The full madness of Bill Drummond is on display here, as he dresses like an old aristocrat and explains how the KLF got to number one. Tony Wilson takes time off from promoting Stockholm Monsters to interview the Scouse scoundrel.
Rare Video of the Week
Sweden’s Twice a Man were one of the most prominent groups of the Swedish New Wave. They emerged from the angular post-punk of Cosmic Overdose; creating a template of funky and experimental music mixed with ecological and social politics.
As this clip from a 1984 show demonstrates, their funkiness was never secondary. They continue to make excellent music to this day, but it is a joy to see them in regulation 80s clothes and with old school keyboards to hand.
Caught by veteran broadcaster Paul Gamaccini in Hamburg, the Basildon boys (and Alan Wilder) sat down to talk about Vince’s departure, DAF, and broken instruments. This 1983 interview is one of the deepest and wide-ranging, bringing in Daniel Miller and Vince Clarke for additional commentary.
Gabi Delgado would have turned 64 on the 18th of April, but time had already taken him from us. The DAF singer was one of a kind, and his rise from the Ratinger Hof to headliner at music festivals was a complicated one. It involved sleeping on the floor at Dan Miller’s mother’s home in Temple Fortune, ditching most of the band with Robert Görl, crafting the template for post-disco German dance music, a volatile relationship with Görl, attempts to break America, (unfounded) accusations of racism, provocative PR based on Baader-Meinhof, millions of cigarettes, and enough plastic bottles of water to make Greta cry.
In this early clip of Delgado and Görl on stage at Berlin’s legendary SO36 venue, the duo showcase the raw energy and minimalist tension of their act. Shorn of the other early members, this DAF lit up the night for three influential albums in rapid succession before flaming out temporarily. They would get back together over the years, to show new generations of artists how it should be done, but this period represented the core DAF experience. With his limbs waving and lines shouted with punk determination, this was Delgado’s assault on the cultural domination of Anglo-American music and domestic schlager. DAF won the skirmish, but the war goes on.
https://youtu.be/e4fiukLnJ_I
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Einstürzende Neubauten appeared at the Bizarre Festival in 1988. This clip includes parts of the performance and an interview (in German) with Blixa. Scary good.
https://youtu.be/lNR1nGolZVA
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Shot for Italian TV, this clip of Depeche Mode miming on a boat cruise doesn’t seem to have attracted much attention. That is a pity, because it shows the band in their classic line-up, working one of their best songs.
Skip past the intro with “Just Can’t Get Enough” to see how young Londoners partied back in the day.
The Short Circuit festival dedicated to Mute was a celebration of the label’s diverse but talented roster.
One of the artists to perform was Yazoo, who had toured during a break that Vince Clarke was able to take from Erasure work.
There were many cameras out at the event, including many from Mute, who were archiving it. This footage seems to have crept out without anyone noticing, however.
For cooler and shorter days, we offer this rare footage showing the full Yazoo performance.
Malaria! were one of German’s most important alternative acts. Formed by Gudrun Gut (Einsteurzende Neubauten, Mania D) and Bettina Köster (Mania D), and drawing in such luminaries as Beate Bartel (Liaisons Dangereuses, Mania D) and Eva Gößling (Die Krupps), it was a kind of Berlin supergroup.
The band were managed by Mark Reeder, a Mancunian exile who had arranged Joy Division’s only Berlin show. They toured with The Birthday Party and appeared on CBC’s Brave New Waves.
This footage is from their performance at the Women in Rock Festival in 1981. It includes behind the scenes interview material.
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