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View Full Version : Steerpike's Spotlight: Bauhaus - Beginning of a Legacy


Steerpike
01-12-2007, 10:20 PM
All right, we're getting back on track now. Joy Division uploads are late, but they will be out, damn it.

http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504585
Rites of Spring – Before Emo Was Stolen
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=506077
Joy Division - A Tragic Legend

Biography

Serendipity can result in surprising events. Sometimes they can lead to tears, sometimes to joy. Many a success story has been built on risk taking and pure chance. Circumstances come together in the right order. Events fall into place just the right way. And actions set in motion years ago come to fruition. We can only see this all either as it happens or in hindsight. And it’s how the genre of Goth rock was born, beginning with the first wave bands such as The Cure, Siouxsie and The Banshees, and most infamously Bauhaus.

Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins, and Kevin’s brother David J. were all school friends and had been playing in bands on and off throughout most of their lives. No single band they played in lasted more than a gig or two, but they did show promise. Daniel was primarily influenced by punk and psychedelia, while David’s bass work was more influenced by reggae and dub. Kevin had more of a Krautrock foundation. The odd one out was Peter Murphy, who only joined them after a long time of nagging and pressure from Daniel. Peter was a factory worker who had absolutely no experience whatsoever as a singer or writer. However, Daniel was rather insistent that he had the right persona to be the frontman of a band.

They tossed around some songs for a while, rehearsed and gigged throughout ’78, and most of ’79 under the moniker Bauhaus 1919, later dropping the second part of the name. It was derived from the Bauhaus school of design in Germany that had influenced David who always had an interest in the visual arts.

It was in September of 1979 that they finally debuted with their first single, Bela Lugosi’s Dead. According to legend, the whole song was recorded in one take in the dead of night. Though it never cracked the charts, it had enough of a cult following that it stayed on sale for years afterward, and swiftly became the anthem of the budding Goth scene.

They performed for small crowds and became a distinctive force as live band. Their moody, gloomy music was augmented by Peter Murphy’s haunted voice and reactionary stage presence. They even managed to do a recording session for BBC Radio One with the most famous and respected DJ on the air, John Peel. All of this went a long way to building up their reputation in those early days.

Another 3 singles were released before In the Flat Fields debuted in 1980. They became regulars at London’s infamous Batcave nightclub where they often found themselves sharing the bill with Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Cure, Joy Division, and Adam and The Ants. In honor of their new anthem, fans of the group would show up at gigs in black capes and fine clothes. Some would even go so far as to wear whiteface and fake fangs. A local music pundit witnessed one of these surreal shows and dubbed it, “Gothic dance music,” which was adopted by the scene and soon shortened to Goth.

The next two albums, Mask and The Sky’s Gone Out, were more experimental, the latter featuring a David Bowie cover that landed the band a spot on Top of the Pops. Everything seemed to be going pretty well. Aside from The Cure, this was the closest a Goth band had come to cracking the pop charts while the rest of the genre and its cousin Industrial were relegated to the shadows to watch as New Wave and New Romantic took off into the mainstream eye. Around the same time, Bela Lugosi’s Dead was used to score the first ten minutes of the movie The Hunger starring David Bowie.

Unfortunately, just when the band were about to record their fourth album, Peter was stricken with pneumonia. He was seldom able to make it into the studio, and David and Daniel were forced to take up the slack. The result was Burning from the Inside, a much different album and one that alienated a lot of fans. The band went on tour to support the album but went their separate ways after they were done.

Each musician went on to various solo projects and side ventures. Kevin scored video games while David pursued his visual arts work more seriously. Peter and Daniel were the most consistent in recording solo albums.

1998 dragged in and fans were greatly surprised when Bauhaus announced they were getting back together with the Resurrection Tour. They debuted two new songs, and went quiet for another few years. Speculation ran wild until 2005 when the band played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, during which Peter was lowered onto the stage hanging upside down as he sang Bela Lugosi’s Dead. Recordings of the concert were turned into the group’s first live album released that same year and titled Gotham.

