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BAUHAUS
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) return with their 14th studio album Bauhaus Staircase, over six years after the triumph of their Top 4-charting record The Punishment of Luxury. The album was born from the impetus to kickstart new explorations during lockdown when as Andy McCluskey admits: “I rediscovered the creative power of total boredom.”
The album’s first offering as a single is the title track which serves as a nod both to Andy McCluskey’s love of the Bauhaus era & the power of protest art. “I am a huge lover of visual arts especially mid 20th century movements” Andy comments. “The song is a metaphor for strength and artist passion in the face of criticism and adversity. When times are hard there is a tendency for Governments to look at cutting funding for creativity just at the moment when the arts are most needed to nourish our souls. It seems appropriate that the song and its eponymous album were created during Covid Lockdown.”
Ranging further from the beautiful film noir ballad of ‘Veruschka’ and the dance stylings of ‘Anthropocene’ - a term for the current epoch in Earth’s evolution to the sinister ‘Evolution Of Species’ and the hectic ‘Kleptocracy’ - OMD’s greatest straight-up protest song - the new album is a broad electronic sonic masterpiece that lyrically tackles the topics of the future. The record closes on ‘Healing’ - a moment of reflective calm.
By rights OMD should be in semi-retirement performing classics like Enola Gay and Maid Of Orleans on the nostalgia festival circuit like so many peers. Instead they’ve created a landmark album worthy of their finest work. Bauhaus Staircase remains unmistakably the work of a duo who are still perfectly in sync 45 years after their first gig at legendary Liverpool club Eric’s.
“I’m very happy with what we’ve done on this record" McCluskey summarises. “I’m comfortable if this is OMD’s last statement.”
The album’s first offering as a single is the title track which serves as a nod both to Andy McCluskey’s love of the Bauhaus era & the power of protest art. “I am a huge lover of visual arts especially mid 20th century movements” Andy comments. “The song is a metaphor for strength and artist passion in the face of criticism and adversity. When times are hard there is a tendency for Governments to look at cutting funding for creativity just at the moment when the arts are most needed to nourish our souls. It seems appropriate that the song and its eponymous album were created during Covid Lockdown.”
Ranging further from the beautiful film noir ballad of ‘Veruschka’ and the dance stylings of ‘Anthropocene’ - a term for the current epoch in Earth’s evolution to the sinister ‘Evolution Of Species’ and the hectic ‘Kleptocracy’ - OMD’s greatest straight-up protest song - the new album is a broad electronic sonic masterpiece that lyrically tackles the topics of the future. The record closes on ‘Healing’ - a moment of reflective calm.
By rights OMD should be in semi-retirement performing classics like Enola Gay and Maid Of Orleans on the nostalgia festival circuit like so many peers. Instead they’ve created a landmark album worthy of their finest work. Bauhaus Staircase remains unmistakably the work of a duo who are still perfectly in sync 45 years after their first gig at legendary Liverpool club Eric’s.
“I’m very happy with what we’ve done on this record" McCluskey summarises. “I’m comfortable if this is OMD’s last statement.”
TRACK LISTING
TRACKLIST: CD / LP / LPC
1. Bauhaus Staircase
2. Anthropocene
3. Look At You Now
4. G.E.M.
5. Where We Started
6. Veruschka
7. Slow Train
8. Don't Go
9. Kleptocracy
10. Aphrodite's Favourite Child
11. Evolution Of Species
12. Healing
2CD
1. Bauhaus Staircase 2.7 Demo. Andy 30th Aug 2020
2. Anthropocene Demo (A Haven For Lost Souls 1.1 Paul’s Track April 2020)
3. Look At You Now Demo (Zimmer Frame For Andy) Paul 28th Feb 2021
4. G.E.M. Demo (Culture War. Andy 6th March 2021)
5. Where We Started Demo (Stadium 6.0) Andy 26th May 2020
6. Veruschka 2 Demo 2nd December 2020
7. Slow Train Demo 1.3 Dec 2020
8. Don’t Go Demo 14th Nov 2018
9. Kleptocracy Demo (When I Was Young) Andy 14th March 2021
10. Aphrodite’s Favourite Child Demo (B Side Choir) Fotonovela 2011
11. Evolution Of Species 2.5 Ruff
12. Healing Demo (Water April 9th 2020)
13. Bauhaus Staircase Demo. Andy 20th July 2020
The Bela Session is UK post-punk pioneers Bauhaus’ debut studio recording made in 1979. It includes the immensely influential “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”, which is the band’s first single and often considered the first gothic rock record, and has been covered by artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and Nouvelle Vague.
