Pokkeherrie (Dutch for “terrible noise”) is a 1985 album by The Ex, originally released on vinyl only on the Pokabilly label. The original release included an eleven-page booklet containing lyrics & artwork and a double sided poster. It was reissued on compact disc in 1995 on Ex Records. The album comprises a collection of songs the group had performed on an anti-military tour. The title of the album is a Dutch word that means something like “so much noise” or “awful noise”. It is the first of the Ex’s albums to feature Katrin on drums, cementing the band’s core lineup that would last for nearly two decades.
After releasing a record in support of Britain’s coalminers’ strike, The Ex wrote a collection of new songs for an anti-military tour that would form the basis for Pokkeherrie. Their drummer Sabien had just left the band to move to France and was replaced by German-born Katerina, previously of the Stuttgart trio 3Musketiere. The group recorded nine songs in the newly built Koeienverhuur Studio in the basement of a newly squatted building in Amsterdam where The Ex also rehearsed and gigged at the volunteer-run Emma venue. The album was released in September 1985 and, as with previous releases, contained a poster and a big booklet full of lyrics accompanied by drawings, this time portraits of visual artists whom the band admired. The album also features text by poet Nico van Apeldoorn.
The Ex supported Pokkeherrie’s release with tours of Britain, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The album was reissed on CD, along with the rest of the band’s back catalog, in 1993 on their own Ex Records. The Ex eventually added it to their roster of online titles streamable and downloadable through Bandcamp.
(The Ex Records)