The next year, they supported Nine Inch Nails for their With Teeth tour. Peter and Trent Reznor appeared on stage together several times, an honor for Trent who counted Bauhaus and Peter’s vocals in particular as one of his main influences. They debuted another two new songs on stage, fueling rumors that a new album is in the making.

The band hasn’t said one way or the other what’s going on with that, but that’s only fueled the rumor mill. A 2007 tour is planned, but no dates have been announced.

It’s been a long, strange journey for Goth rock. But it says something about the appeal of the whole scene that several of its key bands from the beginning are still around in some capacity… even though most of them don’t seem to care for the label for one reason or another. (shrug)

http://www.bauhausmusik.com/
Official Web Site

Steerpike
01-12-2007, 10:21 PM
Current Line-Up

Peter Murphy - vocals
Daniel Ash - guitar
David J. - bass
Kevin Haskins - drums


Current Label

Metropolis


Discography

In the Flat Field (1980)
Mask (1981)
The Sky's Gone Out (1982)
Burning from the Inside (1983)
1979-1983 Volume 1 (1986, compilation)
1979-1983 Volume 2 (1986, compilation)
Swing the Heartache: The BBC Sessions (1989, compilation)
Gotham (1999, live)
Crackle - The Best of Bauhaus (2000, compilation)


Mailing List

Bel Lugosi may be dead, but Bauhaus' music sure ain't. Put down your email and I'll have the bats in the belltower send these over.

Bela Lugosi's Dead
Crowds
Dark Entries
She's in Parties
Mask
Rosegarden Funeral of Sores

GenuineImitation
01-12-2007, 10:46 PM
Nice job as usual. I would be very interested in the songs.

rock15guitarist@hotmail.com

heavy metal kid
01-12-2007, 11:29 PM
Nice write up, I voted for Anthrax, I always wonder how would you make a thrash band write up.

I have Burning from the Inside, for the 80's they were a pretty dark project.

Concubine
01-13-2007, 12:41 AM
ooh Bauhaus. Nice one

Yudz_sXe@hotmail.com

Stoic
01-13-2007, 06:03 AM
AcquiredDisguise @ yahoo.gr

Their early era (=Singles and In the Flat Fields) seems pretty grim to me, I hope some of the songs you're sending are from there. I'm curious to hear how they sound like compared to The Cure. I like The Cure but find them quite poppy most of the times while the term "goth rock" refers, or it should refer, to a darker clue, which I'm hoping to hear in Bauhaus. This is the reason I wanted to check them out in the first place.

PS I didn't know their vocalist was a factory worker with no experience in music at all :p

Iron Bars
01-13-2007, 07:59 AM
This sounds interesting. You already got me listening to Joy Division a lot more again so I'd like to get the uploads (johanvanmook@gmail.com).

Votes Armoured Saint just because its a cool name.

Bartender
01-13-2007, 10:06 AM
Good stuff. I suppose I should sign up for the mailing list (eruantien@gmail.com), as I'm never really sure whether I like Bauhaus or not.

I voted for Collective Soul, because I can't remember who they are.

Steerpike
01-13-2007, 01:35 PM
Their early era (=Singles and In the Flat Fields) seems pretty grim to me, I hope some of the songs you're sending are from there.

Crowds, Dark Entries, and Rosegarden Funeral of Sores are all from the debut album. Bela Lugosi's Dead is the first song Peter Murphy ever recorded in a studio.

Bela in particular has a very spooky psychedelic sound.

PS I didn't know their vocalist was a factory worker with no experience in music at all :p

Surprise, surprise.

Anglachel
01-13-2007, 01:47 PM
Good write up. I'd sign up for the list, but I've got all those songs :p

Jom
01-13-2007, 01:59 PM
Never heard of the act (no surprise there, I bet), but still a good write-up.

I'm holding out for Anthrax, dammit.

Steerpike
01-13-2007, 11:47 PM
Anyone else up for the mailing list?