Complete recording session with previously unreleased tracks mastered from the original tape by Mandy Parnell who has worked with artists such as Frightened Rabbit, Björk and more.
20x28in archival poster from the band’s performance at Plan K, Brussels on April 5th, 1980.
Complete recording session with previously unreleased tracks mastered from the original tape by Mandy Parnell who has worked with artists such as Frightened Rabbit, Björk and more.
20x28in archival poster from the band’s performance at Plan K, Brussels on April 5th, 1980.
TRACK LISTING
1. Bela Lugosi’s Dead
2. Some Faces
3. Bite My Hip
4. Harry
5. Boys
Debut album from Manchester-via-Italy singer, songwriter and guitarist Julia Bardo.
Produced and mixed by Younghusband’s Euan Hinshelwood, the record firmly establishes Bardo’s musical adventurousness and prowess, and marks a cathartic and self-affirming moment for an artist who found her voice by realizing it's been there all along.
The album is best summed up by the woman who wrote it all: “Bauhaus, L’Appartamento is about loneliness, solitude, separation...but also unconditional love,” Bardo reveals of the record’s overarching themes. “Family, emotional dependency, mental health issues, feelings of emptiness and numbness, feelings of not being enough, inability to be in control of my own emotions, self-doubt, self-reflection, past traumas and dealing with them.”
Named after the apartment complex she lived in when demoing the album’s recordings, but with an Italian twist.
Follows the release of two EPs, Phase and The Raw EP, which saw her experiment further with her wistful and mysterious sound to become the alternative pop artist she is today.
Her musical journey began in Brescia in Northern Italy, where she sang and wrote lyrics for a local band between shifts at her father’s bar. A free spirit craving new inspiration, she relocated to Manchester and it was here she developed her striking style as a solo musician before also meeting and joining post-punk band Working Men’s Club. Never losing her strong desire to have full creative control over her music, she returned to become a solo artist again.
Produced and mixed by Younghusband’s Euan Hinshelwood, the record firmly establishes Bardo’s musical adventurousness and prowess, and marks a cathartic and self-affirming moment for an artist who found her voice by realizing it's been there all along.
The album is best summed up by the woman who wrote it all: “Bauhaus, L’Appartamento is about loneliness, solitude, separation...but also unconditional love,” Bardo reveals of the record’s overarching themes. “Family, emotional dependency, mental health issues, feelings of emptiness and numbness, feelings of not being enough, inability to be in control of my own emotions, self-doubt, self-reflection, past traumas and dealing with them.”
Named after the apartment complex she lived in when demoing the album’s recordings, but with an Italian twist.
Follows the release of two EPs, Phase and The Raw EP, which saw her experiment further with her wistful and mysterious sound to become the alternative pop artist she is today.
Her musical journey began in Brescia in Northern Italy, where she sang and wrote lyrics for a local band between shifts at her father’s bar. A free spirit craving new inspiration, she relocated to Manchester and it was here she developed her striking style as a solo musician before also meeting and joining post-punk band Working Men’s Club. Never losing her strong desire to have full creative control over her music, she returned to become a solo artist again.
STAFF COMMENTS
Emily says: Julia Bardo: Local talent alert!! Gorgeous, off kilter pop songs which have more bite to them than you might expect. Sonorous vocals and deft melodic interplay met with moments of jangling dissonance. FFO Cate Le Bon and Aldous Harding!
Classic compilation, now back in stock across two CD albums.
