“I don’t like country & western, I don’t like rock music… I don’t like rockabilly! I don’t like much really do I? But what I do like, I love passionately!!”: CHRIS LOWE
Founded in 1958 by Desmond Briscoe and Daphne Oram, THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP at the BBC was set up to provide “special sound” for radio and TV programmes.
So to celebrate 60 years of THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP in Autumn 2017, members of the pioneering collective held a panel discussion at The British Library prior to an impressive concert at the venue.
As well as using audio stems of the component parts to discuss how Delia Derbyshire constructed the original ‘Dr Who Theme’, Peter Howell (who was at the BBC between 1974–1997) mentioned how ‘The Music Arcade’, an old schools programme which he had made demonstrating the Fairlight CMI to children, had been re-edited by a prankster into a YouTube video entitled ‘How Drum ‘N’ Bass Is Made’.
With the combination of Howell’s well-spoken manner, the varied facial expressions of the children and ‘Lose Control’ by REDPILL painstakingly dropped in, the results are hilarious!
Peter Howell said at The British Library that “equipment can either be our servant or our partner”; he is best known for his 1980 reworking of the ‘Dr Who Theme’ using a Yamaha CS80, ARP Odyssey and vocoder, while he still uses a Yamaha DX7 as his master keyboard during THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP’s various concerts around the world.
Released in the Autumn on Vince Clarke’s Very Records, ‘The Colour of Terrible Crystal’ is the third album release by ALKA.
Named after a quote from anarchist philosopher Peter Lamborn Wilson’s vast study of angels, the long player is the work of Philadelphia-based musician Bryan Michael.
While ‘The Colour of Terrible Crystal’ is musically eclectic, it differs from his other ALKA work in that a pop element is omnipresent, a quality that can perhaps be attributed to the presence of Vince Clarke who assists on co-production and programming.
This is particularly evident on the beautifully vocoder rich ‘Melancholy Lasts’ which comes over like Giorgio Moroder doing ‘Moments In Love’ as a love theme for a ‘Midnight Express’ remake. But to say this is album is pop as in ERASURE would be misleading; ‘Betablockers’ takes in some of ORBITAL’s rhythmic experimentation before ‘Over Hills And Vales’ exhibits avant minimalism in the vein of Stockhausen.
The artful ‘Collusion’ recalls Brian Eno around his ‘Another Green World’ period before the beat loops kick in, accompanied by a pleasing female vocal. Cut from the opposite end of the electronic spectrum, the stuttering backbone that accompanies the blips and blops of ‘Questlore’ is unsettling yet the track is strangely listenable, especially when it enters a melodic synth phase that is wholly unexpected.
Talking of unexpected, ‘Truncate’ goes full-on electro-funk and could be mistaken for LES RYTHMES DIGITALES. Then there’s the beautiful cinematic beauty of ‘Piece’ and the slightly more dramatic overtures of ‘Collusion’.
‘Wrong Side Up’ adds some percussive noise to the palette before the closing oddball number ‘We Are Free Forms’ does what it says on the tin with warbles of hypnotic synthbass incongruously combined with an angelic soprano.
As far as modern instrumental based albums go, ‘The Colour Of Terrible Crystal’ is much more accomplished and inventive than say ‘MG’ and successfully avoids the clichés found within predominantly wordless sub-genres like EDM and Synthwave.
FUTURE FIRE is an LA based project by the artists behind LOST IN STARS; the British born Dylan Willoughby and local boy Darren Burgos.
LOST IN STARS also featured Alysa Lobo, Jon McCormick and Elena Charbila aka KID MOXIE, dipping in and out of the ensemble.
Bred on synths of all sorts, Willoughby “was not one of the kids with an Emulator II in the bedroom; I had a humble Casiotone but a good imagination”.
Soon enough that imagination translated itself into full on music making, with Dylan taking his classical piano training and meeting Burgos, who led an Electronic Music Production class, which Willoughby attended.
“The synth appealed to me on many levels. It was a cool combination of piano and technology, and it wasn’t just about playing keyboard but about designing cool sounds.”
FUTURE FIRE sees the two producers continuing their collaboration with couple of guest additions on ‘Shattered Light’.
