Front 242 were a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they influenced the electronic and industrial music genres.
members: Daniel B., Patrick Codenys, Jean-Luc De Meyer, Dirk Bergen, Richard Jonckheere
labels: Epic Records
genres: electronic body music
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
Front 242 were formed in 1981 in Aarschot, near Leuven, Belgium, by Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen, who wanted to create music and graphic design using emerging electronic tools. Prior to forming Front 242, Bressanutti worked on a music project called "Prothese" that had already produced several one-off tracks. The front part of the name comes from the idea of an organized popular uprising and the fact that the word can be translated in many languages while retaining the same meaning. The first single by the duo, "Principles", with b-side "Body To Body," was released in 1981.
Bressanutti cites musique concrète, avant garde, and the experimental music of Karlheinz Stockhausen as early influences. De Meyer cited Joy Division as an early influence for their "dramatic content." The electro-pop style of Fad Gadget also provided early inspiration for the band. While they were aware of, enjoyed, and learned from musical progenitors such as Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, and fellow countrymen Telex, the band did not see their styles as particularly influential. When asked in a 1989 interview about Front 242's being grouped with other industrial bands, Codenys replied that they "were somewhere in between Throbbing Gristle, Kraftwerk, and bands like that, but... wanted to be exclusive, and to have nothing to do with any...
In the 1980s, Front 242 strived to project a visual mystery and anonymity to accompany their aggressive physical stage performances. The band's ethic is largely responsible for defining the rivethead style of industrial and EBM culture which included the wearing of military gear, such as flak jackets, camouflage, and combat boots, as well as hairstyles, sunglasses, accessories, tattoos, and piercings.
Are you them, or do you know them? The mail slot is open.
"Headhunter" is a 1988 song by the Belgian EBM band Front 242. The song was a major hit in the electronic and industrial music scenes, and Front By Front subsequently became the top selling album in the history of Wax Trax!
Records.
"Headhunter" was released as a single in 1988, as a 12" (Version 1.0) and a 7" (Version 2.0). Each featured a corresponding version of "Welcome to Paradise" as the B-side. A third version appeared later on the 1988 album Front By Front (Version 3.0). A music video using the shorter "Version 2.0" soundtrack was directed by Anton Corbijn. It depicted the bandmembers in an urban landscape of Brussels, including the Berlaymont building and the Atomium that had been built for the 1958 World's Fair, and used eggs as a visual theme. According to bandmember Patrick Codenys this was because Corbijn misheard the song title as "Egg Hunter".
COMA Music Magazine ranked "Headhunter" as the greatest industrial song of all time in 2012. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 60 in its list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".
Hot Tracks and Razormaid! (also known as "Welcome to...Headhunter") released remixes of the song to DJs. In addition, Danny Tenaglia, Eskimos & Egypt, DBS, Project 12:01, Icon of Coil and Ayria made cover versions. Aghast View also did a remix, and ThouShaltNot produced a parody version in a relaxed jazz/lounge style (in contrast to the pounding industrial dance beat of the original). Funk carioca group Bonde do Tigrão sampled the instrumental of this song in "Cerol na Mão", released in 2001, resulting in a lawsuit by Front 242 against Bonde do Tigrão due to musical plagiarism.