‘1979-1983’ was originally released as a double album on vinyl in 1985 and then split into two volumes for release the following year. Together they offer an in-depth introduction to one of the most influential bands of recent times.
‘1979-1983’ was originally released as a double album on vinyl in 1985 and then split into two volumes for release the following year. Together they offer an in-depth introduction to one of the most influential bands of recent times.
TRACK LISTING
Kick In The Eye
Hollow Hills
In Fear Of Fear
Ziggy Stardust
Silent Hedges
Lagartija Nick
Paranoia, Paranoia
Swing The Heartache
Third Uncle
Spirit
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything
Slice Of Life
She’s In Parties
The Sanity Assassin
Who Killed Mr. Moonlight
Satori
Crowds
Classic compilation, now back in stock across two CD albums.
‘1979-1983’ was originally released as a double album on vinyl in 1985 and then split into two volumes for release the following year. Together they offer an in-depth introduction to one of the most influential bands of recent times.
‘1979-1983’ was originally released as a double album on vinyl in 1985 and then split into two volumes for release the following year. Together they offer an in-depth introduction to one of the most influential bands of recent times.
TRACK LISTING
Double Dare
In The Flat Field
Dark Entries
Stigmata Martyr
Bela Lugosi’s Dead
A God In An Alcove
Telegram Sam
St. Vitus Dance
A Spy In The Cab
Terror Couple Kill Colonel
Dancing
Hair Of The Dog
The Passion Of Lovers
Mask
Late 2018 will mark the 40th anniversary of Bauhaus. To celebrate, Beggars Arkive is reissuing six records from the band’s catalogue on limited edition coloured vinyl.
Formed in 1978, The legendary and hugely influential quartet hailed from Northampton, England and is comprised of Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins. The dark, dramatic music that they made, possessed far more force, variety and playfulness than the "founding fathers of goth" tag that is always attached to them.
Bauhaus' landmark debut album, In the Flat Field, came out towards the end of 4AD's first eventful year. Following the plan at the time, the band then "moved upstairs" to Beggars Banquet, for whom they cut three further albums before dissolving in 1983. They charted with their cover of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”, they’ve been and namechecked by everyone from Nine Inch Nails, Sepultura, Janes Addiction, MGMT, Interpol, Bjork, Nirvana and more. They remain a huge cult concern, periodically reforming to wow their legions of dedicated followers.
Released in 1982, this is a live album, compiled from shows across the UK from 1981–82. Press the Eject… features a striking version of John Cale’s “Rosegarden Funeral Of Sores,” a particularly spooky run-through of “Hollow Hills” that out-creeps the studio version on Mask, and the punk rock fuzz-out of “Dark Entries”. Of course, “Bela…” appears here as well, in a luxurious nine-and-a-half-minute version. Washed in feedback and ever-so subtly accelerating and decelerating, this song is the true center of “Goth” mythology. This was mastered from HD audio files transferred from the original tapes.
Formed in 1978, The legendary and hugely influential quartet hailed from Northampton, England and is comprised of Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins. The dark, dramatic music that they made, possessed far more force, variety and playfulness than the "founding fathers of goth" tag that is always attached to them.
Bauhaus' landmark debut album, In the Flat Field, came out towards the end of 4AD's first eventful year. Following the plan at the time, the band then "moved upstairs" to Beggars Banquet, for whom they cut three further albums before dissolving in 1983. They charted with their cover of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”, they’ve been and namechecked by everyone from Nine Inch Nails, Sepultura, Janes Addiction, MGMT, Interpol, Bjork, Nirvana and more. They remain a huge cult concern, periodically reforming to wow their legions of dedicated followers.
Released in 1982, this is a live album, compiled from shows across the UK from 1981–82. Press the Eject… features a striking version of John Cale’s “Rosegarden Funeral Of Sores,” a particularly spooky run-through of “Hollow Hills” that out-creeps the studio version on Mask, and the punk rock fuzz-out of “Dark Entries”. Of course, “Bela…” appears here as well, in a luxurious nine-and-a-half-minute version. Washed in feedback and ever-so subtly accelerating and decelerating, this song is the true center of “Goth” mythology. This was mastered from HD audio files transferred from the original tapes.
