Editing Front 242 (section)

===Rising popularity===
Front 242 became a popular musical group in Belgium, particularly for their "infamous" live performances that involved loud sound, aggressive stage presence, smoke, and bright flashing lights.<ref>Canvas (2008) Event occurs at 16:40</ref> The music press in Belgium was less receptive, sometimes interpreting their militaristic appearance, dark music, and samples from war movies - especially given the backdrop of the Cold War and [[Communist Combatant Cells|terror incidents]] in Belgium - as being pro-fascist, an interpretation that the band firmly rejected.<ref>Canvas (2008) Event occurs at 19:50</ref>

Their second album, ''[[No Comment (Front 242 album)|No Comment]]'', released in 1984,<ref name="history"/> was the first to introduce the term [[electronic body music]] in association with their sound via the liner notes, which stated: "Electronic body music composed and produced on eight tracks by Front 242."<ref name="assimilate" /> The band followed the release with a European tour.<ref>Canvas (2008) Event occurs at 23:50</ref>

It was around this time that Front 242 had some collaborations with [[Luc van Acker]], who was a familiar presence at Hill's Music. On one occasion, Luc brought his guitar and gear to the band's studio where samples of the session were used in composing the track "No Shuffle." Luc was also known to take the stage with the band at times.<ref>Canvas (2008) Event occurs at 29:30</ref>

Front 242 signed with the American label [[Wax Trax|Wax Trax!]] in 1984. At the behest of [[Alain Jourgensen]] who was working with Wax Trax at the time, Front 242 was invited to be the support band for [[Ministry (band)|Ministry]] during their upcoming tour in the United States. This tour led to the creation of [[Revolting Cocks]] by Richard 23, Luc van Acker, and Alain Jourgensen.<ref name="lost-gospels">{{cite book |last1=Jourgensen |first1=Al |last2=Wiederhorn |first2=Jon|title=Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen |publisher=Da Capo |isbn=9780306822902 |url=https://archive.org/details/ministrylostgosp00jour |url-access=registration |year=2013 |pages=75–76}}</ref>

In 1985 the band played the Seaside Festival and the first ever [[Pukkelpop|Pukkelpop Festival]] in Belgium. An incident between the band and security at Pukkelpop resulted in more poor reflections and accusations in the press.<ref>Canvas (2008) Event occurs at 32:00</ref> That year they also released the ''Politics of Pressure'' EP and a 12" for "No Shuffle."

In 1986, Front 242 turned down a contract with [[ZTT Records]] and instead signed with the [[Red Rhino]] (RRE) label in Europe<ref>Canvas (2008) Event occurs at 34:45</ref> - a sub-label of [[PIAS Recordings|Play It Again Sam]] - who released ''Backcatalogue'' and ''Official Version'' in 1987.<ref name="history"/> Trouser Press credited ''Official Version'' with helping Front 242 "emerge from relative obscurity to become a significant cult force, selling records all over the world."<ref name="trouser-press">{{cite web |last1=Fletcher |first1=Tony |last2=Frampton |first2=Megan |title=Front 242 |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/front-242/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=10 May 2021}}</ref> In the fall of 1987, Front 242 supported [[Depeche Mode]] on the first European leg of their ''[[Music for the Masses]]'' tour.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Support acts - Depeche Mode Live Wiki|url=https://dmlive.wiki/wiki/Support_acts|access-date=16 September 2020|website=dmlive.wiki}}</ref>

In 1988, ''[[Front by Front]]'' was released, and in December of that same year, "[[Headhunter (song)|Headhunter]]" (with a video by [[Anton Corbijn]]),<ref name="history"/> became the band's first club hit, reaching number 13 on the [[United States|US]] ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Dance Club Songs|Dance/Club Play Songs]] [[record chart|chart]].<ref name="billboard singles">{{cite web| url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=front 242|chart=Dance/Club Play Songs}} | title=Front 242 Chart History: Singles | work=billboard.com | publisher=Nielsen Media Inc. | access-date=25 March 2010}}</ref>