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Biography
Refimprove|date=January 2008Infobox musical artist| name = Cabaret Voltaire| background = group_or_band| image = Cabaret_voltaire.jpg| origin = Sheffield , Yorkshire , England| genre = Industrial music|Industrial , post-punk , New Wave music|New Wave , techno , Electronic body music|EBM , acid house | years_active = 1973–1994| label = Industrial Records|Industrial Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade Some Bizzare / Virgin Records|Virgin Factory Records|Factory | associated_acts = Electronic Eye Hafler Trio Sandoz (band)|Sandoz Sweet Exorcist| past_members = Richard H. Kirk Stephen Mallinder Chris Watson (musician)|Chris Watson Cabaret Voltaire were a United Kingdom|British music musical ensemble|group from Sheffield , England .
Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder , Richard H. Kirk , and Chris Watson (musician)|Chris Watson , the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire (Zürich)|Cabaret Voltaire , a nightclub in Zürich , Switzerland , that was a centre for the early Dada movement.
Their earliest performances were Dada-influenced performance art , but Cabaret Voltaire later developed into one of the most prolific and important groups to blend popular music|pop with dance music , techno , dub music|dub , house music|house and experimental electronic music .
History
The band formed in Sheffield in 1973 and experimented widely with sound creation and processing. These early experiments are documented on the triple album Compact disc|CD set Methodology (Mute 2002). They eventually turned to live performance, often sharing the bill with Joy Division . http://uncommonpeople.co.uk/media-archive/bands/cabaret-voltaire Uncommon People - Cabaret Voltaire Profile In one incident, Mallinder was hospitalised with a chipped Vertebral column|backbone after the band had objects thrown at them. However, the arrival of punk rock brought a more accepting audience for their industrial music|industrial , electronic sound and they were championed by Sheffield punk fanzine Gunrubber edited by Paul Bower of local band 2.3.Citation needed|date=September 2008 In 1978, Cabaret Voltaire signed to Rough Trade Records . With Rough Trade they released several acclaimed musically experimental single (music)|singles and Extended play|EPs , including Extended Play , "Nag Nag Nag" and "Three Mantras", and album s such as The Voice of America in 1980, and Red Mecca in 1981.
During this time they toured Europe , Japan and United States|America without major record label support, releasing Hai! , a live album sound recording and reproduction|recorded in Japan, in 1982.
In 1983, coinciding with the departure of Watson (who went on to found Hafler Trio|The Hafler Trio with Andrew M. McKenzie before becoming a BBC audio engineering|sound engineer and then a solo (music)|soloist ), Cabaret Voltaire decided consciously to turn in a more commercial direction, with the album The Crackdown on Some Bizzare / Virgin Records . This decision was rewarded with the album reaching number 31 in the UK Albums Chart cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 89 - over 60 places higher than their previous (and then only) record chart|chart placing. In 1984, the singles "Sensoria" and "James Brown" from the album Micro-Phonies (album)|Micro-Phonies (also on Virgin) charted on the UK Indie Chart , as well as getting play in the underground dance scene.
In 1987, the band released Code (album)|Code , followed by the house music|house -influenced Groovy, Laidback & Nasty in 1990. A series of completely instrumental works under the Cabaret Voltaire name were released on Instinct Records in 1993 and 1994. The last Cabaret Voltaire release to feature Mallinder on vocals was the "Body & Soul" album in 1991.
Since the mid-late 1980s, Kirk began a solo career under several names, including Electronic Eye and Sandoz, while Mallinder relocated to Perth, Western Australia|Perth , Australia and records with a collaborator under the name Sassi & Loco and, more recently, in another collaborative effort the Kuling-Bros. Mallinder also helps run his own Offworld Sounds label and contributed to synthesizer and programming on Shaun Ryder 's solo album Amateur Night at the Big Top .
In 1996, Mallinder reported to Inpress magazine 's Andrez Bergen that "I do think the manipulation of sound in our early days - the physical act of cutting up tapes, creating tape loops and all that - has a strong reference to Burroughs and Gysin; in terms of the Dada thing, there's a similarity between the Dadaists' reaction to the bourgeoisie and the war and our own position - we felt alienated from popular culture ourselves. I think those kinds of attitudes become embedded within you, but I'm not sure how it relates now..." Vintage Cab Sav , Andrez Bergen. Zebra , Inpress , 1996.
Hopes of a Cabaret Voltaire reunion were raised when Kirk dropped hints in the late 1990s, the most significant being in the notes of a reissue of Radiation , but this never happened. In a special ' Depeche Mode /History of Electro-pop' edition of Q (magazine)|Q magazine, Kirk suggested he is still considering resurrecting the Cabaret name, but this time he plans to "Get some young people involved".Cite web |url= http://live-bootleg.blogspot.com/2006/11/cabaret-voltaire-three-mantras_13.html |title=Smuggled Sounds: Cabaret Voltaire: The Three Mantras |date=2006-11-13 |author=live-bootleg.blogspot.com staff |accessdate=2010-01-22
In 2001, Watson appeared in the documentary film Made in Sheffield , where he discussed the early years of Cabaret Voltaire. Since that time, Kirk has resurrected the Cabaret Voltaire name and has released new albums with New Zealand band Kora called Kora& #33; Kora& #33; Kora! and Sheffield band The Tivoli called National Service Rewind . The new material was recorded at Western Works studios.
