Ancienne Belgique

25 Years of Funeral Dress, that's something to celebrate. Because which Belgian band already has ten (10!) American tours to its name and regularly performs in Europe's most prestigious venues (Paradi...

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25 Years of Funeral Dress, that's something to celebrate. Because which Belgian band already has ten (10!) American tours to its name and regularly performs in Europe's most prestigious venues (Paradiso Amsterdam, Astoria London and soon in Moscow too)? You guessed it! Their debut ‘Free Beer For The Punx’ (produced by UK Subs frontman Charlie Harper) is still a classic and, almost 1000 shows later, the group has become one of the most popular bands in its genre. In Belgium, their big breakthrough came in 2002, when 'Party On' became a summer hit on Studio Brussel and they successfully played almost every festival. Funeral Dress was also to be seen and heard in 2 cinema films: 'Ex Drummer' based on the book by Herman Brusselmans and the American documentary-film 'Punks Not Dead the Movie’ (with the likes of Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Sex Pistols, Ramones).

2 of our best punk bands will be there to celebrate this anniversary too, namely THE KIDS and BELGIAN ASOCIALITY.

The Kids, from Antwerp, were established in ’76. Frontman/singer Ludo Mariman discovered his ideal means of expression in punk and – following the split in '86 – he left an oeuvre of 5 albums and one live album (‘If The Kids…’), which were released in a fine boxed compilation called ‘Anthology’. Included was the album ‘Living In The 20th Century’ that, according to Gust De Coster, is referred to as ‘the first rock LP in Belgium worth the name’. On their record also: the classic ‘There Will Be No Next Time’. In ’96 - 20 years after their coming into being - The Kids got back together, and in ’01 (a quarter century after originating) they recorded their explosive live CD ‘Flabbergasted!’ in our very own AB. Following a brilliant AB visit as part of our Rewind series, The Kids now return to Brussels again.

Someone else who has something to celebrate is Belgian Asociality. In 2009 they extensively emphasized their 20 year existence with a DVD and a new CD entitled ‘kaBAal’. ‘Bompa Punk’ was once a song by these punk-pioneers and now the asocial association is almost a bompa (grandfather) itself. Not that they care though. The Jupiler and the vodka still flow freely and the classics ‘Morregen’, ‘Boerderie’, ‘Jupiler Reggae’ and ‘Het is Gedaan’ still go off live as never before.