Stoic
01-16-2007, 06:53 AM
/still waiting :(

Riva
01-16-2007, 07:28 AM
I'm up for it. Sounds like I might like them.

Steerpike
01-17-2007, 10:12 PM
The uploads go out tonight. It was supposed to be yesterday, but the flu has been messing with me. My larynx is swollen more than a basketball from coughing, and my sinus pressure is so bad it feels as if my skull is trying to pop out of my skin and escape into a 1980's music video.

UPDATE: Since I've been stricken with the flu, the uploads are late again. I'm working on it right now, though, so they'll be out within the hour.

As an aside, somebody needs to break the tie between Fields of the Nephilim and Anthrax.

Stoic
01-18-2007, 06:18 AM
Glad you're better Alex :)

Wow, I've just listened to the songs -twice- and I think I've found a new love! They sound like a darker, more psychedelic and more experimental The Cure meets Depeche Mode. They've definitely struck me, I really liked all the songs. Alex, you said Crowds, Dark Entries, and Rosegarden Funeral of Sores are off their debut but I don't see them in the tracklist. Are they bonus tracks?

Steerpike
01-18-2007, 06:31 AM
Dark Entries is track 1, Rosegarden is 12, and Crowds is 17. I'm not sure where you're looking for them to not be listed. It's possible that it's because I haven't bought the album proper, but have the whole thing downloaded on my iTunes at the moment (god damn lack of jobs means no disposable income), so they might have been labelled erroneously.

Anyway, I'd say your description of their sound is rather accurate. Perhaps you can elaborate and encourage others to get in on this as well.

Iron Bars
01-19-2007, 08:23 AM
I liked the song Bela Lugosi is dead the best, the rest didn't stike anything with me (yet). Like Stoic said it sounded a bit like a darker the Cure, if it's the same with Bauhaus it will probably take me a few listens to get into.

italic zero
01-19-2007, 10:12 AM
Which album would you recommend I get first?

Steerpike
01-19-2007, 10:32 AM
Crackle is one of the few compilations I'd recommend, though if you want a full album, I'd go with In the Burning Fields.

italic zero
01-19-2007, 11:03 AM
You mean In the Flat Field?

Steerpike
01-19-2007, 11:07 AM
Yes.

Stoic
01-20-2007, 03:35 PM
I liked the song Bela Lugosi is dead the best, the rest didn't stike anything with me (yet). Like Stoic said it sounded a bit like a darker the Cure, if it's the same with Bauhaus it will probably take me a few listens to get into.

That song was awesome and it was their first hit.

I love the production of the songs, it makes them sound almost mystical, delivered with the ideal lyrical content of course. I think Bauhaus suit my definition of gothic far more than the Cure. Alex, my source was allmusic.com and according to that, the songs you said are off their first album are in fact bonus tracks. I shall finally get it, it's the piece of music I was looking for this period!

Steerpike
01-20-2007, 03:41 PM
Alex, my source was allmusic.com and according to that, the songs you said are off their first album are in fact bonus tracks.

That's the first time I've ever heard any such thing. All official track listings I found were as I described them.

Wait, wasn't allmusic.com laughed at for shoddy journalism, low standards, and a horrifying number of factual errors throughout the site? Or am I thinking of somebody else?

Stoic
01-20-2007, 03:50 PM
That's the first time I've ever heard any such thing. All official track listings I found were as I described them.

Wait, wasn't allmusic.com laughed at for shoddy journalism, low standards, and a horrifying number of factual errors throughout the site? Or am I thinking of somebody else?

Haha, I didn't know their name was that bad but this is what I believe too. The thing is I don't know any good site for non metal or non progressive bands :-\

Here's the tracklist according to another source...
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6758816&BAB=E

Well, this is not a problem, I'm getting it anyway :D


Oh and in your write up, you mention: Siouxsie and The Banshees. Do they sound like Bauhaus?

Steerpike
01-20-2007, 05:57 PM
Haha, I didn't know their name was that bad but this is what I believe too. The thing is I don't know any good site for non metal or non progressive bands :-\

Here's the tracklist according to another source...
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6758816&BAB=E

Weird.

