Funeral Dress - Sing along Pogo Punk! 

What began in 1985 as an effort to bring some life in the almost dead Belgian punkscene has evolved into one of the longest lasting bands in their genre. 7 studio albums, 1 DVD, 11 US Tours, tons of shows around Europe, and still around. 

Late 1986, early ’87 Funeral Dress recorded 5 songs for a demo and released their first single “Army Life”. It was a very basic 4-track recording but it laid out the ground works for numerous future releases. 

After this release the band got more and more gigs and started to build up a loyal following. In 1990 they released their first full-length album “Free Beer For The Punx“. This album contains some classics, such as ”Sex, Drugs and Rock’n Roll”, “The pogo never stops”, “I’m in love with Oi” and the sing-along title track. 

During the nineties, they played more and bigger shows with bands like GBH, The Exploited, Sham 69, X Ray Spex and many more. They also released their 2nd album “Songs about sex, beer and punkrock” and did their first USA tour in 1998. 

In 2000 they launched their 3rd album “Party Political Bullshit” followed by another US tour with their good friends The Casualties, The Virus and Endless Struggle. In 2001 the 4th studio album “A way of life” got released, promoted by numerous gigs all over Europe and another US Tour in 2002. 

By the end of 2002, a few new members joined the band. This line up proved to be the most productive ever. The first single of the new line up (“Party On”) became an instant hit on Belgium’s national radio and stayed in the charts for 18 weeks. Ensuring lots of gigs all over Belgium, Europe, Russia and the USA. Funeral Dress also shared the stage with bands as diverse as Simple Minds, Deep Purple, and many more. Since 2002, this line up released 3 studio albums: “Come On Follow” (2004), “Hello From The Underground” (2006) and “Global Warning” (2009). Funeral Dress also appeared in 2 movies: “Ex Drummer” and “Punk’s not dead - the movie” and reached the Belgian charts several times after “Party On”. 

At the end of 2012, while working on their 8th studio album, long time member Ivo decided to leave the band after 22 years. The other members (Dirk, Strum, Stef & Joost) decided to go on. They recorded all finished songs and started auditions for a new guitar player. A few months later, Qrizz joined the band and Funeral Dress left for their 11th US-tour, including an appearance at the Punk Rock Bowling festival in Las Vegas. Funeral Dress was, together with Turbonegro and The Damned, the only European band on the bill of the biggest punk festival in the USA. November 2013, German label ‘Contra Records’ released their new EP ‘Back on The Streets’. 

With a new line up, Funeral Dress hit the stage again all over Europe, including festivals such as Groezrock (with The Offspring, NoFx, The Hives), Rebellion Amsterdam (with Cock Sparrer, The Damned) and Rebellion Blackpool (with Stiff Little Fingers, Biohazard, NoFx), right on their way to celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2015. 

Back to the USA (eastcoast) in 2016, numerous shows in Belgium, as well as Athens, Berlin & the UK.

In the meantime, Strum was replaced by Ben, who played with Funeral Dress some 20 years before re-joining the band. Groundworks for the last album ever started, with a tentative release date of February 2025.

Funeral Dress played at Alcatraz Festival (2021, 2022 & 2024) and has scheduled several shows both coinciding with the release of "Goodbye?", the band's last album and the 40th anniversary of the band.

PARTY ON!