After an incredible 40-plus-year run on the road, Belgian EBM act Front 242 are setting an end to their live concert career, announcing their final performances to take place in the fall and winter of 2024-2025. The band makes the announcement today in conjunction with International EBM Day (noted as 24/2 in European territories).
The concerts stretch across the globe, including a dozen dates in the U.S. beginning September 6 in Tampa, Florida and running through November 15 and 16 in the band’s second home in Chicago. The band’s final performances will be in their hometown of Brussels, Belgium in January 2025.
“It is with a heavy mix of emotion that we close this great adventure, some 40 years in the making,” say Patrick, Richard and Lean Juc, the band’s core members. “We realize that ending our journey at this time, when we are still vibrant and full of energy is how the band should be remembered. We are excited to share these meaningful final performances with our wonderful fans who have been with us through it all.”
All tickets will go on sale Friday March 1. Find more information at www.front242.com.
FRONT 242 FINAL U.S. DATES
US Dates:
September 06 Tampa, FL Jannus Landing
September 07 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
September 08 Cleveland, OH Agora Theater
September 13 Los Angeles, CA The Mayan
September 14 Portland, OR Roseland
September 15 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
November 08 Houston, TX Rise Rooftop
November 09 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
November 10 Denver, CO Reelworks
November 15 Chicago, IL Metro
November 16 Chicago, IL Metro
ABOUT FRONT 242:
Front 242’s history starts in 1981 when Daniel B. lays out his ideas on a first single, “Body to Body.” Patrick Codenys (keyboards) and Jean-Luc De Meyer (vocals) join the band for the first album Geography in 1982, followed by Richard 23 (vocalist/stage performer) in 1983.
While developing their own independent recording and graphic units, along with a unique presentation on stage, the band progressively reaches a larger audience in Europe, touring and releasing records of its brand-new genre they soon label Electronic Body Music (aka EBM). EBM being a collage and synthesis of music and sounds, recycled from the media or TV, often reflecting or enriched by other artistical disciplines. In 1984, Front 242 sign on the label Wax Trax! from Chicago. The EP Take One (1984) is their first U.S. release, their success there will be massive.
Gaining experience in large European festivals and U.S. shows from 1985, the band establishes itself as a very powerful live group, and EBM spreads across Europe. The albums No Comment (1985), Official Version (1987) and Front By Front (1988, including “HeadHunter” and “Welcome to Paradise”) seal Front 242’s international breakthrough and its status as an innovative and pioneering band.
Front’s vision continues to evolve toward fuller maturity after the acclaimed album Tyranny For You (1991). The two next albums, Up Evil and Off (1993) break through the classical Front formula to bring in new vocalists, live guitars and drums, along with a new producer, Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Sonic Youth). This begins redistributing roles and rules within the group, while retaining the scope of invention and the radical attitude that goes along with Front 242’s music.
During a 4-year hiatus (1993-1997), the band releases the albums Live Code, recorded during their last world tour, and Mut@ge – Mix@ge, a compilation album where The Prodigy, The Orb, Underworld, Rico Conning and others propose innovative mixes of Front 242 tracks.
The 4 original members of the band reunite in 1997 and, with German drummer Tim Kroker, start performing live again. Several live albums follow, capturing the energy and reflecting the numerous changes brought in by the versions being performed on stage.
After a long studio absence, the EP Still & Raw and the album Pulse come out in 2003, based on aesthetics of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Here, Front 242 recreates the original sound that was at the center of its art, enriched by 20 years of experience: analogue technologies and vintage machines pulsing into deconstructed tracks where emotion and research are still conveyed by a purely electronic attitude.
Having re-released their back catalogue in newer, enriched versions, and breaking from the idea that every live campaign must necessarily be preceeded by a new album, Front 242 currently continue playing throughout the world with the same level of intensity, with the same success as ever, followed and cheered by crowds of loyal fans celebrating the band’s uniqueness and renowned integrity.
FIND FRONT 242
Website: https://www.front242.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Front.242/
YouTube: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCikj0-7SgAPVROjxNcIo5cA
Photo credit: ©Mothmeister
