Richard H. Kirk DEAD

[octophone]

Bit of a niche one but one of the true pioneers of post-punk electronics has departed. Cabaret Voltaire were one of those groups who were hugely influential but never achieved commercial success. A lot of people started experimenting at home under the influence of the early Cabs and his solo albums. A sad one for the heads.

 

[funky]

I've definitely heard of Cabaret but I can't think where. Did they have some lowkey chart success in the singles chart?

 

[octophone]

I've definitely heard of Cabaret but I can't think where. Did they have some lowkey chart success in the singles chart?

When they were on Virgin in the 80s, CV tickled the low end of the Top 75 a few times. But they never had a breakthrough hit and went back to their own label for a bit to make some more experimental records before signing to EMI and making some all-out dance-pop. This didn't penetrate the upper end of the charts and the duo spilt, with Kirk signing to Warp.

 

[lolly]

Hugely influential on Depeche Mode, weren't they? I'm sure I remember then being mentioned in Record Mirror interviews and the like.

 

[octophone]

Hugely influential on Depeche Mode, weren't they? I'm sure I remember then being mentioned in Record Mirror interviews and the like.

Yes, they were - the use of tapes and found sounds, in particular, came largely from CV (in the same way that the metal banging came from Einsturzende Neubauten via Jones). Everyone at Mute loved CV and, when Rough Trade went bust, Daniel Miller worked with the band to produce an excellent reissue programme on the label, including some wonderful archive material. Kirk continued to work with Mute ring up until earlier this year; he released 4 CV albums in about 7 months and there is now speculation that Kirk was tidying up, possibly knowing that time was short.