Well, to be honest, I didn’t grew up with Hank Williams or The Doors. In fact, for years, I was totally into disco !!! At the age of 13, I was addicted to ‘Thriller’, Duran Duran was my favorite band and once (only once, I swear!) I snatched 300 Belgian francs outta my mother’s purge in order to buy Queen’s ‘Greatest Hits’! Thankfully, the following albums changed my life:

Rollin’ Through The Night – EVAN JOHNS & THE H-BOMBS (Alternative Tentacles 1986)


This killer album - originally recorded in 1982 - is so criminally underrated it’s ridiculous! Guitars galore and tongue-in-cheek songs mainly about partying. All hail Jello Biafro for releasing one of the very best rock ‘n’ roll records of all time!

Hallowed Ground – VIOLENT FEMMES (Slash 1984 )


This is the record that guided me through my adolescent years. Even my father knew the lyrics by heart ‘cuz I kept on spinning the record day after day! Due to overkill, I haven’t listened to the Femmes in recent years though…

Invisible Lantern – SCREAMING TREES (SST 1988)


I bought this record at the age of 18 and 2 weeks later the band played at the Democrazy club in Belgium. One of the very first live shows I attended that totally blew me away! Van Conner (or was it Gary Lee Conner?) lying in front of us on the floor fuckin’ up his guitar combined with Mark Lanegan’s feverish vocals was pure bliss! “Ivy” still sends shivers down my spine!

Not Born Beautiful – SHOCK HEADED PETERS (El Records 1985)


A friend of mine recorded this 1986 album on a tape and I soon became enthralled by the alienating songs and lyrics. I didn’t read novels at the time and found this album a genuine piece of escapism.

Just Keep Eating – SCRATCH ACID (Rabid Cat 1986)


I’ll never forget that very evening when Scratch Acid played in Belgium (5/01/87 ) and I couldn’t attend the show because it was a two hours drive and I didn’t have a car. I was really a die-hard fan and even had the band name written with Tipp-Ex on my black leather jacket! That very evening (it was in the middle of an ordinary school week) I felt really depressed. Later, my sister used to tell all her friends that I only dated girls with cars…