The experimental Sensoria Festival of Film and Music is named after the Cabaret Voltaire song, and has become an annual event held in Sheffield since 2008. http://2010.sensoria.org.uk/ Sensoria 2010
Band members
Stephen Mallinder - vocals, bass, keyboards (1973–1994)
Richard H. Kirk - guitars, keyboards, tapes (1973–1994)
Chris Watson (musician)|Chris Watson - keyboards, tapes (1973–1981)
Discography
Studio albums
Mix-Up (October 1979) #12 UK Indie
The Voice of America (album)|The Voice of America (July 1980) #3 UK Indie
Red Mecca (August 1981) #1 UK Indie
2x45 (May 1982) #1 UK Indie, #98 UK
The Crackdown (August 1983) #31 UK
Johnny Yesno (November 1983) #8 UK Indie
Micro-Phonies (album)|Micro-Phonies (November 1984) #69 UK
Drinking Gasoline (April 1985) #71 UK
The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (album)|The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord (October 1985) #57 UK
Code (Cabaret Voltaire album)|Code (October 1987)
Groovy, Laidback and Nasty (album)|Groovy, Laidback and Nasty (June 1990)
Body and Soul (Cabaret Voltaire album)|Body and Soul (March 1991)
Golden Moments Of Cabaret Voltaire (1987) ( compilation album )
Eight Crepuscule Tracks (1988)
Listen Up With Cabaret Voltaire (1990) (compilation)
The Living Legends (1990) (compilation)
Technology:Western Re-Works 1992 (June 1992)
Remixed (2001)
'' The Original Sound of Sheffield '83/'87 (2001) (compilation)
''Conform to Deform '82/'90 (2001) (compilation)
'' The Original Sound of Sheffield '78/'82 (2002) (compilation)
''Methodology '74/'78: The Attic Tapes (2002) ( demo (music)|demos )
Singles/EPs
Extended Play (Cabaret Voltaire EP)|Extended Play EP (tracks: "Talkover" / "Here She Comes Now" / "Do The Mussolini (Headkick)" / "The Set Up") (July 1978)
"Baader-Meinhof" / "Sex in Secret" on A Factory Sample (January 1979)
"Nag Nag Nag" / "Is That Me Finding Someone at the Door Again" (live 75) (April 1979)
"Silent Command" / "Chance versus Causality" (October 1979) #10 UK Indie Chart|UK Indie
" Three Mantras " (January 1980) #10 UK Indie
"Seconds Too Late" / "Control Addict" (September 1980) #8 UK Indie
"Sluggin' fer Jesus" / "Your Agent Man" (March 1981)
"Eddie's Out" / "Walls of Jericho" (July 1981) #6 UK Indie (initial copies included free 7" single "Jazz the Glass" / "Burnt to the Ground")
" Yashar " / "Yashar (alternative mix)" (Factory Records (FAC 82); 1982) #6 UK Indie
"Fools Game (Sluggin' fer Jesus Part 3)" / "Gut Level" (1982)
"Crackdown" / "Just Fascination" (double A side 12") (July 1983)
"Just Fascination" / "Empty Walls" (July 1983) UK #94
"The Dream Ticket" / "Safety Zone" (November 1983)
"Sensoria" (October 1984) UK #96
"James Brown" (January 1985) UK #100
" Drinking Gasoline " Virgin (April 1985)
"I Want You" (October 1985) UK #91
"Shakedown" (March 1986)
"The Drain Train" (July 1986) #5 UK Indie
"Don't Argue" (February 1987) #69 UK Singles Chart|UK
"Here To Go" (September 1987) #16 United States|U.S. Hot Dance Club Play|Dance , UK #88
Acid Horse featuring Al Jourgensen , Chris Connelly (musician)|Chris Connelly and Bill Rieflin with Mallinder and Kirk.
Hafler Trio featuring Watson.
Sandoz (band)|Sandoz featuring Kirk.
Sweet Exorcist featuring DJ Parrot and Kirk.
The Pressure Company featuring Kirk.
Xon featuring Kirk.
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.brainwashed.com/cv/ Unofficial Cabaret Voltaire site with extensive discography
Cabaret Voltaire DEFAULTSORT:Cabaret Voltaire Band Category:British industrial music groups Category:British experimental musical groups Category:British New Wave musical groups Category:Electronic music groups Category:English electronic music groups Category:Experimental musical groups Category:Factory Records artists Category:Industrial rock musical groups Category:Music in Sheffield Category:Musical groups established in 1973 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1994 Category:British post-punk music groups Category:Remixers Category:Rough Trade Records artists Category:Virgin Records artists
