Cabaret Voltaire

Band: Cabaret Voltaire
Genre: electro, avant-garde, punk

One of the most important bands in the indie scene is Cabaret Voltaire. This outfit from Sheffield, England was formed in 1972 by Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson. The band was named after the Parisian Dadaist performances of pre-20's France.

Their earliest performances were dada-influenced performance art. On a debut gig in 1975 they only used a backing tape of a steamhammer. The crowd was not amused. But Cabaret Voltaire later developed into one of the most prolific and important groups to blend pop with dance music, techno, dub, house and experimental electronic music.

In 1978 it was one of the first bands to sign to new label Rough Trade. A classic song is Nag Nag Nag (1979), a fusion of electro and punk. Mix-Up (October 1979) was their debut album. The band successfully toured in Europe, Japan and America.
Commercial success however came after Watson had left the band in 1983. Mallinder & Kirk decided to turn in a more commercial direction, with the more dancefloor friendly album The Crackdown. After that they released a series of lesser mid-80's albums. Both Kirk and Mallinder worked on solo projects.

But the late 80's house scene saw Cabaret Voltaire as an important band. It resulted in a rebirth of the band with remixes and stuff and also a comeback album: Groovy, Laidback and Nasty. Watch the very commercial song Keep on below! The last official album was The Conversation (1994).

More about Cabaret Voltaire
and here.

Nag nag nag (1979)


Seconds Too Late (1980)


The dreamticket (live)


Keep on (1990)