All Through the Night | The Passengers | Les Disques du Crépuscule

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The Passengers \ All Through the Night + Queen of Weird [TWI 1240 + TWI 1242]

You might call these singles an exercise in experimental archeology applied to music. Each features two songs by Brussels new wave band The Passengers, composed in late 1977, performed live during the first half of 1978 - and finally recorded by the original lineup in 2018.

The songs - and the group - grew out of a moment of breathtaking musical innovation. 1977, if anyone needs a reminder, unleashed an endless stream of classic punk and new wave records. Michel Sordinia (bass and vocals), Marc Deprez (guitar and vocals) and Robert Franckson (guitar), soon joined by Isabelle Hanrez (vocals) and Christophe Den Tandt (drums), felt the urge to rise up to the new climate and form a band of their own. Their music was shaped more by American than British influences, resonating with memories of the Velvet Underground, whose radical style was in turn echoed by late Seventies bands like Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Talking Heads and Television. The presence of Hanrez on vocals also made comparisons with Blondie inescapable.

With the Brussels scene still in the grip of raw punk, The Passengers offered a fresh, pop-oriented sensibility, mingled with the darker accents of later post-punk. This was young music in every sense, with none of The Passengers older than 22. With their first gigs in early 1978 the group soon became a local sensation, and in March won the First Belgian Punk Contest - only to reject the prize (a one-off single deal) as a cynical commercial ploy. Instead, the band chose to tape All Through the Night for Brussels punk imprint Romantik Records, only for the label to fold before this came to pass.

Over the following months The Passengers' line-up morphed into a new band, The Names, fronted by Sordinia alone, who went on to record for Factory Records and Les Disques du Crépuscule. Hanrez formed her own pop-punk outfit, Isabelle et les Nic-Nacs. Four decades on, the original quintet decided to record and issue the singles denied a release at the time, recorded and played as if it were still 1978. As you drop them on your turntable we hope you'll share our pleasure in revisiting the sounds and styles which changed our lives.

Christophe Den Tandt

TWI 1240 7" single (red vinyl):

A1. All Through the Night
B1. New Life

TWI 1242 7" single (clear vinyl):

A1. Queen of Weird
B1. Danger Zone

Available on 7" with free digital copy (MP3). Singles are limited to 500 copies each. Five track digital version includes additional song Femme Fatale. To order either of the singles or the download please select correct shipping option and click on Add To Cart button below the cover image, or else contact LDDC by email for other payment options. Bundle option also available.