Bernthøler

History

The band began as a musical experiment, its name taken from a line in a Virna Lindt song. Surprise success came with the single "My Suitor"/"Emotions", recorded in August 1983. After being championed in the UK by John Peel and appearing in his Festive Fifty for 1984, the group signed to the UK label Blanco y Negro. One more record followed, a long version of "My Suitor" with additional parts by Wim Mertens and Drita Kotaji.

Despite occasional gigs, the band disbanded in 1985. In 1999, radio station Studio Brussel chose "My Suitor" for its Bass-tard remix competition, won by Buscemi, who later released his version as a single and on the album Our Girl in Havana. The song was nominated by DJ Chantal Pattyn as one of the classics of Belgian new wave. It was also covered by Kahimi Karie on her 2001 album of the same name.

In 1997, Simon Rigot compiled A History of Bernthøler 1981-1985, a limited release of studio, live and other tracks covering the group's career; an official issue was published in 2004 by LTM. A 12" vinyl issue was published in 2015 by Starman Records, including the UK EP, the first single, demos from 1984 and the previously unreleased song "Heartbeat" from 1983. Several other artists have covered "My Suitor", including Figurine (1998), Das Pop (1999), De Flandriens (2002), The Arch (2011), and Elias Rønnenfelt (2025).

Post-breakup

After Bernthøler disbanded, keyboardist Manuel Poutte moved into filmmaking and took home the Palme d'Or for a 1992 short. Singer-lyricist Drita Kotaji now performs solo and as part of the duo INK. Multi-instrumentalist Simon Rigot, who played with Les Cactus and Resurrection, learned sitar in the nineties and currently plays synth, Hammond, and Wurlitzer for the Narcotic Daffodils. Bassist Pol Fourmois works as a cinema electro-technician.