Being signed by famous Manchester label Factory Records early in 1980 helped Brussels based band The Names to achieve a strong reputation both in Belgium and abroad. The single "Nightshift" marked the beginning of their collaboration with Martin Hannett, the producer of Joy Division, with whom the band were to record an album ("Swimming") and two more singles ("Calcutta" and "The Astronaut"). The band was formed in late 1977 by Michel Sordinia (vocals and bass) and Marc Deprez (guitar), soon joined by drummer Christophe Den Tandt. Initially called The Passengers, they worked with female singer Isabelle Hanrez and guitarist Robert Franckson before Sordinia, Deprez and Den Tandt (now keyboards) evolved as The Names, with drummer Luc Capelle. "Spectators Of Life", their first single, was released in 1979. On their Factory, and later Disques du Crépuscule, recordings with Martin Hannett, Capelle played the drums, except for "The Astronaut" where a serious bike accident led him to be replaced by Michel Silverstein. He was back when the band reunited in 1997 to record an album ("Night Vision") under the name Jazz and with Eric Debruyne taking over on bass guitar, Michel Sordinia concentrating on vocals. The Names recently made their return on stage (with new drummer Laurent Loddewijckx) during a Factory Night event at Plan K, in Brussels, in december of 2007. A live DVD, "Nightshift", was released in 2008 by LTM. The new studio album, "Monsters Next Door", comes out this April on Str8line Records.
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