TRACK LISTING
In The Flat Field (Live @ The Old Vic, London)
Rose Garden Funeral Of Sores (Live @ The Old Vic, London)
Dancing (Live @ The Royal Court, Liverpool)
The Man With X-Ray Eyes (Live @ Hammersmith Palais, London)
Bela Lugosi Is Dead (Live @ The Old Vic, London)
The Spy In The Cab (Live @ The Royal Court, Liverpool)
Kick In The Eye (Live @ The Royal Court, Liverpool)
In Fear Of Fear (Live @ The Royal Court, Liverpool)
Hollow Hills (Live @ The Old Vic, London)
Stigmata Martyr (Live @ The Royal Court, Liverpool)
Dark Entries (Live @ The Royal Court, Liverpool)
Terror Couple Kill Colonel (Live @ Le Rose Bon, Paris)
Double Dare (Live @ Le Rose Bon, Paris)
In The Flat Field (Live @ Le Rose Bon, Paris)
Hair Of The Dog (Live @ Le Rose Bon, Paris)
Of Lilies And Remains (Live @ Le Rose Bon, Paris)
Waiting For The Man (Live @ Fagins, Manchester)
UK post-punk pioneers Bauhaus' immensely influential “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” – originally released in 1979 – is considered the original gothic rock record.
The first official vinyl reissue of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and first release of complete recording session (including 3 previously unreleased tracks), mastered by Mandy Parnell.
The live version of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” was in iconic 1983 film The Hunger. It has been covered by Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and Nouvelle Vague.
The first official vinyl reissue of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and first release of complete recording session (including 3 previously unreleased tracks), mastered by Mandy Parnell.
The live version of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” was in iconic 1983 film The Hunger. It has been covered by Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and Nouvelle Vague.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: A seminal recording from one of the forbears of the gothic rock movement seeing such a resurgence at the moment. The Bela sessions includes the (almost) titular lead track (worth the entrance price alone) and three more unreleased gems. Essential.TRACK LISTING
1. Bela Lugosi's Dead (Official Version)
2. Some Faces
3. Bite My Hip
4. Harry
5. Boys
‘In The Flat Field’ (Re-mastered in 2008): Few debut albums ever arrived so nearly perfectly formed. That ‘In The Flat Field’ practically single-handedly invented what remains for many as the stereotype of goth music - wracked, at times spindly vocals about despair and desolation of many kinds, sung over mysterious and moody music - demonstrates the sui generis power of both the band and its work. This said, perhaps the best thing about the album isn’t what it’s supposed to sound like, but what it actually does - an awesomely powerful, glam-inspired rock band firing on all fours, capable of restraint and complete overdrive, fronted by a charismatic, storming frontman. ‘In The Flat Field’ started off Bauhaus’ album career with a near-perfect bang.
‘Mask’ (Re-mastered in 2008): Managing the sometimes hard-to-negotiate trick of expanding their sound while retaining all the qualities which got them attention to begin with, on ‘Mask’ the members of Bauhaus consciously stretched themselves into newer areas of music and performance, resulting in an album that was arguably even better than the band’s almost flawless debut. More familiar sides of the band were apparent from the get-go - opening number ‘Hair Of The Dog’, one of the band’s best songs, starts with a double-tracked squalling guitar solo before turning into a stomping, surging flow. The energy wasn’t all just explosive angst and despair, though. The one-two punches of ‘Kick In The Eye’ and ‘In Fear Of Fear’ have as much hip-shaking groove and upbeat swing to them as portentous gloom. Elsewhere, numerous flashes of the band’s quirky sense of humour - something often missed by both fanatical followers and negative critics alike - make an appearance. Add to that three of the most dramatic things the band ever recorded - the charging, keyboard-accompanied ‘The Passion Of Lovers’, the slow, dark fairy-tale-gone-wrong ‘Hollow Hills’, and the wracked, trudging title track, where the sudden appearance of an acoustic guitar turns a great song into a near-perfect blend of ugliness and sheer beauty - and the end result was a perfect trouncing of the sophomore-slump myth.
