Band & Artist Dossier

Front 242

Origin: Aarschot, Belgium · Active Years: 1981-present

A detailed catalogue profile for Front 242.

In this archive

1 album / credit record(s) · EBM/Industrial

Front 242 are a Belgian electronic music group formed in 1981 in Aarschot, near Leuven, by Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen, later joined by Jean-Luc De Meyer and Patrick Codenys (from the merged group Underviewer) and Richard "23" Jonckheere. Pioneers of the genre they termed electronic body music (EBM), they cultivated a deliberately anonymous, militaristic stage image. Their 1988 album Front by Front, featuring the club hit "Headhunter," became their commercial breakthrough in the US and Europe.

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Band Lineup & Member Profiles

mixing console, keyboards, programming, guitars, live mixing
1981-present
Founding member (billed as Daniel B.) who deliberately became a 'silent' member, avoiding photos, videos and stage appearances until the early 1990s to preserve the band's anonymous image.
keyboards, programming, samplers
1982-present
Joined with Jean-Luc De Meyer when their group Underviewer merged with Bressanutti's project for the Geography album.
lead vocals
1982-present
Settled into lead vocalist after early sessions where members traded vocal duties; wrote most of the band's lyrics, including 'Headhunter'.
electronic percussion, backing vocals, stage performance
1983-present
Joined in 1983 to bolster the band's militaristic live-stage presentation as it moved toward the EBM sound of Front by Front.

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Complete 1980s Studio Discography

4 studio albums released from 1980–1989 by Front 242. Archived records link directly to full dossiers; remaining releases are queued for harvesting. MusicBrainz source.

♫ 1982
Geography
1982 ·
⏳ Queued for Harvesting
♫ 1984
No Comment
1984 ·
⏳ Queued for Harvesting
♫ 1987
Official Version
1987 ·
⏳ Queued for Harvesting
Front by Front cover
Front by Front
1988 · Wax Trax! Records / Red Rhino Europe
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80s discography & production credits in the archive

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