84 FLESH / 1984
Formed: Paris, France, Europe
Henri Flesh (RIP 2017) - vocals
Michel Belllocq (aka Michael Belock) - guitar
Pierre Cosseau (aka Pierre Goddard) - guitar
Jean-Louis Winsberg - bass
Frederick Cosseau (aka Frederick Goddard) - drums
The two Cosseau/Goddard brothers and Flesh had previously been in proto punk types Angel Face, who existed between 1974 and 1977 and were clearly in thrall to The Stooges. They liked long jams and sneery, drawled vocals. Angel Face was like a French version of the London S.S., in that it included a number of musicians who were prominent on the early French punk scene: Hervé Zénouda (who had played in Strike Up with Pierre Cosseau) went on to Guilty Razors and Stinky Toys, while Patrick Eudeline & Riton Angel Face formed Asphalt Jungle. In 1976 Zénouda and Pierre Cosseau joined forces with bassist Pascal Regoli to form Loose Heart, who tapped into a pure punk sound in 1976, and left behind a demo but no vinyl releases (at least during their lifetime). For a short while Angel Face and Loose Heart existed at the same time.
After Loose Heart split, Pierre Cosseau and his brother Frederick formed a new band called 1984, with Henri Flesh, who had sung for Angel Face for a short time in '76/'77, and two other men, Michel Belock and Jean-Louis Winsberg.
In 1977 they recorded two tracks, 'Dirt' and '12 1/2', which came out on a Skydog compilation, La Creme De Skydog, the following year, by which time the band had re-named themselves 84 Flesh. Two more songs from this formative period, 'Survival ABC' and 'Juvenile Delinquency', remained in the can for over thirty years, until they were unearthed for the Henri Flesh Archives double 7".
84 Flesh's sole single, Salted City / D-Section, came out in March '78, prior to the release of the aforementioned compilation LP, the labels bearing the old band name and the cover bearing the new one. With ear-splitting guitars, it is a fine slab of fast-paced punk that will please anybody familiar with The Users and is far superior to anything recorded by better-known French bands such as Bijou or Starshooter.
When Henri Flesh left, the rest of the band morphed into the new wave art-rockers Suicide Romeo.
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles / Albums
| Salted City / D-Section (7", 1978) |
||||
Extraneous Items |
||||
| Henri Flesh Archives (2x7", as 1984, split with Angel Face, 2011) |
||||
Various Artists
La Creme De Skydog France LP 1978 (Skydog): Dirt / 12 1/2 [as 1984]
Les 30 Plus Grands Succès Du Punk France 2xLP 1987 (Skydog): Salted City [as 84]
Killed By Death #3 (Raw Rare Punk Rock 77-82) US LP 1989 (Redrum): Salted City
Les Plus Grands Succès Du Punk France CD 1992 (Skydog): Salted City [as 84]
Rare Punque Francais '77-'83 Germany LP 1993 (no label): D-Section [bootleg]
Les Punks: The French Connection (The First Wave Of French Punk 1977-80) UK 2xLP/CD 2016 (Soul Jazz): Salted City
Links
NOVA - French language obituary on Henri Flesh
