THE PARANOIACS

Belgian band that made powerful guitar-rock at the end of the eighties and the beginning of the nineties.

Exponents of the "garage-rock"-scene that sprouted up at the end of the eighties. Amidst these figured groups like Jason Rawhead, The Voners, The Paranoid Polaroid, The Mudgang, Ze Noise (winners of the 1988 version of the Rock Rally), The Romans, The Excessives, The Spanks and The Paranoiacs. None of these groups managed to "break pots" (expression in Dutch meaning "Hit the big time" or "have success"). In "Wit-lof from Belgium", the explanation given is "because of a lack in originality. It all sounds nice and good, but every country has heaps of those kind of groups. They complain and ask themselves why Front 242 makes it abroad, but that's logical : Front has a sound of its own."

Their debut album was a compilation of two earlier released mini-albums "We're the teenage lovers" and "Sometime Teenage is Spelt T.N.T.".

The album "Bananas" of 1989 was produced by the Dutch artist Thé Lau (singer of The Scene). Biggest hit in that period was the 1989 single "I've been waiting".

In the late nineties, the Paranoiacs mad a big comeback, or as they stated themselves : "The band that once refused to play beside The Ramones, the band that gained fame in almost all of Europe as the Motörhead of the garagerock, the band whose name is mentioned within the same breath as cult heroes such as The Fuzztones and The Hard-Ons, well, that band thinks it has been long enough. It is time that rock reclaims its spot in Flanders. For too long, a concert has had the appearance of an art exhibition now".
When they reunited, they first tried to find a record company. When no-one wanted them, they issued a 6-track EP on the self-invented "Fuck You Records". When Studio Brussels put "Back from Nowhere" on heavy airplay, it became a hit and the new career, with Axl Peleman of Ashbury Faith, and was on it's way again.

The band signed a record deal with I Scream Records (a small Belgian label specialized in hardcore and punk) and issued a full cd "7 Day Weekend" in November 1999, containing the entire "Back from nowhere" + six new songs. A first single from that album, a production of Frank Van Boogaert, was the Scabs-like "Dog Day Afternoon", got released a few months before.

Line-Up (1999) :
- Hans Stevens (vocals, guitar)
- Jonas Maes (guitar)
- Axl Peleman (bass)
- Stef De Rijcke (drums)
- Rafke Stevens (organ)

Buy CD's of this band at

Albums :
- We're the teenage lovers (Mini-album, LD, 1988)
- Sometimes Teenage is spelt T.N.T. (Play it again Sam! - 1988)
- Bananas (Play it again Sam! - 1989)
- Thirteen (Play it again Sam, 1992)
- Back From Nowhere (Fuck You Records, 1999)
- 7 Day Weekend (I Scream Records, 1999)

Websites :
- soon to come : paranoiacs.com.
- review of "7 Day Weekend" on this site.