Fronted by the late Yvon Vromman, The Honeymoon Killers were a provocative band with a strong pop sensibility. They became the darlings of the music press all around Europe (including in the UK, a rare feat for a French-singing act), and their delirious live shows gained them a strong following. Les Tueurs also included vocalist Véronique Vincent, guitarist Gerald Fenerberg, drummer Jeanf Jones Jacob III and Aksak Maboul members Marc Hollander (who is also the founder of Crammed) & Vincent Kenis.

In their earlier incarnation (1974-80), the band was called Les Tueurs de la lune de miel. Consisting of of an assortment of miscreants, taxi drivers, cooks, professional gamblers and other musical delinquents who performed a massacre on all genres, they were led by Yvon Vromman and recorded the savage "Spécial Manubre" album in 1977.


An Abridged History Of The Honeymoon Killers

1974-76
Led by the fearless Yvon Vromman, The Honeymoon Killers scour the bars and concert halls of the Belgian capital, preceded by a well-deserved reputation of being notorious troublemakers. The outcome of their shows is always unpredictable (they’re known to throw raw meat onto their audience). They are arrogant and ferociously funny. Their favourite pastime is to perform a massacre on all musical genres. No escape from their chainsaw: Hendrix, Serge Gainsbourg, Captain Beefheart, Neil Sedaka, marching band music, free jazz and punk... The band’s line-up changes practically every week. During that period, the Killers also double as taxi drivers, professional gamblers, cooks and etchers.
 
1977  
Marc Moulin offers the band to release an album on his Kamikaze label. The Tueurs strongly feel that only a live recording could do justice to their music. M.Moulin records an entire concert in a Brussels club (the Rocking Club), in early 1977, but decides not to use it. These tapes seem to have been lost, only the Tueurs' version of Jimi Hendrix's Machine Gun was salvaged, and is included as a bonus on this re-release. Marc Moulin takes the band to the studio of (future Telex member) Dan Lacksman, where “Spécial Manubre” is recorded. The line-up consists of Yvon, Gerald Fenerberg, Jeanf Jones Jacob III, Alain Wilbert, "Monsieur X" (also known as "Panuche") and Didier D. Free jazz pianist (and later noted cartoonist) Louis Joos guests on one track. "Special Manubre" is released in November 1977, as part of the first (and last) batch of 4 Kamikaze releases, alongside Aksak Maboul's "Onze danses pour combattre la migraine".

1980
Something peculiar happens: core Tueurs members Yvon, Jeanf & Gerald and core Aksak Maboul members Marc Hollander & Vincent Kenis recruit each other to revamp their respective bands… They start performing alternately under both names. They’re joined by a second vocalist, Véronique Vincent. An epic first tour brings them from Berlin to Cannes via Geneva and Amsterdam.

1981
The new album is recorded in Zürich, Brussels and London. The band is now usually called The Honeymoon Killers, and their style has changed: Yvon Vromman is now described as a cross between Jacques Brel and James Chance... The album, entitled “Les Tueurs de la Lune de Miel” (the French title of the album being the band’s English name, and vice-versa), consists of 7 songs penned by Vromman, and 3 covers of famous French tunes by Charles Trenet and Gainsbourg a.o.

1982
The album is released in the spring. The French media are perplexed: the band herald the changes that will sweep the scene several years later, but they’re way ahead of their times. “Route Nationale 7” on the other hand does become a radio & TV hit single in France and Belgium. But the Honeymoon Killers’ impact is even bigger in Germany and in the UK, where the album - although entirely sung in “foreign”- gets rave reviews in the press (the band is featured on the cover of the NME). The band start a series of tours across Europe, which will go on until the end of 1984.

1983
Second single (“Décollage”, sung by Véronique Vincent), and release of the “Subtitled Remix EP”. It had been strongly suggested to the band that they could broaden their audience if they recorded English versions of their songs. The Killers chose instead to “subtitle” them, or rather to add new, English-speaking characters to the songs.

1984
America and Japan are becoming very interested in the band. Even the French media are now fascinated by the phenomenon. The next album holds many promises, but it’s too late: proverbial “musical differences” have appeared. Véronique has written a series of songs with Marc & Vincent, and Yvon wishes to regain an undisputed leadership and take the band in another direction. The band (who have undoubtedly been forerunners in many aspects) decide to split “temporarily” in the beginning of '85, right after their first Japanese tour, and to record two separate albums. For various reasons, none of these two albums have unfortunately seen the light of day.

2009
Where are they now ? Gerald the guitarist-judoka-rocker has become a producer/sound engineer and composes film scores. Jeanf is a painter, an actor and a keen cyclist. Alain Wilbert died in 2003, and the other "old Tueurs" have not been in touch. Véronique is a painter, she also writes, and sings occasionally. Marc runs the label he founded in 1980, Crammed Discs. Vincent is Crammed's house producer, he travels a lot to Africa to record and produce Konono N°1, Kasai Allstars and more. As for Yvon, he went back to being a poker player and a painter, wrote a dozen new songs, and died tragically in September 1989.