‘The Sky’s Gone Out’ (Re-mastered in 2013): More fragmented in origin than it might appear on first glance (the lead off track, a phenomenal, nuclear-strength rip through Brian Eno’s ‘Third Uncle’, featuring some fantastic soloing from Ash, came from a BBC radio session performance), ‘The Sky’s Gone Out’ was caught between the expectations of an audience now thoroughly embracing the incipient goth genre, with all the built-in limitations such expectations often provide, and a band which wanted to please them while still following its own muse. ‘The Sky’s Gone Out’ feels more like a compilation than anything else. Piece by piece, though, the songs still often showed Bauhaus in excelsis.
‘Burning From The Inside’ (Re-mastered in 2013): ‘Burning From The Inside’ really was a collection of various recordings, due in large part to outside events - Murphy had fallen victim to a life-threatening illness, so the rest of the band began recording without him, which more than anything else foreshadowed both Bauhaus’ breakup and the trio’s future work as Love And Rockets. As a result, two songs ended up on the album, the piano led cinematic moodiness of ‘Who Killed Mr. Moonlight’ and the sweet acoustic drive of ‘Slice Of Life’, with David J and Ash on lead vocals respectively. The end result of all this was an album that was good in spots but not as strong throughout as it could be, while betraying the other performing and writing strains that would soon cause the band to call it a day. As before, though, when the band members were on, they were on with a vengeance, such as the medieval folk dance ‘King Volcano’ and the starkly beautiful ‘Kingdom’s Coming’.
‘Singles’: A compilation of the non album singles (excluding BBC recordings), this re-mastered set also included the first official release of the rare cover of ‘Spirit In The Sky’ (originally featured on an ultra rare, fan club only single) and the live-with-studio-vocals version of ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’.
‘Mask’ (Re-mastered in 2008): Managing the sometimes hard-to-negotiate trick of expanding their sound while retaining all the qualities which got them attention to begin with, on ‘Mask’ the members of Bauhaus consciously stretched themselves into newer areas of music and performance, resulting in an album that was arguably even better than the band’s almost flawless debut. More familiar sides of the band were apparent from the get-go - opening number ‘Hair Of The Dog’, one of the band’s best songs, starts with a double-tracked squalling guitar solo before turning into a stomping, surging flow. The energy wasn’t all just explosive angst and despair, though. The one-two punches of ‘Kick In The Eye’ and ‘In Fear Of Fear’ have as much hip-shaking groove and upbeat swing to them as portentous gloom. Elsewhere, numerous flashes of the band’s quirky sense of humour - something often missed by both fanatical followers and negative critics alike - make an appearance. Add to that three of the most dramatic things the band ever recorded - the charging, keyboard-accompanied ‘The Passion Of Lovers’, the slow, dark fairy-tale-gone-wrong ‘Hollow Hills’, and the wracked, trudging title track, where the sudden appearance of an acoustic guitar turns a great song into a near-perfect blend of ugliness and sheer beauty - and the end result was a perfect trouncing of the sophomore-slump myth.
‘The Sky’s Gone Out’ (Re-mastered in 2013): More fragmented in origin than it might appear on first glance (the lead off track, a phenomenal, nuclear-strength rip through Brian Eno’s ‘Third Uncle’, featuring some fantastic soloing from Ash, came from a BBC radio session performance), ‘The Sky’s Gone Out’ was caught between the expectations of an audience now thoroughly embracing the incipient goth genre, with all the built-in limitations such expectations often provide, and a band which wanted to please them while still following its own muse. ‘The Sky’s Gone Out’ feels more like a compilation than anything else. Piece by piece, though, the songs still often showed Bauhaus in excelsis.
