Bauhaus: A Biography of the First Gothic-Rock Band

Bauhaus are a lovely foursome from Northampton, England, and are surely rock music's first official goth band.

Bauhaus were formed in 1978 by singer Peter Murphy, guitarist Daniel Ash, bassist David J. and drummer Kevin Haskins and their name, as implied, was taken from the German Bauhaus movement. They had originally decided to call themselves Bauhaus 1919, but decided later to revert to the easier to remember name Bauhaus instead. David J. liked the name for its "stylistic implications and associations."

The gothic image of Bauhaus didn't come just from their songs alone, but because they had adopted stage acts like rising from coffins and dressing as what some might consider to be vampires (although it could be argued that Dave Vanian of rock band The Damned first perfected the vampire look). Still, it's hard to argue that Bauhaus were amongst the first of the theatrical goth bands to take to the stage in a way that would make Antonin Artaud a proud, proud man.

Bauhaus combined so many different sounds that it's impossible to pinpoint exactly what type of music that they made, or to stick them in any specific genre. Their musical style ranged from dance-ably dark and delicious songs like Kick in the Eye, which combined a funky and foot-tapping bass rhythm, to a sort of post-punk edge lined with a bit of Krautrock for good measure.

Daniel Ash, Bauhaus's guitarist and saxophonist decided after attending a large number of gigs as a teenager that the stage beckoned, and that he would one day have a band of his own, even if that only meant banging on a tambourine. He took up the guitar when he was 15 and said that he only learned to play three chords in roughly three years. While this may not have boded well for others, it didn't stop Daniel. Later on he worked very hard indeed to make a guitar not sound like a guitar and became an expert in the art of using an E-bow.

Peter Murphy was a good friend of Ash's, and while Ash was going to art school, Peter Murphy was working in a printing factory. Peter Murphy didn't have a lot of musical experience, but had the right look to front a band, and it wasn't long before Ash and Murphy were seeking out a rehearsal space to work on music together.

Daniel Ash invited drummer Kevin Haskins and his bassist brother Daniel J. Haskins to rehearsals and the as of yet unnamed band played their first official gig on New Year's Eve 1978 at The Cromwell Pub in Wellingborough.

After Bauhaus had spent six weeks together coming up with musical material, they entered Beck Studios to record their first demo. Five songs were recorded during this session, including the infamous Bela Lugosi's Dead. Bela Lugosi's Dead was Bauhaus's debut single and was released in August 1979. As a testament to just how popular the song was at the time, Bela Lugosi's Dead managed to stay in the British independent charts for two years running.

England's most important DJ at the time, Radio 1's John Peel, fancied Bauhaus and invited them to come and record a Peel session for his show that was broadcast in January 1980.

Three more singles from Bauhaus followed -- Telegram Sam (a T-Rex cover written by Marc Bolan), Terror Couple Kill Colonel and Dark Entries. 4AD released their debut album In the Flat Field later on in 1980.

Bauhaus were much too popular for 4AD and as resources were greater at parent label Beggars Banquet, Bauhaus switched labels. In 1981 Beggars Banquet released Mask.

In 1982, Bauhaus covered their hero David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust which reached number 15 on England's charts and put them on Top of the Pops, an English tradition.

Bauhaus carried on until their third album, Burning from the Inside, which contained the single She's in Parties. Bauhaus performed together on Top of the Pops for the last time with this album. July 5, 1983 marked their farewell show at the Hammersmith Palais in London.

After Bauhaus broke up, Peter Murphy went solo. Daniel Ash had put together Tones on Tail with Glenn Campling to work on his own experimental music which was more keyboard friendly than Bauhaus had been, and once Bauhaus ended, Daniel Ash invited Kevin Haskins to join Tones on Tail also, which he did.

Daniel Ash and the Haskins brothers would later go on to form alternative rock band Love and Rockets and create the huge hit So Alive.

Bauhaus reunited for a tour in 1998 and again in 2006 for a tour with Nine Inch Nails as Trent Reznor has always been such a big fan of the band and cites them as one of his largest influences. There are plans in the works for Bauhaus to record another album, so stay tuned!

Sources:
www.4ad.com/bauhaus
www.wikipedia.org