Belpop Classics

Whoever writes "Ik voel me goed" when the bailiffs are at his door deserves a "Belpop Classics". Johan Verminnen knows all about it. He is sometimes called the father of polder pop. The man who caused a shock wave in the parish halls in the mid 70s. Fellow musician Jean Blaute talks about the Wemmel-based Joe Cocker. Former AB boss Jari Demeulemeester on the typical Verminnen-pathos. "Belpop Classics" looks at the early years of Verminnen's career: how "Ontdek de ster"opened its doors in 1969 and how none other than Will Tura helped the young Johan Verminnen find a manager - Jean Kluger. We also learn why "Laat me nu toch niet alleen" was the song of the last chance, why Brussels was not written in Brussels and how Verminnen missed out on a French career during a festival in Bourges. It also deals with the unique collaboration with Tars Lootens, which came about as a result of financial vicissitudes, with Verminnen's fight for the status of musician, but also with the painful loss of big brother Bert, who was always the artistic example for Johan. And, of course, the story of musical classics such as "Met zeven aan een tafel", "Rue des Bouchers" and "Mooie dagen". Musician Leo Caerts sums it up nicely: "He only knows one word: full throttle." With testimonials from Johan Verminnen, Lutgarde Verminnen (sister), Estelle Verminnen (sister), Luk Van Der Straeten (childhood friend), Will Tura (singer), Jean Kluger (record executive), Raymond van het Groenewoud (musician), Frans Ieven (bassist), Dan Lacksman (sound engineer), Jari Demeulemeester (director AB), Jean Blaute (musician), Tars Lootens (pianist), Pauline Verminnen (daughter), Firmin Timmermans (drummer), Leo Caerts (pianist), Bert Candries (guitarist).

Rock, pop, dance and electronic musician Daan is well on his way to becoming one of the most mythical figures in the national pop scene. September 13, 1985, Bertem. The Latest Dodo, a group of 16-year-olds, has memorized 24 songs and is giving its first performance. The guitarist, Jan Matthys, would later become the director of such great fiction series as "De Smaak van De Keyser" and "Katarakt. That evening a singer was also born. The young man in question was called Daan Stuyven. The rest is history... and that is revealed in this documentary. With testimonials from: Daan (singer/musician), Monique Dublet (mother), Jan Matthys (director/youth friend), Herman Gillis (musician), Wouter Van Belle (producer), Rudy Trouvé (musician), Isolde Lasoen (musician), Firmin Michiels (record executive), Bobbejaan Schoepen (singer/musician), Eric Smout (ex Studio Brussel), Guy Lee Thys (director), Bert Van Rooy (sound engineer).

This episode is about the colorful and musical adventures of Francis "Lou" Deprijck. In recent years, the man has been portrayed primarily as a bon vivant and notorious womanizer, but he has sold nearly 20 million records in his lavish career. Lou is now 59, spends most of the year in Pattaya, but still spends the summer months in his native Lessines. In 'Belpop Classcis', he reunites with his old pals from Two Man Sound: Sylvain Vanholme (founder of The Wallace Collection) and Pipou (who wrote the lyrics for 'Ça plane pour moi', among others). The broadcast will also feature some of Lou & The Hollywood Bananas ('Kingston, Kingston') and some of Lou's best-known musical discoveries: Viktor Lazlo and David Linx. Lou Deprijck is not only weighed in this documentary, but pertinent questions are answered, such as how did it come about that Two Men Sound suddenly sold 1,000,000 records of 'Disco Samba' in Mexico? How Lou's world hit 'Ça plane pour moi' came about? Who really sang the song and why there have been lawsuits over that question? Lou also explains why he spent the night in a Brussels police cell when his poulain Viktor Lazlo presented the Eurovision Song Contest in 1987.

