It is one of the ironies of rock music that few groups,
such as the Velvet Underground or The Doors, only
gain their influencial reputation with hindsight, long
after they have disbanded. Bauhaus broke up in
1983, yet fifteen years later their back catalogue sells
better than ever, their style still contemporary, and the
live shows at their peak are now legendary. With the
image and brooding music it was inevitable that
Bauhaus would be classified with the vanguard of the
"goth" fashion, a totally misleading confinement which
ignored their humour, experimentation and
uniqueness. Their music was dark rock 'n' roll, owing
more to Elvis Presley's 'Heartbreak Hotel' than to their
immitators pompous epics which gave the Gothic
genre a bad name.
The Craze, The Submerged Tenth or Jack Plug and
The Sockettes are not exactly internationally known
names: hardly surprising, since these (among others)
were early short-lived ventures involving two brothers,
Kevin and David J. Haskins and later, guitarist Daniel
Ash. The chemistry lacked a certain "je ne sais quoi'
until a phone call from Daniel to Peter Murphy,
ex-school friend and a like-minded 'beautiful misfit'.
Within a couple of weeks, Peter and Daniel were
writing so prolifically together that over one weekend
they had penned Dark Entries, In The Night, Boys,
Harry and numerous others that were developed by
the final line up when Kevin and David joined. Thus
the seeds were sown for what, a month later, would
be known as Bauhaus, (at one point suffixed '1919'),
drawing comparisons with the aims of its namesake,
the German art movement. Very soon after their public
debut, on New Years Eve 1978, they recorded a 12"
single, Bela Lugosi's Dead. Released in August 1979,
on the Small Wonder label, the track is an epic, the
band recording it in one take and for the price of a
bouquet of Tomb Flowers; a dark slab of music, an
auspicious debut for any group, over nine minutes
long and still sounding unlike anything else. At the
groups request, this version of 'Bela' has never been
available on any album until now, with the release of
Crackle.
Already Bauhaus' live shows were attracting attention.
Using white lights only ("Coloured lights are for
Christmas trees" - Bauhaus), videos on a single small
screen and one strobe, the group was startling,
threatening, and hypnotic, especially in the confines
of a small club.
"You may not care to have the fear of God instilled in
you at a gig, particularly from the band, but Bauhaus
proved an exhilerating exception. Audience
communication is never broached , more a sense of
intimidation that immediately demands you take an
interest - deeply explosive drums, throbbing basses
and a never ending variety of guitar sounds which
never resort to conventional methods of attack". -
Melody Maker.
Following a typically awesome show at the Rock
Garden in London, they were signed to the fledgling
4.A.D. label, releasing three singles, Dark Entries,
Terror Couple Kill Colonel and Telegram Sam and a
debut album, In The Flat Field; one of the great
albums of the 1980's - pure psychedelia with a
kick-in-the-ass; taut, dark, flawed and unique.
Released in late 1980, and containing none of the
singles, it still remains 'uneasy' listening but serves as
an inspired introduction, especially to the underrated
guitar style of Daniel Ash.
"If you can't stand Bauhaus, then I suggest you sit
down" - Peter Murphy
All of these 4.A.D. recordings have now been
remastered and released for the first time in the USA
on an expanded CD of 'In The Flat Field'.
In September 1980 Bauhaus made their debut
performances in the USA, returning the following
February for a 16 date tour. On the verge of a wider
audience acceptance, they transferred to the Beggars
Banquet label and released the single Kick In The
Eye which introduced a much more commercial sound
and dance rhythms.
"We have now left the underground but we do intend
to go back for lost weekends every now and again" -
David J.
Keeping to a policy of spontenaity in the studio, the
next Bauhaus single, The Passion Of Lovers, was
written and recorded in a day, and Mask, the second
album, was a change in style from their debut. Less
frantic and more mature, it presented a melodic,
musically broader collection of songs, while still
retaining the experimental edge. Eleven months after
it's first appearance, a remix of Kick In The Eye
returned as the 'A' side of the Searching For Satori
ep.
Though the group had been touring consistently in
the UK and abroad, breakthrough success still eluded
them. The next single, Spirit, was their first (and last)
to use an outside producer, and scraped into the UK
top 50. The group were unhappy with the
arrangement of the song so a longer and more
complete version was re-recorded for the next album.
Despite making great (if unconventional) videos and
being a strong visual attraction, the group's first real
exposure on television came from a non musical
source when Peter Murphy starred in a series of
stylish and trend setting Maxell tape advertisments
filmed by the renowned Howard Guard (who later
filmed the band's 'She's In Parties' video). This led to
a cameo performance in the movie "The Hunger", a
modern version of the vampire legend set in New
York. Bauhaus perform (appropriately) 'Bela Lugosi's
Dead' in a club visited by the leading stars, Catherine
Deneuve and David Bowie, while on the lookout for a
suitable "bite to eat".
The Bowie connection was renewed when the group
recorded cover versions of Ziggy Stardust and Brian
Eno's Third Uncle. In the late 70's and early 80's the
english music press played the lazy game of
catagorising many different artists as Bowie plagurists
if they saw a hint of mascara or the slightest glint of
'Glam Rock'. Like their contemporaries, Bauhaus had
grown up in the 1970's, so Bowie (a man not averse
to adapting a wide selection of personnas in his time)
was one of several influences. The group had already
released Marc Bolan's 'Telegram Sam", so in a
typically provocative way they knew that releasing
'Ziggy' (the theme song of Bowie's most popular
incarnation) as their next single would invite howls of
protest. To heighten the satire, the track was released
along with 'Third Uncle' and , on the 12", a live take of
The Velvet Underground's 'Waiting for the Man'
featuring a ragged duet with Nico herself. And the
sleeve incorporated Aladdin Sane's 'lightning bolt'
over the Bauhaus logo.
Probably we'll never know who had the last laugh, but
the single finally gave Bauhaus the UK top 20 hit they
deserved and the new album, The Sky's Gone Out
entered the LP charts at number four. Included free
with the first 30,000 copies was a live album made up
from shows in late 1981 and the Old Vic, London in
February 1982. Released independently later, (along
with a bonus live single and poster of group
photographs sent in by the public), the title Press The
Eject And Give Me The Tape reveals the last words
on a bootleg tape confiscated by security at the Old
Vic! Just as the live album is a 'warts-and-all'
recording of the group's on stage forte, so the studio
record was mostly written as it was recorded, creating
a patchy but personal album.
Just as the band were booked in to record a new
album, Peter Murphy became seriously ill with viral
pneumonia. The others, impatient and bursting with
ideas, decided to start without him and by the time
Peter recovered over half of the album was recorded,
leaving Murphy to reinterpret or rewrite the vocals and
only the remaining four songs were true band
collaberations. The end result was an album that
implicitly signaled the split that was to come. She's In
Parties was released straightaway as a single and,
following a series of Japanese concerts in May,
Bauhaus toured England from 11 June to 5 July.
During the final show at Hammersmith Palais and
after an unprecedented encore of six songs, David left
the stage with the words "Rest in Peace". (This show
is available complete but slightly lo-fi on CD as,
logically, Rest In Peace - The Final Concert).
Speculation was rife as to Bauhaus' future when the
new album, Burning From The Inside was issued.
Very diverse, and a product of the individual group
parts, the record received wide-spread press acclaim,
and rose into the UK top 10 before a press release
confirmed that Bauhaus had decided to go their
separate ways.
The recorded legacy continued beyond the bands
demise. When the group disbanded it was felt that, as
some fan club members had just paid their annual
subscription they should be compensated. 325 copies
of a single featuring one of the best tracks any group
has left off an LP, The Sanity Assassin, were sent out
free. This track is now released, in it's extended form,
for the first time in the USA on 'Crackle'.
Apart from a double 'best of' album (Bauhaus 1979 -
1983) which was later expanded into two CD's and
other assorted compilations, the major 'posthumous'
release has been an album of radio sessions, Swing
The Heartache, which features alternate versions and
some otherwise unissued songs. Recently a limited
edition book of Bauhaus memorabilia , Beneath The
Mask, was also published and included a CD of a
very early recording session.
Though the commercial success of Bauhaus has
subsequently been been eclipsed by the group's
individual projects (Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets
and Peter Murphy solo), their musical legacy still
remains highly influential - the mark of a truly great
band.
And on 10th and 11th July 1998, at the Hollywood
Palladium in Los Angeles, with the fastest multishow
ticket sell-out that the venue has had for over 8 years,
Bauhaus is resurrected... So why have Bauhaus
reformed now? Certainly there is a huge relevance for
Bauhaus' music in 1998, which is obviously
abundantly referenced, but also the cause of much
inspiration today. I can only speculate - but who hasn't
wondered what might have been if you hadn't split
with with an old flame? Until now the four individuals
from Bauhaus have always said 'never' but maybe
with time the curiousity of 'Why not?' creeps in. This
isn't a rusty unit that needs to revisit past glories.
While the musical section of Love and Rockets have
had their own sabbaticals, they have still continued to
work together for 15 years after Bauhaus and Peter's
five solo albums have established him as possibly the
only 'star' left in a field of purposeful anti-star
mentality. So for now the vocals are back together
with the music to have fun and explore some
unfinished business. After 20 years of working with
Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins
I've come to recognise one constant - Expect the
Unexpected!
- Steve Webbon, Beggars Banquet