The Spirit features on Americana Noir meets ethereal synth on ‘Your Kiss Could Burn Fire’ and KID Moxie supports her buddies on ‘Beautiful Disguise’; a sparkly electronic gem à la SPECTRA PARIS. The ‘Dark Embodiment’ is “haunted by the ghosts of synthpop”, while a heavily melodyned voice glides over clever sounds in ‘Another Time’.
The tantric ‘Protect Us From Above’ conveys the opposite message to ‘Mother Space’, which lends itself perfectly as a film score, due to its cinematic soundscapes and storytelling textures.
For the uncertain feeling of non-belonging, ‘Three Scratches’ hovers above the perceived safety, while ‘Choking On Fumes’ (nothing to do with DM’s ‘Breathing In Fumes’) presents an easy listening, male vocal led piece.
A little bit of electronic sci-fi gathers its allegiance on ‘Ejected In A Capsule’, continuing the futuristic elements on ‘Electric Current’.
The latter is an extravaganza of what machines are capable of and that very notion wins the listener on ‘Old Feelings II VHS’, a number that could be a signature piece for the super synth soundtrack to ‘Stranger Things’. While nothing is getting older on ‘Dorian Gray’s Portrait’, ‘In The Time It Takes’ presents another notion of a synthtastic film score.
Wrapped up with the enigmatic ‘Tears Of The Future’, ‘Shattered Light’ is a movie in itself. Featuring some excellent soundtrack worthy pieces, interwoven with more poppy tracks with vocals, it can however leave one a bit confused. An album of nineteen songs always takes a tad too long to process, no matter how gripping the pieces may be.
While splitting the material over two separate records would have been a simpler idea, it has to be said that Willoughby and Burgos certainly know how to write considerably superior electronic music.
“The medium of reinterpretation” as HEAVEN 17 and BEF’s Martyn Ware once put it, is an important creative opportunity that can widen a musical audience and expand the aural palette.
Although not really considered a covers record as such, ‘Switched-On Bach’ by Wendy Carlos in 1968 saw classical compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach performed using a Moog synthesizer. It played a key role in bringing the sound of synthesizers to a wider audience. On the bach of that, Gil Trythall released his “Country Moog” albums ‘Switched On Nashville’ and ‘Nashville Gold’ which included otherworldy takes on standards such as ‘Gentle On My Mind’, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, ‘King Of The Road’, ‘Wichita Lineman’, ‘Tennessee Waltz’, ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ and ‘Yakety Sax’, best known as the Benny Hill theme tune but retitled ‘Yakety Moog’!
Following the acclaim that was accorded to THE NORMAL, in 1979 Daniel Miller decided to start a new project where rock ’n’ roll standards such as ‘Memphis Tennessee’, ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’, ‘Just Like Eddie’, ‘Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy’ and ‘Let’s Dance’ were reinterpreted in a lighter electronic pop style. The vehicle he used was SILICON TEENS, a fictitious group where Frank Tovey aka FAD GADGET and several young actors appeared in videos and did press interviews to promote one of the first synthpop covers albums ‘Music For Parties’.
But in 1981, SOFT CELL’s cover of ‘Tainted Love’ became ubiquitous as Synth Britannia’s first true crossover record. It reached No1 in UK, Germany, Australia and Canada while also breaking the US Top 10 a year later. A disgruntled rival musician had told Marc Almond only a few months before that “You couldn’t make a decent dance record if you tried”, but make one he did!
Written by Ed Cobb, ‘Tainted Love’ was recorded by Gloria Jones and became a Wigan Casino favourite on the Northern Soul scene. As a fan of that scene, David Ball knew the song and took it into haunting electronic torch territory. Segued with a Motown cover ‘Where Did Our Love Go?’ on an extended version, it became one of Sire Records biggest selling 12 inch singles in America. It was to be a double edged sword though as the coupling of two covers made SOFT CELL minimal money despite the record selling millions.
Thus successful cover versions generally only make the original songwriter any dough. Although often perceived as a sign of creative desperation, a fair number of cover versions are genuinely recorded as a labour of love.
