Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - A to K»Artists - C
    Artists - C Music - 1970s Music - 1980s 2 Mins Read

    Cabaret Voltaire

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    This experimental band formed in Sheffield in 1974 and played their debut gig at a student disco in May 1975.

    Named after a Dadaist collective, Cabaret Voltaire was essentially vocalist and bassist Stephen Mallinder, guitarist Richard H Kirk and multi-instrumentalist Chris Watson.

    Early live performances were confrontational “events” rather than conventional musical performances, but in later days, convention crept in when they discovered the hypnotic joys of funk.

    Unsurprisingly, Cabaret Voltaire were rejected by the late 70s punk scene as a middle-class performance art wank. It wasn’t until 1981’s ominous electro outing Red Mecca on Rough Trade (they were the first UK act to grace Rough Trade vinyl) that critics began to take them seriously.

    A switch to Virgin records and a more commercial punk-funk electro-cocktail permitted The Crackdown (1983) to reach #31 on the UK chart.

    Singles Sensoria and James Brown from follow-up Micro-phonies (1984) both became indie chart hits thanks to a beat-heavy dance orientation that would evolve into the pioneering house and ambient techno of Groovy, Laidback and Nasty (1990) and Plasticity (1993).

    Founding member Chris Watson left the music industry in the early 90s to work as a sound recordist for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.  He then branched out into production for film and television and has handled field recording for numerous nature programs, documentaries and feature films.

    The band spluttered to a halt around 1994.

    Stephen Mallinder 
    Vocals, bass, electronics, percussion, trumpet, piano
    Richard H Kirk
    Guitar, vocals, synthesizer, bongos, piano
    Christopher R Watson
    Electronics, tapes
    Haydn Boyes-Weston
    Drums
    Nick Allday
    Drums
    Alan Fish
    Drums
    Dave Ball
    Keyboards
    Dee Boyle
    Drums

    Related Posts

    • Blue Rondo a la Turk
      Blue Rondo a la Turk
      It shows you how far and fast New Wave travelled. Five years earlier, Chris Sullivan might have been screaming lyrics…
    • Kelpies, The
      Kelpies, The
      The Kelpies formed in Sydney (Australia) in March 1981 with a line-up of James Gelding (vocals), Mark Easton (guitar), Brian…
    • Fynnius Fogg
      Fynnius Fogg
      This Midlands group had the unlikely gimmick of roller-skating through their gigs - hence the title of their debut single…
    • Suicide
      Suicide
      Although they barely receive credit, Suicide is the source point for virtually every synth-pop duo that glutted the pop marketplace…
    • Television
      Television
      The inaugural house band at CBGB's in New York, and contemporaries of Patti Smith and later Blondie, The Ramones and Talking Heads, Television figure large in American punk…
    • Ultravox
      Ultravox
      No other band in the select coterie of the New Romantics expanded beyond its initial frontiers as radically as the London-based Ultravox,…
    • Girls At Our Best!
      Girls At Our Best!
      In 1979, local Leeds (Yorkshire) punk heroes James "Jez" Alan (guitar) and Gerald "Terry" Swift (bass) recruited art student Judy…
    • Rip Rig + Panic
      Rip Rig + Panic
      Even during the eclectic 80s, it's hard to imagine a major label having pursued a band that never rehearsed, boasted…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleCybermen, The
    Next Article Caleb Quaye

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Possession of Joel Delaney, The (1972)
      Norah Benson (Shirley MacLaine) is an affluent socialite and […]
    • McLean Stevenson Show, The
      1 9 7 6 – 1 9 7 7 (USA) 13 x 30 minute episodes In this […]
    • Murun Buchstansangur
      1 9 8 2 – 1 9 8 9 (UK) 52 x 4 minute episodes One of the […]
    • Moynihan
      1 9 7 7 (New Zealand) 17 x 60 minute episodes Moynihan was a […]
    • Everclear
      The major label debut by neo-Nirvana trio Everclear, Sparkle and […]
    • Raggedy Man (1981)
      Who is the Raggedy Man? Who is this curious figure who always […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.