Bauhaus (band)

Nice quality video recorded live from Top Of The Pops 1983. Bauhaus were an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy (vocals), Daniel Ash (guitar), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J (bass). The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation. With their dark and gloomy sound and image, Bauhaus are generally considered the first gothic rock group. Bauhaus first broke up in 1983. Peter Murphy began a solo career while the other members continued as Tones on Tail and, later, Love and Rockets. Both enjoyed greater commercial success in the United States than Bauhaus had, but disappeared from the charts in their homeland. The band reunited for a 1998 tour and on a more permanent basis in 2005. The group announced plans to disband again following the release of their final album, Go Away White, in 2008. The band chose the name Bauhaus 1919, a reference to the German Bauhaus art movement of the 1920s, because of its "stylistic implications and associations", according to David J. The band also chose to use the same typeface used on the Bauhaus college building in Dessau, Germany. Bauhaus associate Graham Bentley said that the group was unlike any Northampton band of the time, most of which played predominantly cover songs. Bentley videotaped a performance by the group, which was sent to several record labels in the hope of obtaining a contract. This approach was hindered partly because many record companies at the time did not have home video equipment or Bentley had to provide it himself, so the group decided to record a demo. Together for only six weeks, Bauhaus entered the studio for the first time at Beck Studios in Wellingborough to record a demo. The band recorded five songs; one of the tracks from the session, "Bela Lugosi's Dead", running more than nine minutes, was released as the group's debut single in August 1979 on Small Wonder Records as Bauhaus (the 1919 abandoned). The single received a positive review in Sounds and stayed on the British independent charts for two years. The song received crucial airplay on BBC Radio 1 and DJ John Peel's evening show, and Bauhaus was subsequently asked to record a session for Peel's show, which was broadcast on January 3, 1980. The band released three more singles, "Dark Entries", "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" and "Telegram Sam"—originally written by glam rock pioneers T.Rex—before the debut of their first album In the Flat Field in 1980 on 4AD. Despite negative reviews, In the Flat Field topped the indie charts and made headway onto the British pop charts, peaking for one week at number seventy-two. Bauhaus reunited for the "Resurrection Tour" in 1998, which featured a new song, "The Dog's a Vapour", which was also included in the soundtrack for the film Heavy Metal 2000. A live album recorded during the tour, Gotham, was released the following year and included a studio recording of a Dead Can Dance cover, "Severance". Bauhaus reunited again in 2005, playing that year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. At the opening of their set, Peter Murphy was lowered to the stage upside-down singing "Bela Lugosi's Dead". Following Peter Murphy's 2005 tour, Bauhaus embarked on a full tour beginning in North America and Mexico in the Autumn of 2005 and ending in Europe in February 2006. The band also mentioned that they hoped to record new music following the tour. In May 2006 the band toured with Nine Inch Nails on the summer leg of their tour. Bauhaus released their first new studio album since 1983, Go Away White, in 2008. This marked the end of the band and there was no supporting tour. Drummer Kevin Haskins said in an interview that they "were getting along really well, but there was an incident that occurred." As a result, "some of us just felt that we didn't want to carry on as a working unit". In an interview with SuicideGirls, bassist David J said about the breakup: "You have a test tube, and you pour in one chemical, and you pour in another chemical, and something happens. It starts to bubble. Pour in another chemical, and it starts to bubble a bit more. You pour in a fourth chemical, and it bubbles really violently, and then explodes. That's my answer". Peter Murphy claimed in another interview that "... he was most satisfied with the bonding on an emotional level. It was good to be working together and to put the past behind us and it was very positive. The result was coming out really fast, so it was exciting and it was very enjoyable," but in the end "... that rocky character worked and I think it was a bit right to finish it, really." Please visit me other Channel. Keep Rockin!. http://www.youtube.com/user/squizzy104?feature=mhum#p/u/3/se0F7dEZ-zs

• published: 02 Apr 2011
• views: 28850