Cabaret Voltaire

**Cabaret Voltaire** were a music group formed in Sheffield, UK in 1973 initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson. Their early work consisted of experimentation with early synthesisers, tape machines and *musique concrete*. Early recordings and live performances, featuring live electronics, recordings as well as electric bass and guitars, gave the group a cult status, becoming an integral part of the early electronic music and indie scene in their native city which took off during the post-punk years from 1977 onwards.

Signing to indie specialists Rough Trade in 1978, Cabaret Voltaire's debut single Nag, Nag, Nag and EP *Extended Play* found favour with the more innovative radio DJs such as John Peel and David Jensen, with tracks Silent Command, Seconds Too Late and Jazz the Glass making it to the indie top 10 in the period up to 1981, just as electronic music was beginning to go mainstream with groups such as The Human League (fellow Sheffield group who had also grown up in the experimental scene), Soft Cell and OMD. In the same year Watson left the group, leaving just the duo of Mallinder and Kirk, who recorded their first session for John Peel in June.

In 1983 Cabaret Voltaire signed to Virgin records and released *The Crackdown*, something of a commercial breakthrough for the band. In the same year they independently released the soundtrack for the film *Johnny Yesno* directed by Johnny Care who went on to produce promo videos for Cabaret Voltaire and others. Further albums followed for Virgin, with modest commercial success as The Cabs continued to stay true to experimental approaches in their output, with some of their records also making it to the burgeoning American underground dance scene. A second Peel session was recorded in 1984. The group moved to Parlophone in 1986, releasing three more albums in the period up to 1990. In the meantime Rough Trade had released the compilation album *The Golden Moments of Cabaret Voltaire* (1987). With the emergence of house and techno music in the early 90s, The Cabs recorded new album *Groovy, Laidback and Nasty*, their last for Parlophone, before releasing music independently again both as a group, with mostly instrumental output, and as solo and side projects.

In 1995, Mallinder moved to Perth, Australia, and effectively left Cabaret Voltaire, with only Kirk carrying on the name. Several compilation albums by the band were released, most notably *The Original Sound of Sheffield* (2 volumes, 2001/2002) and *#7885: Electropunk to Technopop 1978–1985* (2014).

In 2009, Kirk resurrected the Cabaret Voltaire name, releasing new material and carrying out selected live performances "consisting solely of machines, multi-screen projections and Richard H. Kirk". A new album *Shadow of Fear* emerged in 2020.

Richard Kirk sadly died in September 2021 at the age of 65.

## Discography

studio albums - UK only

* *The Voice of America* (1980)
* *Red Mecca* (1981)
* *2x45* (1982)
* *The Crackdown* (1983)
* *Micro-Phonies* (1984)
* *The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord* (1985)
* *C O D E* (1987)
* *Groovy, Laidback and Nasty* (1990)
* *Body and Soul* (1991)
* *Plasticity* (1992)
* *International Language* (1993)
* *The Conversation* (1994)
* *Shadow of Fear* (2020)
* *Dekadrone* (2021)
* *BN9Drone* (2021)

TV
--

* 29 July 1983 - *Switch* (C4) - live performance
* *unknown date*, 1983 - La Edad de Oro (Spanish TV) - watch here
* 17 December 1985 - *Whistle Test* ".. at a secret location in their home town of Sheffield for live Christmas celebrations" (I Want You, Hell’s Home)
* 12 March 1990 - DEF II Snub TV, ".. a look at the work of Cabaret Voltaire - who, back in the punk days, pioneered electro rhythms and sampled before samplers - on the eve of the release of a new LP."

## See also

* Vice Versa
* Art Of Noise

## External links

* Wikipedia - Cabaret Voltaire
* Wikipedia - Stephen Mallinder
* Wikipedia - Richard H. Kirk
* Discogs
* Spotify