Marc Moulin (1942-2008) was a musical jack-of-all-trades. With Telex he was one of the precursors of electro-pop. But he was also a jazz pianist, producer, composer, Eurovision Song Contest candidate, humorist and radio host. The lounge music he made as a solo artist for the prestigious jazz label Bluenote was visionary. Musically, Marc Moulin is always ahead of his time. With Placebo he is one of the pioneers of jazz rock. He experiments with prehistoric synthesizers (the Moog) and very unusual sounds of rhinos and water drops, always looking for a new sound. Telex's 'Moskow Diskow' grows into an anthem in electronic music, which would have inspired Michael Jackson to write 'Billie Jean'. His lounge music hits like a bomb and inspires the work of St Germain, among others. Or was it the other way around? Belpop Classics also devotes attention to the man behind the music pioneer. With the story behind Telex's noticed participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in The Hague in 1980. The story behind the tense relationship between Marc and Lio, Moulin's stage fright and the failed collaboration with the rock gods of ZZ Top. With testimonials from: Jan Hautekiet (friend and radio producer), Philip Catherine (friend and guitarist), Alex Callier (musician), Bert Joris (trumpeter), Lio (singer), Christa Jérôme (singer), Michel Moers (Telex), Dan Lacksman (Telex), Jacques Duvall (lyricist), Herman Van Laar (employee RKM), Joëlle Dagry (manager), Jean-Pierre Hautier (radio producer), Richard Rousselet (Alex Scorier Quintet and Placebo), Alex Scorier (saxophonist Alex Scorier Quintet and Placebo), Jan Van Biesen (radio producer and DJ), Alain Debaisieux (sound engineer), Gilbert Lederman (Blue Note/EMI collaborator), Thierry Coljon (Marc Moulin biographer)

In 2018, Triggerfinger, Flanders' loudest rock trio, celebrated its 20th anniversary. For years Ruben Block, Mario Goossens and Paul Van Bruystegem stubbornly followed their own path by building a rock solid live reputation without much airplay. Their breakthrough with the European public came rather by chance with a delicate cover of Lykke Li's 'I follow rivers'. The many tours occasionally take their toll, but with their camaraderie and joy of playing they beat every obstacle. Their record 'Colossus', a collaboration with American producer Mitchell Froom, proves that they keep growing artistically as well. With testimonials from Ruben Block (singer/guitarist), Mario Goossens (drummer), Paul Van Bruystegem (bassist), Wladimir Geels (ex-bassist), Ferry Roseboom (label manager), Jo Francken (producer), Giel Beelen (presenter 3FM), Frank Vander linden (fellow musician), Pieter Embrechts (fellow musician), Christophe Lambrecht (presenter Studio Brussel), Wolfgang Boss (Universal Germany), Walter Broes (producer Sin Alley) and Greg Gordon (producer Triggerfinger). Marc Moulin (1942-2008) was a musical jack-of-all-trades. With Telex he was one of the precursors of electro-pop. But he was also a jazz pianist, producer, composer, Eurovision Song Contest candidate, humorist and radio host. The lounge music he made as a solo artist for the prestigious jazz label Bluenote was visionary. Musically, Marc Moulin is always ahead of his time. With Placebo he is one of the pioneers of jazz rock. He experiments with prehistoric synthesizers (the Moog) and very unusual sounds of rhinos and water drops, always looking for a new sound. Telex's 'Moskow Diskow' grows into an anthem in electronic music, which would have inspired Michael Jackson to write 'Billie Jean'. His lounge music hits like a bomb and inspires the work of St Germain, among others. Or was it the other way around?

This episode brings the story of Jazz Bilzen, the mother of all festivals. In 1965 the Davidsfonds department in Limburg wants something different than the traditional flag waving at the annual 11 July celebration and decides to organize a jazz festival. Nobody realizes that the first edition of Jazz Bilzen is the start of an eventful festival history. Soon Ferre Grignard and Roland color outside the lines of jazz, Humo jumps on the bandwagon and Procol Harum in '67 provides a magical moment. By the end of the 60s, Jazz Bilzen grew into one of the biggest rock festivals in Europe. For the first time, Belgium hosts international rock acts like Deep Purple, The Pretty Things and The Small Faces. Jazz Bilzen becomes the annual high mass of the flowerpower generation. But the weather bumps quickly: criticism in the press about the alleged drug use at the festival and riots on the meadow. The festival is also in danger of coming apart at the seams and the lack of professionalism is sometimes painfully evident. But the audience remains faithfully in post and in the second half of the 1970s it comes to a new boom. The organizers manage to snare big names like Lou Reed, Blondie, The Kinks, James Brown, AC/DC, Ike & Tina Turner and The Police. In '77 and '78, the passage of punk groups such as The Clash, The Damned and The Kids also caused a great deal of commotion on the field. In 1978, there were heavy riots in the city. Jazz Bilzen gets a bad reputation and three years later the organizers put the obituary of the festival in the newspapers. Belpop collected a cartload of beautiful and not so beautiful festival memories from the artists, the organizers and the festival-goers. The viewers find out why Golden Earring was chased wildly, why Marc Didden was beaten up by security, why the organs in Bilzen always sounded so out of tune, and what exactly the job of the vice squad was. With testimonials from: Roland (singer), Jean Blaute (musician), Fred Bekky (The Peb