Oh and in your write up, you mention: Siouxsie and The Banshees. Do they sound like Bauhaus?

Vaguely. Siouxsie and the Banshees have more of an alternative rock bent, but still have the same sort of experimental, icey textured sound.

Dave de Sylvia
01-20-2007, 06:04 PM
How did I miss this? Love Bauhaus.

Stoic
01-31-2007, 03:37 AM
Alright Alex, it's all your fault so now you ought to help me out :mad: Basically, I got crazy about Bauhaus and I bought In The Flat Field, which is a fantastic album, I listen to it every night in the dark before I sleep at 3:00am. Now, I want to check out the genre further and I discovered that I like Joy Division and The Sisters of Mercy. Other than these which ones would you recommend? I'm already familiar with the Cure but I find them too poppy and I wouldn't listen to Siouxsie and the Banshees because I'm not fond of female vocals :-\

EDIT
Yes, they were bonus tracks :p

Steerpike
01-31-2007, 09:35 AM
EDIT
Yes, they were bonus tracks :p

That is the wierdest god damn thing, because every track listing I checked said they were part of the original package.

Anyway, there's also Southern Death Cult who eventually became The Cult. Not as psychedelic and more rock oriented, but still classic. The 69 Eyes have a metal influence with a touch of glam. Type O Negative have some doom metal influences, but still have the classic Goth ambience. Anything Nick Cave has done is quality. Fields of the Nephilim are extremely trippy. Christian Death and London After Midnight are alo pretty ace. Rasputina is good if you're looking for something alternative as the music is almost entirely cello based.

That should keep you busy.

Stoic
01-31-2007, 10:53 AM
Excellent man, thank you, I really appreciate it :)

Dave de Sylvia
01-31-2007, 11:34 AM
Lords of the New Church!

Steerpike
01-31-2007, 11:43 AM
Lords of the New Church!

It kills me that everyone tells me to listen to them, but I can't find the ****ing albums anywhere, and everytime I try filesharing, all I get is a bunch of spyware ads disguised as songs (the fact that the files are only about 50kb is kind of a give-away).

I don't suppose you could help a brother out?

Stoic
01-31-2007, 11:56 AM
The Cult
The 69 Eyes
Type O Negative
Nick Cave
Fields of the Nephilim
Christian Death
London After Midnight
Rasputina

So so, after listening to some songs/samples I've come to this conclusion:

1. Glam :-\
2. I might check them
3. I'll definitely check them!
4. I'm not into this kind of music :-\
5. I'll definitely check them!
6. I'll definitely check them!
7. I'll definitely check them!
8. Female fronted :-\

Lords of the New Church's description is very appealing, I hope I'm luckier than Alex unless SoP uploads something. Oh and by the way I found a band called The Alien Sex Fiend which sounds like pretty good industrial/gothic. Also, Alex, do you like any Kraftwerk? I think I find a slight kraftwerk touch in some of these bands I'm checking out...

Steerpike
01-31-2007, 12:57 PM
1. Glam :-\
2. I might check them
3. I'll definitely check them!
4. I'm not into this kind of music :-\
5. I'll definitely check them!
6. I'll definitely check them!
7. I'll definitely check them!
8. Female fronted :-\

1. Ian Astbury still pwns.
2. Devils is probably their best album. The most variety and great production.
3. Type-O rule.
4. It was worth a shot.
5. They're the most likely candidate for the next write-up.
6. Classic.
7. Teh win.
8. Forgot about your aversion to that for a second.

Also, Alex, do you like any Kraftwerk? I think I find a slight kraftwerk touch in some of these bands I'm checking out...

I have to be in the right mood to listen to Kraftwerk, but progressive and Krautrock were a noticeable influence on Goth rock, especially their rhythm sections. Bauhaus, Joy Division, and Christian Death unless I'm mistaken all had drummers who were influenced by stuff like Kraftwerk.