Bart De Vraantijik of Bart & the Brats told us about his love for a Kids From Belgium lick...
Bart De Vraantijik: The riff that blew my mind is most certainly "Do You Love the Nazis" by late '70s punk legends the Kids, from Belgium.
First time I heard it I must’ve been 17, I was still very much into melodic punk stuff like NOFX, but liked listening to that radio show a bunch of older guys I knew made at the time in my town La Rochelle. They’d play a lot of greasier, raunchier rock 'n' roll/punk bands like the Devil Dogs or New Bomb Turks and some older stuff too and would announce the upcoming gigs in town when there were no FB events yet.
And so I heard this song start, the super raw and crude guitar sound, just a couple of chords, the drums kicking in, the bass and snarling vocals talking about not loving the Nazis… Oh so you can also do it like this? I was taken aback, good thing I was recording the show on a tape! I listened to it again and again and this was the gateway to a yet unknown world.
I’d soon take a trip to Paris and Born Bad record shop where I would buy this record (have you checked to cover? Sheer perfection if you ask me) along with others from the Damned, Misfits, Zeros etc and would drop the old skate shoes for a pair of All Stars to go with my flea market Perfecto jacket.
The Kids are still one of my favorite band and this very song still gives shivers when I hear it. And, well, how come it is still that relevant some 50 years after it was actually recorded?
Bart & the Brats' "Brats Being Brats" is out now.
Photo by Guillaume d'Arsène
