Banlieue Rouge was a

Punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band from

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, active from 1989 to 1998. They toured internationally, performed at festivals, and released seven albums. In 2015, the band reformed for a reunion concert at

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

in Montebello, Quebec and released one more album.

History

Banlieue Rouge (translated as "Red Suburb") was formed in 1989 in

,"PIONNIERS DU PUNK-ROCK QUÉBÉCOIS: Que sont-ils devenus ?"
''La Presse'', Émilie Côté, 20 May 2016. and named for the Parisian suburban communes dominated by the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

. They were heavily influenced by French punk rock bands such as

Bérurier Noir Bérurier Noir () was a French punk rock band active from 1983 to 1989. The band reformed from 2003 to 2006. The band is associated with anarcho-punk. Materials related to the band were donated to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France The ...

, and all of their lyrics were in French. The original members were Safwan Hamdi (vocals, rhythm guitar), Sylvain David (guitar), and bassist Xavier Pétermann. They began with a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

, but eventually replaced that with drummer Jef (Jean-François Désourdy). The band's debut album, ''En Attendant Demain'' was released in 1990. Their second album was ''Que Tombent Les Masques'', released in 1992. They gained considerable popularity in France and Quebec with the release of their third studio album, 1993's ''Engrenages''. In 1998, Banlieue Rouge participated in the Pollywog Tour in Canada, with headliners

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

. They released two more albums: ''Au Coeur De La Tempête'' in 1994 and, in 1996, ''Sous Un Ciel Écarlate''. In late 1998, after four full-length

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

(plus one live and one best-of) and ten years of touring in America and Europe, the band broke up. Xavier went on to form Corrigan Fest, later joined by Sylvain. They played traditional Celtic music mixed with punk. Later Petermann produced video games and Sylvain taught literature at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

. Safwan went on to form Akuma, an angrier, louder bi-lingual

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band, and later operated a tattoo studio. On May 25, 2003, Banlieue Rouge made its entire catalogue available for free downloading. In 2015, Banlieue Rouge reunited to perform at

Montebello Rock Montebello Rock, formerly known as Amnesia Rockfest and Montebello Rockfest, was an annual outdoor Rock festival that took place each June in Montebello, Quebec. Founded in 2005 by then 17-year-old local resident Alex Martel, it became the larg ...

, aka Amnesia Rockfest, in Montebello, Quebec. A live album ''Sans Reddition'', was recorded at the event and released in 2016."Le groupe punk culte québécois Banlieue Rouge lance un nouvel album live"
''Voir''. Olivier Boisvert-Magnen. 9 March 2016

Discography

Studio Albums * ''En attendant demain'' (Waiting for Fomorrow) (1990), Division Nada * ''Que tombent les masques'' (May the Masks Fall) (1992), Tir groupé * ''Engrenages'' (Gears) (1993), Tir groupé * ''Sous un ciel écarlate'' (Under a Scarlet Sky) (1996), Tir groupé Live Albums * ''Au cœur de la tempête'' (In the Heart of the Storm) (1994), Tir groupé * ''Sans Reddition'' (Without Surrender) (2016), Independent Compilations *''Division Nada I'' (1991), Division Nada * ''Best of Banlieue Rouge'' (1995), Tir groupé * ''Banlieue Rouge'' (1997), Mad Butcher Records (Germany)

References

External links

Banlieue Rouge - Audio/Vidéo
(French) — Features MP3 downloads (with the band's blessing)
Corrigan Fest
Xavier and Sylvain's new combo {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1999 Musical groups from Montreal Canadian hardcore punk groups Longueuil