Posted in: Rock by postpunkpixie on March 5th, 2008 | 3 Comments
A fond farewell to my personal favorite and largely underrated band, Bauhaus.
Ask the average man on the street who Bauhaus are and, depending on the man on the street you choose to ask, you’ll be told either that “it’s an art movement”, “no idea”, or “isn’t that that band that invented Goth”. Which is sad really. Bauhaus are a greatly underrated and rather important band, and my personal favourite musicians, although they did inadvertently create the “goth” genre, they have also inspired a myriad of bands from the Editors and Interpol to Nine Inch Nails and Cradle of Filth. As once again they disband, leaving what will be their final album, it’s about time they had their dues, just don’t call them a Goth band…
The Northampton post-punk quartet first burst onto the music scene with the eight minute sinister epic “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”, atmospheric, haunting and innovative the song remains a classic to this day, but they had first appeared as “Bauhaus 1919”a ragtag group of art students and an ex-printer, they had grown up listening to Bowie and Bolan, their sound heavily influenced by the glitz and sleaze of glam with the energy and mania of punk. Their look and theatrics were just as important as their sound: gaunt and stunningly attractive singer Peter Murphy, clad in fishnets and heavily made up, would mime the crucifixion to their song “Stigmata Martyr”, engage in risqué horseplay with the wild haired guitarist Daniel Ash, or drape himself around the mysterious sunglass-wearing bass player David J, while the quiet Kevin Haskins, David’s brother, thundered away at the drums in the background. Their stage shows were so integral to their being that the end of their song “Spirit” is a manic chant of “we love our audience!” The music press never seemed sure what to make of them, reviewers disliked them at the time and they often appeared standoffish or pretentious in interviews, only now do the journalists begin to sing their praises.
But there was always tension in the band, after Murphy appeared in an advertising campaign for Maxell cassette tapes, and after an appearance in the arty vampire film “The Hunger” performing “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” in which Murphy was the only band member to appear for more than a split second, it was clear the band were not going to last much longer. A bout of pneumonia Murphy contracted while the band was recording their fourth album “Burning on the Inside” left him low in the dub of most songs, and after touring for the album, the band went their separate ways, doing various solo projects and Ash, J and Haskins forming the more poppy band “Love and Rockets”.
Lucy Lockett March 6th, 2008 at 2:48 am
I used to like this music too! Bela Lugosi’s dead was my favourite!
C Jordan November 20th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
This is a first class review, of music journo standard. I’ve been around long enough to have followed serious music of this type from the late 60s. You seem not to want them in the goth genre, so I feel reluctant to admit to owning a Sisters Of Mercy album. I am aware of Bauhaus but can honestly say that I don’t know any of their stuff! Must fill this gap.Good write.
AGoth June 4th, 2010 at 8:09 am
If the ‘man on the street’ knows Bauhaus as an art movement – that’s one educated man compared to the rest.
Bauhaus did invent goth, if ‘the man’ knows that – it is not sad. It is entirely correct.
They are not underrated, their albums are patchy and mostly ‘filler’ around their excellent singles.
Rest of article is safe. IMO (Goth, real)