Cabaret Voltaire

[jeye_musik]

I was surprised to discover that there isn’t a dedicated Cabaret Voltaire thread on here - I’d imagine there must be a few fans given their catalogue and how influential they’ve been. But perhaps that’s because they’ve been so inactive for so long. Perhaps with them playing a few anniversary/farewell/tribute to RHK shows starting tonight it might spark a bit more interest?

I was really looking forward to the gig but unfortunately my health has let me down and the trip down to Sheffield isn’t going to be possible for me. Luckily I’ve also been able to get tickets for Glasgow next month.

Any 'Nauts in the Sheffield area want a couple of free tickets for tonights show? Ping me a message and I’ll forward the email with the tickets.

[Scot_Solida]

Huge fan of the Cabs for over four decades.

[DoS]

@jeye_musik

tribute to RHK

Just going to link this thread here for connections / reference.

Richard H Kirk RIP

And then this because it still snarls like not much else.

And then this is the Cabs live in '85:

Cabaret Voltaire - I Want You, Hells Home Live The Whistle Test 17.12.85

[thejewk]

You beat me to posting Nag Nag Nag. I’ve never been massive on the Cabs, but I have a lot of respect for them.

[DoS]

@thejewk

I’ve never been massive on the Cabs, but I have a lot of respect for them.

In some ways I agree; I tend towards really liking Cabs records (and they are great for a suitable mix), but actually have very few of them that I listen to a lot.

[avantronica]

Love their 70s vibes … they took a pivot early in the 80s, interesting but not quite there

[PeterHanes]

@jeye_musik

I was surprised to discover that there isn’t a dedicated Cabaret Voltaire thread on here - I’d imagine there must be a few fans given their catalogue and how influential they’ve been. But perhaps that’s because they’ve been so inactive for so long.

Previously on Elektronauts:

Q&A: Cabaret Voltaire's Richard H. Kirk

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/clubs/q-a-cabaret-voltaires-richard-h-kirk You wouldn’t expect a band that lifted its moniker from an iconic Dadaist nightspot in World War I–era Zurich to be your run-of-the-mill pop combo—and Cabaret Voltaire is anything but run-of-the-mill. Formed in the gritty English industrial town of Sheffield in the early ’70s by Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson, Cabaret Voltaire mirrored the city’s dystopian edge with a sound that was raw, experimental…

Just a few of us old lags here, fans of an inspiring but patchy band.

I saw them twice: once at the Hacienda in 1986, just before the Code period and their rejuvenation by house, and then at the Shaw Theatre in London in 1992 for the Plasticity tour, where the whole show was sequenced and they were 100 % Notator techno.

[jeye_musik]

I was just looking up last night’s gig on Setlists and it looks like it really is covering the full range from early to late periods. I enjoy pretty much all their periods so really looking forward to Glasgow next month. Does seem to be quite heavy on the Crackdown but I recall from an interview with Mal in the Guardian that they’ve prepared quite a number of tracks. Hopefully there will be some Drinking Gasoline or Covenant tracks in there too.

As far as folk filiming a band on their iphone goes, this chap did a reasonable job:

Cabaret Voltaire - Do Right - Forge Warehouse, Sheffield - 25 October 2025

Few other tracks on his YT channel.

[LordLeighton]

Saw them at the local Poly in 1980 with the Human League. Its amazing that was 45 years ago when we were just kids.

[dragonaut]

I love the Mix Up, Voice of America, and Red Mecca, mainly because those are the only 3 I have but I should dig deeper into some of the later stuff.

[re5et]

I saw them in 90/91 at hacienda mostly because A Guy Called Gerald was support ( I think ) … I’m mostly familiar with the stuff from Richard H Kirk , The Conversation , Sandoz albums and the releases on warp which seem a little different to their earlier stuff ( Nav Nag Nag etc ) … the more industrial style stuff

I’ve heard some recent mallinder stuff , solo and I think there was some paranoid London things too … it seemed good

I’d have gone to a London gig but looks like they’ve sold out .

[Jeanne]

When I had a little money and was in record shops to hunt for everything that could be techno or has the word on it, I stumbled upon and bought

[thebiglebowski]

I remember this, had it on casette - D2 (808 Mix) is a proper b-boy vocoder electro banger!

[re5et]

i recognise a lot of samples in that… taken from a few tunes that were going around at that time.
esp that bass sound… the beats are from … erm… beat street i think… Altern8 used huge amounts of other peoples work at that time…amazed they got away with it…

[DoS]

Some October 2025 footage of “Nag Nag Nag” live

I’m tempted to go to Synth East next year just for the Cabs now…

[robinrimbaud]

better hurry up and make a decision as they told me there are very, very few tickets left for this one!

[DoS]

I bet! I have family not far away in Suffolk so maybe I will see if they’re around.

So great that you and other Robin are going to support!

[robinrimbaud]

yes, it’s going to be an utter blast indeed!

[jeye_musik]

I’m looking forward to the Glasgow gig in a few weeks… and I was also pleased to spot an A4 MkI being used by the guy who’s mostly obscured behind Mal in those videos…