‘Burning From The Inside’ (Re-mastered in 2013): ‘Burning From The Inside’ really was a collection of various recordings, due in large part to outside events - Murphy had fallen victim to a life-threatening illness, so the rest of the band began recording without him, which more than anything else foreshadowed both Bauhaus’ breakup and the trio’s future work as Love And Rockets. As a result, two songs ended up on the album, the piano led cinematic moodiness of ‘Who Killed Mr. Moonlight’ and the sweet acoustic drive of ‘Slice Of Life’, with David J and Ash on lead vocals respectively. The end result of all this was an album that was good in spots but not as strong throughout as it could be, while betraying the other performing and writing strains that would soon cause the band to call it a day. As before, though, when the band members were on, they were on with a vengeance, such as the medieval folk dance ‘King Volcano’ and the starkly beautiful ‘Kingdom’s Coming’.
‘Singles’: A compilation of the non album singles (excluding BBC recordings), this re-mastered set also included the first official release of the rare cover of ‘Spirit In The Sky’ (originally featured on an ultra rare, fan club only single) and the live-with-studio-vocals version of ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’.
‘Mask’: Managing the sometimes hard-to-negotiate trick of expanding their sound while retaining all the qualities which got them attention to begin with, ‘Mask’ sees the members of Bauhaus consciously stretch themselves into newer areas of music and performance, resulting in an album that was arguably even better than the band’s almost flawless debut.
More familiar sides of the band were apparent from the get-go; opening number ‘Hair Of The Dog’, one of the band’s best songs, starts with a double-tracked squalling guitar solo before turning into a stomping, surging flow, carefully paced by sudden silences and equally sudden returns to the music, while Murphy details cases of mental addictions in pithy phrases.
The energy wasn’t all just explosive angst and despair, though; the one-two punches of ‘Kick In The Eye’ and ‘In Fear Of Fear’ have as much hip-shaking groove and upbeat swing to them as portentous gloom (Ash’s sax skronk on the latter, as well as on the similarly sharp ‘Dancing’, is a particularly nice touch). Elsewhere, numerous flashes of the band’s quirky sense of humour - something often missed by both fanatical followers and negative critics both - make an appearance; perhaps most amusing is the dry spoken-word lyric beginning ‘Of Lillies And Remains’, as David J details a goofily grotesque situation as much Edward Gorey as Edgar Allen Poe. Add to that three of the most dramatic things the band ever recorded - the charging, keyboard-accompanied ‘The Passion Of Lovers’, the slow, dark fairy-tale-gone-wrong ‘Hollow Hills’, and the wracked, trudging title track, where the sudden appearance of an acoustic guitar turns a great song into a near perfect blend of ugliness and sheer beauty - and the end result was a perfect trouncing of the sophomore-slump myth.
‘Mask’ is packaged in a lavish gatefold cover.
More familiar sides of the band were apparent from the get-go; opening number ‘Hair Of The Dog’, one of the band’s best songs, starts with a double-tracked squalling guitar solo before turning into a stomping, surging flow, carefully paced by sudden silences and equally sudden returns to the music, while Murphy details cases of mental addictions in pithy phrases.
The energy wasn’t all just explosive angst and despair, though; the one-two punches of ‘Kick In The Eye’ and ‘In Fear Of Fear’ have as much hip-shaking groove and upbeat swing to them as portentous gloom (Ash’s sax skronk on the latter, as well as on the similarly sharp ‘Dancing’, is a particularly nice touch). Elsewhere, numerous flashes of the band’s quirky sense of humour - something often missed by both fanatical followers and negative critics both - make an appearance; perhaps most amusing is the dry spoken-word lyric beginning ‘Of Lillies And Remains’, as David J details a goofily grotesque situation as much Edward Gorey as Edgar Allen Poe. Add to that three of the most dramatic things the band ever recorded - the charging, keyboard-accompanied ‘The Passion Of Lovers’, the slow, dark fairy-tale-gone-wrong ‘Hollow Hills’, and the wracked, trudging title track, where the sudden appearance of an acoustic guitar turns a great song into a near perfect blend of ugliness and sheer beauty - and the end result was a perfect trouncing of the sophomore-slump myth.
‘Mask’ is packaged in a lavish gatefold cover.