the Scabs - Belgian band
"Belgium's band with the highest degree of rock & roll"
Belgian Pop & Rock Archives
Starting off in 1982, the group made rocky debut singles (and a mini-album called Here's to you Gang) and was at the time most often compared with The Clash. Their reward was a place at big summer festival Torhout-Werchter.
The Scabs were:
Their second album For all the wolf calls, delivered by the Bollock Brothers producer Ian O'Higgins, did receive less positive criticism. The album Skintight therefore showed a whole other musical style. All the albums however contained loud rock music. Ironically the Scabs found their way to a much broader audience with their gentlest singles Stay, Halfway home and Crystal Eyes. "Ballads are the only way to get some airplay", they concluded.
The second golden period is marked by a bunch of gold status hits: Don't you know, Robbin' the liquor store, Nothing on my radio, She's jivin', their definitely all-time most brilliant Hard times and Hard to forget. Their live reputation was even better 'though. The grand finale of their shows was the Neil Young classic Rockin' in the free world. An international breakthrough came never close however.
After the complete Dog days are over (1993), guitarist Willy Willy stepped out of the band, saying the Scabs weren't experimenting enough anymore. Tjenne Berghmans, the former guitarist of Clouseau, replaced him. This didn't revitalize the band. At the end of 1996, front man Guy Swinnen decided to call it a day and Belgium's finest rock band was no more.
Discography: