Plastic Bertrand
High-velocity Belgian punk that feels like a neon-lit pogo stick. Pure, unadulterated energy for when you need to turn the room into a three-minute riot.
High-velocity Belgian punk that feels like a neon-lit pogo stick. Pure, unadulterated energy for when you need to turn the room into a three-minute riot.
Plastic Bertrand is the sound of a sugar rush in a leather jacket. It is music that captures the exact moment punk rock realized it could be fun, colorful, and deeply weird. The sound is defined by driving, four-on-the-floor rhythms, jagged guitars, and a vocal delivery that feels like it's perpetually on the verge of a joyful breakdown. It is fast, loud, and unapologetically catchy.
What makes the project truly distinctive is its bizarre intersection of authentic punk energy and calculated pop artifice. While the music hits with the force of a garage band, there is a surrealist, almost cartoonish quality to the French lyrics and the hyper-compressed production. It is a world where gibberish sounds like a manifesto and the line between a serious rocker and a television personality is completely blurred.
Start with the 1978 debut album 'An 1' to hear the definitive version of this sound. It contains his massive international hit but also showcases a surprisingly wide range of styles, from straight-ahead pogo-punk to more experimental new wave textures that would define the coming decade.
Roger François Jouret (born 24 February 1954), better known as Plastic Bertrand, is a Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single "Ça plane pour moi".
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