When you think of PUNK, what is it that immediately springs to mind? Maybe the 70s, The Sex Pistols, pogoing, The Ramones, Black Flag, obscenities, post-punk, New Rose, CBGB’s, 7” singles, Blondie, Never Mind The Bollocks, ripped clothing, new wave, The Damned, illustrated covers, Richard Hell, Patti Smith, zines, The Clash, spitting, Oi!, The Stooges, safety pins.
We all have our own memories, however, unless you were a teen growing up in Belgium, it’s unlikely that your immediate thoughts will be of, Chainsaw, Red Zebra, The Rockin’ Club, De Brassers, flour bombing, The Kids, Siglo XX, Jazz Bilzen, Klinik, Front 242, Raxola.
Ghent, Leuven, Liège and Antwerp may not have birthed punk in the way that London, New York and Manchester did, but they were no less important in the burgeoning scene of the 70’s. On the 50th anniversary of punk, here at TQ we feel it about time to give Belgium the exposure it deserves, as the international and influential punk scene of so long ago continues to co-navigate the trajectory beyond the previous 5 decades, taking us into the musical unknown as the 21st Century unfolds.
TQ79 is therefore dedicated to Belpunk, and includes a major feature we call ‘Between Anarchy & Hysteria’, in which we take a deep stage dive into the last 50 years of the Belgian punk scene and its multiple spin offs, we review the seminal book compiled by Joeri Cardon & Ronny Wynanats, ‘Bloody Belgium - de punkexplosie in België (the punk explosion in Belgium) 1976-1979’, we listen to three volumes of the Various Artists Bloodstains Across Belgium as well as the VA album, Everything Is Shit - Punk in Brussels 1977-79, and in doing so, express our views, and suggest these as a good place to begin your excursion across the scene.
Every TQ subscriber receives a free copy of the CDr - BELPUNK; a TQ Compilation.
Featuring 27 contemporary Belgian artists, the disc comes wrapped in a 16-panel double-sided fold out sleeve housed in a plastic cover.
Curated by Belgian born TQ Deputy Editor Tony Van Dorst, this is a TQ exclusive.
If you wish to purchase a single copy of TQ79 (without the Belpunk compilation), the cost (inc’ postage) is:
UK £5.00
Other £7.50
PAYPAL PAYMENTS TO:
tarquinwood23@hotmail.com
PDF versions are also available, minus the Belpunk disc. See separate tab in this blog
If you don’t have PayPal please get in touch and we can agree an alternative payment method. N Ireland is classed as U.K. and S Ireland as Europe (other)
TQ79 will post out mid-May