in the same year.[9][15]
The Belgian rock scene spawned manyproto-punk andglam rock bands includingVacation who released the singlesI Can't Bear Pain (Sandro, 1975) andWhatch What You Do (Sandro, 1977).[16] Another example of proto-punk in Belgium is the band Blast who released the 7"Damned Flame / Hope (Majestic, 1974).[17] Beginning in 1976-77 a nationalpunk rock scene began in Belgium. One of the first punk bands in Belgium wereThe Kids, who were founded in 1976, and released the single 7"No Monarchy / Rock Over Belgium / The City Is Dead in 1978; later that year they released the albumsThe Kids (Fontana, 1978) andNaughty kids (Fontana, 1978).[18] Other bands of the first Belgian punk rock wave includeRed Zebra,Hubble Bubble,Plastic Bertrand,The Employees, andPerverted by Desire.
Among the Belgiannew wave bands that emerged following the first wave of punk were pop bands likeTC Matic of the singerArno,De Kreuners,The Bowling Balls,Nacht und Nebel andWalter Verdin. New wave also included electronic rock bands likeTelex, as well as bands inspired by songwriting likeRick Tubbax And The Taxi's, andBubblegum pop artists likeLio. This period also includedfunk wave bands likeAllez Allez and2 Belgen.
Following the first wave of punk, more politically motivatedpost-punk bands emerged. These bands tended to have a harder sound than new wave bands, or adopted darker formulas and often linked tocountercultures. Examples of post-punk in Belgium includeAroma Di Amore,Lavvi Ebbel,De Brassers,Siglo XX,A Noh Rodeo,Company of State,Mensen Blaffen,The Names,Jo Lemaire + Flouze,The Breath of Life, andPoésie Noire.
Many of theprogressive rock bands of the 70s carried out their first experiments withsynthesizers. But it was in the late '70s that many bands began to develop aSynth pop andSynth rock sound. Among these, the most successful Belgian band wasMachiavel, which was categorized at the time asEu-rock.[19]
The origins ofcold wave lie in the first wave punk bands ofFrance andBelgium; this distinctive post-punk sound was the result of these bands' use of cheap portable synthesizers.[20] Coldwave bands often mixedDarkwave sounds with German-styleKrautrock electronics, obtaining often cold and minimal sound results.[21] The bands in this genre includeAimless Device,Parade Ground,Siglo XX, andPoésie Noire.
From the darker side of thepost-punk scene of the late '70s, betweencoldwave,darkwave andindustrial music, an autonomous scene ofgothic rock with its ownsubculture grew in popularity in the 1980s. Among the Belgian bands that contributed to this scene wereThe Breath of Life,Siglo XX,De Brassers,The Names, andPoésie Noire.
Belgium played a fundamental role in the development ofelectronic body music (EBM),[22][23][24] a musical genre ofpost music -industrial which mixed among other thingsindustrial music,electronic music,dance music andSynthpunk.[25] Among thesynthesizers that defined the style in its early phase were theKorg MS-20, theRoland SH-101,[26] theARP Odyssey, theEmulator II, along with severalOberheim andYamaha models. The most important bands of early Belgian EBM wereFront 242,Klinik andThe Neon Judgement.
With the emergence ofnew beat in the 1990s, Belgium, especiallyFlanders, experienced a profound turning point in electronic music. As a reaction to the mainstream attitude of thenew beat scene, analternative rock andindie rock scene developed, along with a series of festivals, often put on by local youth organizations.[27] The festivalHumo's Rock Rally became particularly prominent.[28] Although "Radio 21" was created in 1981 (two years prior to its Flemish counterpartStudio Brussel), theDour Festival has only turned into a resolutely indie festival in the middle of the nineties.[29]
A particularly rich indie rock scene emerged inAntwerp, wheredEUS became a highly successful band.[30]Mauro Pawlowski andRudy Trouvé, members of dEUS, are key figures of the Antwerp scene. Pawlowski has played in numerous bands, including Mitsoobishy Jacson,Kiss My Jazz, Shadowgraphic City,The Love Substitutes, Othin Sake, The Parallels,Club Moral, Archetipi of the MultiSabanas, I Hate Camera, andEvil Superstars, as well as pursuing a solo career. Trouvé played withDead Man Ray,Gore Slut, I Hate Camera, Kiss My Jazz, The Love Substitutes, Rudy Trouvé Sextet/Settet, Rudy and the Unforgettable Wally's. Other well-known indie rock bands from Antwerp includeZita Swoon,Dead Man Ray,K's Choice,Admiral Freebee,A Brand, andDie Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung.
The indie rock scene spread throughout Belgium. Notable musicians and groups in Belgian indie rock includeZita Swoon,Noordkaap,Venus,Sharko,Dead Man Ray,Admiral Freebee,A Brand,Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung,Gorki,Millionaire,Soulwax,An Pierlé,The Black Box Revelation,Novastar,Milow,Arid,An Pierlé,Das Pop,Admiral Freebee,Goose,Ozark Henry, andHooverphonic.
In 1981, the pioneernoise bandClub Moral formed inAntwerp.
As in most northern Europe countries, thehard rock-metal scene was maturing. In Belgium its first iconic groups were Kleptomania andIrish Coffee. In the 1990s, the metal bandChannel Zero achieved wide success.
The 2000s mark the arrival of a new uninhibited Belgian (mainly French) scene started by Venus, and then byGirls in Hawaii,Ghinzu, The Telrs,Hollywood Porn Stars, andSharko. Other notable Belgian bands active during this period includeArid,Vive la Fête,Triggerfinger, andAbsynthe Minded.
Jelot-Blanc, Jean-Jacques (2017).Camion Blanc: Le tour du rock en 80 mots Rock around the world (in French). Paris: Camion Blanc.ISBN 978-2-35779-976-9.
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