The Weathermen (Belgian band)
Encyclopedia
The Weathermen are a semi-satirical Belgium
-based electronic
and pop
band.
(PIAS) Records who put out their first 12" "Old Friend Sam" in 1985. They recruited the assistance of Tuxedomoon
's visual specialist Bruce Geduldig who adopted the alias of Chuck B, a debauched playboy vocalist. He brought even more humour and satire to the already amused Weathermen.The name "The Weathermen" was inspired from a line in famous folk/rock artist, Bob Dylan's song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" in which a line goes "you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"
More singles followed, moving the band away from alternative dancey electronic music into slightly satirical poppy EBM
music, but it wasn't until the 1987 that the song "Poison" brought them real attention. With tracks such as "Punishment Park", the Black Album as a whole was like the soundtrack of a dark and tongue-in-cheek movie, something like the Marx Brothers remixing William Gibson. By this time, the group had slimmed down to 'Chuck' and 'Jimmy-Joe Snark III'; who was actually mild-mannered producer and keyboardist Jean-Marc Lederman
who had worked with the likes of Fad Gadget
, The The
and Kid Montana
.
The band continued in the vein of tongue-in-cheek pop, leaving behind their early harder sound, but they failed to repeat the success of "Poison" on a commercial level.
1986 Ten Deadly Kisses
/1988 The Black Album According To The Weathermen
/1990 Beyond The Beyond
/1992 Global 851
In 2001, a Best Of album was almost released by PIAS. Due to frustration and demands from the fanbase and a new generation who had discovered their music through research into other renowned Belgian acts such as Front 242
and A Split-Second
, Jimmyjoe Snark III decided to reclaim the album from PIAS and publish it via a website. The only demands made on those downloading it being that they leave a comment in the guestbook. This brought a new legion of fans and enough interest for Jimmy-Joe & Chuck to be thawed out of storage for the creation of some new music.
The album Deeper with The Weathermen was released in 2004, followed by Embedded With The Weathermen in 2006.
In 2007, PIAS released "The Last Communiqué From The Weathermen (?)", a compilation of their work from 1985 till 2006.
In 2010, Infacted Recordings released "Ultimate Poison", a 15 tracks MCD loosely based around Poison and all its remixes, plus some unreleased tracks.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
-based electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band.
History
The Weathermen began as a joke. A couple of Americano-Belgians recorded some music and then sent it to a local record company via the US under the pretence they were a couple of enigmatic Americans trying to invade the European music scene. It worked and they were signed to Play It Again SamPlay It Again Sam (record label)
[PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company.The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings.Aside from the three London...
(PIAS) Records who put out their first 12" "Old Friend Sam" in 1985. They recruited the assistance of Tuxedomoon
Tuxedomoon
Tuxedomoon is an experimental post-punk/New Wave group formed in San Francisco, California, consisting of core members Blaine L. Reininger, Steven Brown and Peter Principle....
's visual specialist Bruce Geduldig who adopted the alias of Chuck B, a debauched playboy vocalist. He brought even more humour and satire to the already amused Weathermen.The name "The Weathermen" was inspired from a line in famous folk/rock artist, Bob Dylan's song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" in which a line goes "you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"
More singles followed, moving the band away from alternative dancey electronic music into slightly satirical poppy EBM
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
music, but it wasn't until the 1987 that the song "Poison" brought them real attention. With tracks such as "Punishment Park", the Black Album as a whole was like the soundtrack of a dark and tongue-in-cheek movie, something like the Marx Brothers remixing William Gibson. By this time, the group had slimmed down to 'Chuck' and 'Jimmy-Joe Snark III'; who was actually mild-mannered producer and keyboardist Jean-Marc Lederman
Jean-Marc Lederman
Jean-Marc Lederman is a Belgian keyboard player and producer. He has worked with numerous bands including Fad Gadget, The The, Gene Loves Jezebel, The Weathermen, Belgian rock band Streets, and Front 242, and with other artists including Julianne Regan and Alain Bashung.His main projects are The...
who had worked with the likes of Fad Gadget
Fad Gadget
Fad Gadget is the stage name of Francis John Tovey , a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both New Wave and early Industrial music....
, The The
The The
The The are an English musical and multimedia group that have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer/songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member.-Early years :...
and Kid Montana
Kid Montana
Kid Montana began as an alter-ego for Belgian musician Jean-Marc Lederman in 1981. He released an EP entitled Statistics Mean Nothing When You Get On The Wrong Plane in early 1982. Following this he was joined by American singer Dudley Kludt for the remainder of the groups life-time...
.
The band continued in the vein of tongue-in-cheek pop, leaving behind their early harder sound, but they failed to repeat the success of "Poison" on a commercial level.
1986 Ten Deadly Kisses
/1988 The Black Album According To The Weathermen
/1990 Beyond The Beyond
/1992 Global 851
In 2001, a Best Of album was almost released by PIAS. Due to frustration and demands from the fanbase and a new generation who had discovered their music through research into other renowned Belgian acts such as Front 242
Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
and A Split-Second
A Split-Second
A Split-Second was a Belgian electronic body music band. The duo — Marc Ickx and Peter Bonne — were active from their debut in 1986 until they split up in 1991, and A Split-Second continued as an Ickx solo project.After signing to Antler Records, A Split-Second made their debut in 1986...
, Jimmyjoe Snark III decided to reclaim the album from PIAS and publish it via a website. The only demands made on those downloading it being that they leave a comment in the guestbook. This brought a new legion of fans and enough interest for Jimmy-Joe & Chuck to be thawed out of storage for the creation of some new music.
The album Deeper with The Weathermen was released in 2004, followed by Embedded With The Weathermen in 2006.
In 2007, PIAS released "The Last Communiqué From The Weathermen (?)", a compilation of their work from 1985 till 2006.
In 2010, Infacted Recordings released "Ultimate Poison", a 15 tracks MCD loosely based around Poison and all its remixes, plus some unreleased tracks.
Members
- Jimmy-Joe Snark III AKA Jean-Marc LedermanJean-Marc LedermanJean-Marc Lederman is a Belgian keyboard player and producer. He has worked with numerous bands including Fad Gadget, The The, Gene Loves Jezebel, The Weathermen, Belgian rock band Streets, and Front 242, and with other artists including Julianne Regan and Alain Bashung.His main projects are The...
- Keyboards, programming, production - Chuck B AKA Bruce Geduldig - Vocals
Singles and 12" EP
- Old Friend Sam (1985)
- Deep Down South (1985)
- This Is The Third Communique (Berlin) (1986)
- Take It Off! (1986)
- Poison (1987)
- Punishment Park (1988)
- Bang! (1989)
- Heatseeker (1990)
- Once for The Living (1990)
- Around the World (1992)
- Daytime TV (2005)
- Ultimate Poison EP (2010)
Studio albums
- Ten Deadly Kisses (1986)
- The Black Album According to The Weathermen (1988)
- Beyond The Beyond (1990)
- Global 851 (1992)
- Deeper with The Weathermen (2004)
- Embedded With The Weathermen(2006)