Front 242 is a Belgian group formed in 1981 in Aarschot and originally composed of Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen. Who will be joined from the year 1982 by Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc de Meyer.
Group which released a first Single "Principles" the same year, Single which will unfortunately go unnoticed to say the least ...
First album "Geography" in 1982, album released under the label 'Les Disques Du Crépuscule'. Album with the most mixed success ...
It was from 1984 that things started to pick up speed with the release of the album "No comment". A year 1984 which also saw the group start to stand out more and more for their stage performances, as much in the "show" side as in the decadent and trashy side. It was also the year the band signed with the 'Wax Trax!' label.
The group released the mini-album "Politics of pressure" a year later in 1985, a mini-album carried at arm's length by the Single "Don’t crash".
New label in 1986 with the signing at 'ZTT Records' and release of the mini-album "Interception", mini-album which will only be valid for the title "Quite unusual".
The year 1987 saw the release of the album "Official version", album carried at arm's length by the title "Masterhit" and to a lesser extent by "Rerun time".
All the same, they will have to wait for 1988 to finally get their first classified title, all thanks to the release of the album "Front by front", album from which the main title "Headhunter" will be extracted. Album that would produce a second big-caliber track the following year in 1989 with the title "Never stop !".
The 1980s saw them flourish and gain in strength in a linear fashion. But it was the 90s that would dedicate them to starting with the Single "Tragedy for you", a Single which was released in 1990 and which was to give them their biggest Singles success. Huge Single from the album "Tyranny (For you)", which was released a year later in 1991 and which remains to this day as their biggest album hit.
New hit album "06: 21: 11: 03 up evil" in 1993, album which will mainly produce the flagship Single "Religion". Two albums for the price of one in 1993 with the release in the wake of "05: 22: 09: 12 off", album much darker and which will struggle to produce any Single of big caliber because of a sound for the least reserved for the initiated ...
A last album "Pulse" will be released in 2003, an album once again for the less obscure and which will inexorably precipitate the slow, but irremediable, disappearance of the group.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
80s Decade :
Principles 1981
Body to body 1981
U-Men 1981
Contoversy between 1983
Lovely day 1984
No shuffle 1985
Don’t crash 1985
Quite unusual 1986
Masterhit 1987
Rerun time 1987
Headhunter 1988
Never stop 1989
90s Decade :
Tragedy for you 1990
Rhythm of time 1991
Gripped by fear 1991
Religion 1993
Hymn 1993
Skin : fur coat 1993
Animal : zoo 1993
2000s Decade :
Triplxxxgirlfriend 2003
Tracks :
1981 ... like most of their Belgian colleagues at the time, the group shows from the outset a more than obvious originality of style. Afterwards, the problem with the Belgians is that they will have pushed originality to its maximum with the consequence of a notorious inability to capture the general public ...
1981 ... so far the story mostly boils down to a story without words. Not sure that this is the best solution to make talk about yourself ...
1981 ... the lyrics finally arrive but that's not necessarily what we expected, to say the least. Can and must do better ...
1983 ... for the moment, no major evolution in style and sound. We will therefore have to be a little more patient before seeing them eventually break through at the highest level, if that happens one day of course ...
1984 ... they now have to produce THE title that could finally bring them from the shadows to the light. We feel that there is not much missing but it will not be immediately at first glance ...
1985 ... the years go by without the group managing to find the little extra that could make all the difference. He remains braced on his fundamentals, which does not really go in the direction of improving their situation significantly ...
1985 ... a dark and obscure side which perspires constantly and which above all comes to seal the general atmosphere. This is also their goodwill but there is a price to pay in these cases, that is to say to stay on the sidelines of the system and especially of the star-system ...
1986 ... already 6 years that they are trying to break through but it will not be for this year 1986 either. We still hope that at some point the miracle will happen ...
1987 ... it will not be for this year 1987 either. But we still feel that something is happening and that the end of the tunnel may not be very far ...
1987 ... hope quickly disappointed because this title sends them straight back to square one. They will really have to rework their fundamentals to hope to pass the level they have come up against since their beginnings ...
1988 ... it took them 8 years to achieve their first success but it is now done. Of course we are not talking about frank and massive success but it is always better than nothing as they say ...
1989 ... recognition grows year after year and we imagine that at some point they will succeed in winning the title which will finally consecrate them. It won't be long ...
1990 ... it is the transition to the 90s that will offer them this gift that they no longer hoped for. They will have taken 10 years to obtain it but this time will have been the good one. They sign here the biggest success of all their discography and at the same time offer themselves a direct ticket for posterity. HU-GE !
1991 ... the passage to the light will have been stealthy to say the least because the group will disappear from the radars as quickly as he appeared there. But the essential is done and that is the most important ...
1991 ... the group will never have been able to do as ordinary people and will have remained outside the system until the end. A daring bet, a risky bet but in the end a bet won ...
1993 ... paradoxically, it is on this unbridled track to say the least that the group will succeed in landing a last hit, to say the least unexpected. Like what, in music, everything is possible ...
1993 ... the rest will see the group do more some figuration than anything else. They are far from being ridiculous but their style will now only interest the base fans, it is clear ...
1993 ... they will have believed in it until the end and whatever the obstacles and disillusions. A desire to move forward at all costs that commands respect no matter what ...
1993 ... the group comes to the end of its adventure but can still be proud of the work accomplished. Even if their music was reserved for a small audience to say the least, they will at least have had the merit of offering something different ...
2003 ... when we thought the business was finally folded, here they are back 10 years later. A return that will not bring much new and which, above all, will not allow them to come back to the race even a little ...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :