Bauhaus
Resembling a convention of the undead and playing songs distinguished by spare, atmospheric guitars, sonorous, death-rattle vocals, and deliberate tempos, Bauhaus was the progenitor of gothic rock. Its founding members have gone on to pursue various other projects in the realm of underground rock.
In 1978 brothers David and Kevin Haskins formed the Craze with Daniel Ash, an old school friend. With the addition of vocalist Peter Murphy they became Bauhaus 1919, named after the German architectural group whose credo was "Less is more." The "1919" was dropped for their 1979 debut single, "Bela Lugosi's Dead," an eight-minute epic later heard in the 1983 David Bowie film, The Hunger.
An appearance on BBC radio DJ John Peel's show led to a record contract. Bauhaus became an underground success in Britain, and made the U.K. chart with "Kick in the Eye" (#59, 1981) and Mask (#30, 1981). The Sky's Gone Out (1982) was its American debut. That year the band released its biggest U.K. hit, a cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" (#15). Bauhaus' influence was also felt in the Batcave, a popular London club that took its musical and sartorial cues from the band. Burning From the Inside, more a compilation of solo songs than a band project (Murphy was ill and missed most of the sessions), foreshadowed Bauhaus' breakup later that year.
Murphy joined Japan's Mick Karn in the experimental Dali's Car; they recorded one album in 1984. In 1985 he launched a solo career. Collaborating with keyboardist/producer Paul Stratham, Murphy toned down the more excessive, arty elements of Bauhaus and emphasized his Bowie-esque vocals. He had a minor hit with 1990's "Cuts You Up" (#55), from the album Deep (#44, 1990).
Ash, along with Bauhaus roadie Glenn Campling, originally began Tones on Tail as a side project in 1981. When Bauhaus split, Kevin Haskins signed on. They released several U.K. EPs and singles plus an album, all of which have been compiled on several U.S. releases. After a 1984 American tour, Ash and Haskins dissolved the band. David J joined the Jazz Butcher, but left after the 1984 album A Scandal in Bohemia. He also released a string of U.K. solo albums in the early to mid-'80s. With their careers stalled, the members of Bauhaus planned to reunite in 1985. When Murphy demurred at the last minute, the other three decided to re-form as Love and Rockets (the name comes from the underground comic book series by Los Angelenos Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez). A more danceable version of Bauhaus' atmospherics, their initial release, 1985's Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven, went unreleased in the U.S. until 1988, but their U.K. hit cover of the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion" was included in their U.S. debut, Express (#72, 1986); they broke into the mainstream in 1989 with Love and Rockets (#14) and the Top 10 single "So Alive" (#3).
In the early '90s, Ash issued his solo debut and J resumed his solo recording, this time on an American label. Love and Rockets came under the sway of the acid house/techno sound rampant in England and returned to the studio in 1994. This new inspiration is evident on the resultant Hot Trip to Heaven, especially in the 14-minute ambient "Body and Soul" and in "Ugly," featuring Middle Eastern–inflected vocals by Natacha Atlas of Trans-Global Underground. Sweet F.A. and Lift continued to mix contemporary techno with guitar-based gloom. Their careers cooling once more, Murphy, Ash, J, and Haskins resurrected Bauhaus for a successful tour in 1998, by which time goth rock had become the subject of numerous nostalgic theme nights at American dance clubs. Crackle is a best-of that includes several rarities. Gotham is a two-disc live set taped at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom.
This biography originally appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001).
| ASSIGNMENTCompare and contrast the Gothic subculture with other music-related subcultures (i.e. the Hippie Movement, the Punk Movement, rock-and-roll) and discuss its social impact. Return to Top of Page   ial Gothic song and later became forever their legacy. Later releases were "Mask", "In The Flat Field", "The Sky Has Gone Out" and various singles and EPs.Being heavily influenced by bands and musicians such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Velvet Underground and David Bowie, a band like Bauhaus would have normally settled in to the un  derground music scene just fine. There was something different, however, in the band's lyrics and their sound which moved beyond art rock, beyond punk, and much like Black Sabbath in its day. These lyrics were what, most sources  agree, started the Gothic subculture. (Some critics do consider Siouxsie and the Banshees, formed in 1976, as the starting point.) By 1999, a Gothic subculture existed in just about every country in the world, and is especially strong in the UK, Germany, Australia, Canada and the United States.The music had a certain dark tone to it: caustic while at the same time melodic. It was fairly minimalist, but created a haunting and somewhat seductive atmosphere for the listener. This, coupled with Peter Murphy's vocals, which sprang from ghostly and wailing to bouncing and lively, for There has always been much disagreement over just what is "Gothic" Many see the culture centering on nineteenth-century Romanticism, while others see influences from medieval/Renaissance cultu  re, and still others are more Post-Modernist than anything else (These "goths" are popularly known in the scene as Rivetheads, Industrialites, or Gravers. Industrial music is as equally a part of the culture as traditional Gothic music, which encompasses Dark Ambient, Guitar Goth, etc.) One constant is that Gothic dress typically has a flair for both the dramatic and the macabre. Contrary to popular opinion, goths do not only wear black, but adopt somber tones of all colors. Fashion, accessories, make-up (for boys and girls) and home décor encompasses everything from the morbid to the languid, morose to demented, but above all: beautiful.The primary feature that distinguishes Goth from other music-related subcultures is that it is almost entirely non-  political. The Gothic community as a whole is more concerned with individual growth: achieving an appreciation of the fine arts, architecture, music, etc. Instead of gathering together to change the ills of society, the Goth scene is more or less solely concerned with cultivating the individual.Today, if one observes the patterns of behavior in society and, more notably in many schools, in some cases, youth has taken on a different pattern of behavior than previous generations. Kids no longer seek to rebel simply by growing their hair long, or by supporting a fringe political group. These days the youth "rebel" by wearing makeup, dressing in black, and listening to music that reflects their worldview; thus the Gothic culture has made its imprint on history. Instead of pushing against the class ceiling of a society that will not (often) listen, they seek to better themselves and dwell amongst those who are likeminded. As youth today mimics what Goths created almost 20 years ago, they have gone from one extreme to another. In this way the Gothic community has survived where others fell by the wayside: It is not founded in any simple ideal or slogan. It is based upon the principle that the person must beautify and cultivate him/herself if they want to improve their life. Please read the additional material about the origins of Goth contributed by Timothy Miller. Return to Top of Page - 1979: The release of Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead", normally recognized as the beginning of the Gothic subculture. -1980: Andrew Eldritch formed The Sisters of Mercy, which became one of the most long-lasting and influential 2nd Wave Goth bands. -1981: Christian Death becamesanother of the well-known 2nd Wave Goth bands. - 1983: Former members of Bauhaus (sans Peter Murphy) re-grouped as Tones on Tail. -1984: Tones on Tail becames Love and Rockets and continued to record through the 1980s and 1990s. - 1989-94: the Gothic subculture received another breath of death, or, life, when revived by bands like Nine Inch Nails (Unfortunately, the latter also led to goth becoming a trend) -April 1, 1998: Rozz Williams (Christian Death, later solo) committed suicide after battling a heroin addiction. - April 20, 1999: Two students, mistaken by the media and their peers as members of the Gothic community, committed an act of mass violence which resulted in a nationwide awareness of the Gothic lifestyle. It also led to a newfound display of unity within the culture itself. Return to Top of Page gothic.net remains a good source for general info on the Gothic culture with many links, articles and news The Darkside is a site that has much information on the goth scene and also hosts Siouxsie's Homepage, with links almost any "Dark" site on the Web Official Bauhaus Homepage has just about everything you that you would ever want to know about Bauhaus. Academia Gothic is a sort of Gothic FAQ that discusses multiple aspects of the culture and its history A Dictionary of Goth is a thorough and somewhat entertaining dictionary of goth slang Examining the Subculture is a lengthy supply of media links, a large history section, and details on drugs/vampirism/depression etc. Klubs.com has some Gothic music available for listening (Real Audio files). Gothie Portal has everything Gothic. Darkside of the Netis another lengthy links site that covers most every aspect of Gothic/"dark" culture |
