.gif)
The Honeymoon Killers (band)
Encyclopedia
The Honeymoon Killers were a Belgian
experimental rock
band originally formed in 1974 by Yvon Vromman, with J.F Jones Jacob, and Gérald Fenerberg. In its first incarnation, the band played mostly in Brussels, was arrogant and funny, and performed massacres on all musical genres, from rockabilly and punk to marching band music, French chanson and free jazz.
The band's original name at the time was Les Tueurs de la lune de miel (i.e. "The Honeymoon Killers" in French).
Their first album, entitled Special Manubre, was produced by Marc Moulin
for his short-lived Kamikaze imprint, and came out in 1977.
In 1980 the Tueurs were joined by Vincent Kenis
and Marc Hollander
from Aksak Maboul
and completed their line-up with singer Véronique Vincent.
1981 saw the group touring through Europe
. Their cover of Charles Trenet
's "Route Nationale 7" quickly became a radio & TV hit single in France
and Belgium. The band's second album (entitled Les Tueurs de la Lune de Miel — the French title of the album being the band’s English name, and vice-versa) was warmly welcomed in Germany, France, and the UK where, unusually for a band which didn't sing in English, they received excellent coverage in the press, including the NME
, on the cover of which the band appeared in 1982.
The group split in 1985. Yvon Vromman died in 1989.
Their album Les Tueurs De La Lune De Miel was recently rated "best Belgian rock album of all times" by Belgian rock magazine Mofo, and numbered among the top ten Belgian albums of all times according to Le Vif/L'Express magazine(2008)
Live on stage The Honeymoon Killers often used pre-recorded drum machine loops which were played from cassette, over this they put guitar, bass, drums, trashy percussion, cheap-sounding organ, with Vromman and Vincent taking turns on singing. Some of their songs were extended to 20 minutes with their own brand of dub echo effects.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
band originally formed in 1974 by Yvon Vromman, with J.F Jones Jacob, and Gérald Fenerberg. In its first incarnation, the band played mostly in Brussels, was arrogant and funny, and performed massacres on all musical genres, from rockabilly and punk to marching band music, French chanson and free jazz.
The band's original name at the time was Les Tueurs de la lune de miel (i.e. "The Honeymoon Killers" in French).
Their first album, entitled Special Manubre, was produced by Marc Moulin
Marc Moulin
Marc Moulin was a Belgian musician and journalist . He was a member of the avant-rock band Aksak Maboul in 1977 and formed the pop group Telex in 1978...
for his short-lived Kamikaze imprint, and came out in 1977.
In 1980 the Tueurs were joined by Vincent Kenis
Vincent Kenis
Vincent Kenis is a Belgian musician and record producer. He was a member of the avant-garde group Aksak Maboul and of The Honeymoon Killers, an experimental rock band...
and Marc Hollander
Marc Hollander
Marc Hollander is a Belgian musician, producer and creator of the independent record label, Crammed Discs.Hollander was a founding member of the Belgian avant-rock group Aksak Maboul in 1977, which released two albums, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine and Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits...
from Aksak Maboul
Aksak Maboul
Aksak Maboul were a Belgian avant-rock band founded in 1977 by Marc Hollander and Vincent Kenis. They made two studio albums, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine and Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits , the last one with ex-Henry Cow members Chris Cutler and Fred Frith...
and completed their line-up with singer Véronique Vincent.
1981 saw the group touring through Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Their cover of Charles Trenet
Charles Trenet
Charles Trenet was a French singer and songwriter, most famous for his recordings from the late 1930s until the mid-1950s, though his career continued through the 1990s...
's "Route Nationale 7" quickly became a radio & TV hit single in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium. The band's second album (entitled Les Tueurs de la Lune de Miel — the French title of the album being the band’s English name, and vice-versa) was warmly welcomed in Germany, France, and the UK where, unusually for a band which didn't sing in English, they received excellent coverage in the press, including the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, on the cover of which the band appeared in 1982.
The group split in 1985. Yvon Vromman died in 1989.
Their album Les Tueurs De La Lune De Miel was recently rated "best Belgian rock album of all times" by Belgian rock magazine Mofo, and numbered among the top ten Belgian albums of all times according to Le Vif/L'Express magazine(2008)
Live on stage The Honeymoon Killers often used pre-recorded drum machine loops which were played from cassette, over this they put guitar, bass, drums, trashy percussion, cheap-sounding organ, with Vromman and Vincent taking turns on singing. Some of their songs were extended to 20 minutes with their own brand of dub echo effects.
Discography
- Spécial Manubre (vinyl LP, Kamikaze, 1977 - reissued in 2009 on CD by Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
). - Route Nationale 7/Histoire à Suivre(7" single, Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
, 1981) - Les Tueurs De La Lune De Miel (vinyl LP, Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
, 1982 — released on CD by Crammed Discs in 2003). - Décollage (7" single, Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
, 1982) - Subtitled Remix (12" vinyl EP, Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
, 1983 - included in the CD reissue of the 2nd album)
External links
- The Honeymoon Killers. The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives.
- The Honeymoon Killers on the Crammed Discs site