Plexi Gladz

Plexi Gladz’s sole available recording — 1981’s Mind Control 7" — spawned a cult hit (Verveling [Boredom]) and over 35 years of intrigue. Who are these people? Rumours circulated that Jo Bogaert (of Technotronic fame) was involved; and artist Harald Thys. But not Siobhan Fahey. In a classic case of Chinese Whispers, Jo Bogaert turned out to be Brussels-based Paul Bogaert who together with Joost Balis and the backing of their local bar self-released the aforementioned single with little fanfare and even less distribution and promotion: copies were clandestinely deposited in record shops, without a word or a wink to the unsuspecting proprietors.

Although they rehearsed weekly between 1978 and 1982, Plexi Gladz never performed live. Besides Joy Division, neither Bogaert nor Balis seem to know the music of their obvious contemporaries: Throbbing Gristle, SPK, Club Moral, Votnik, Vortex Campaign et al. Not that you would guess: teenage bedroom punk, oddball repetitive junk industrial, adolescent noise, it’s all there.