So what of the other great synth reworkings? The covers in this listing are predominantly conventional songs reworked in a synthpop manner. And in several cases, the reworks have been so distinct and definitive that it is often forgotten they are actually covers! Restricted to one song per artist moniker, they are presented in chronological order.
VISAGE In Year 2525 (1978 – released 1983)
Zager & Evans’ pessimistic ditty ‘In The Year 2525’ was perfectly resigned aural dystopia for the first VISAGE demo steered by Midge Ure in 1978. Steve Strange’s deadpan fronted the sombre tone perfectly but Ure’s vocal backing and counterpoints added musicality. But when Ure presented the demo to his then-employers at EMI Records, it was rejected! Remixed by John Hudson, it was finally unleashed for public consumption in 1983.
Available on the VISAGE album ‘The Face’ via Universal Records
One of first Japanese bands to have a Top 20 hit single in the UK was YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA in 1980. ‘Firecracker’ was a cover of a 1959 composition by Martin Denny, but actually released as ‘Computer Game (Theme From The Invader)’. Recorded in 1978, the parent self-titled album was noted for its use of the then brand new Roland MC8 Micro-Composer to control the synthesizers. The result was a clean, exotic pop sound.
Written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil, a quartet who between them have written some of the greatest songs in pop history, the original by THE DRIFTERS was a favourite in the Webb household. So Gary Numan did a live machine music rendition on 1979’s ‘The Touring Principle’. However, the star on this magnificent reinterpretation of ‘On Broadway’ is Billy Currie of ULTRAVOX with his screaming ARP Odyssey solo.
On paper it shouldn’t have worked; a funereal take of the song that heralded the birth of Rock ‘N’ Roll smothered in robotic vocoder. And it caused much head scratching when it became a UK Top 40 hit, although one person listening was Daniel Miller who borrowed the concept for SILICON TEENS. Belgian trio TELEX always had a sense of subversive irony about them. This mischief came to its head with their lampooning number ‘Eurovision’.
An all synth rework of Head Spider Mick Ronson’s guitar dominated cult favourite, the metronomic tension was enhanced on THE HUMAN LEAGUE version by the metallic sequence of a Roland System 100 while monophonic synth lines complimented the futuristic atmosphere. Oakey impressively bellowed away while Martyn Ware provided sprightly vocal support. ‘Only After Dark’ was due to be a single but was cancelled.
Available on THE HUMAN LEAGUE album ‘Travelogue’ via Virgin Records
Said to be Andy Warhol’s favourite Lou Reed composition, this interpretation of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND voiced by Nico was turned from a Teutonic funeral march into a looser, synth assisted beat ballad in the vein of ROXY MUSIC. Demo-ed under the supervision of manager Simon Napier-Bell in 1979 but remixed later by John Punter, ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ was to herald the sophisticated muzak direction that JAPAN were to become ultimately associated with.
Available on the JAPAN album ‘Quiet Life’ via BMG Records
This cover of ‘The More I See You’ had actually began musically as a new OMD composition until Andy McCluskey started improvising and using the words of this vintage tune written in 1945 by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. It was subsequently a hit for Chris Montez in 1966, although OMD’s version was a far darker proposition, with the spectre of JOY DIVISION vocalist Ian Curtis looming over the bright synthesizer melodies and deep drones.
Available on the OMD album ‘Organisation’ via EMI Records
Before they became Birmingham’s most famous boat crew, DURAN DURAN recorded this speeded up version of David Bowie’s art funk co-write with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar for the 12 inch B-side of their flop single ‘Careless Memories’. As well as having a more frantic pace and layers of Nick Rhodes’ Crumar Performer string machine, Andy Taylor even aped Robert Fripp to add a screaming guitar solo that was not in the original.
A speedy manic darkwave rendition of an early Marc Bolan song, this was the one of the best tracks on the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ after DEPECHE MODE, SOFT CELL, B-MOVIE, BLANCMANGE and ILLUSTRATION. The screeching synths and aggressive unorthodox vocals are over in just a couple of minutes. THE FAST SET disappeared after one single ‘Junction One’ which featured ‘Children Of The Revolution’ on the flip.
DAVE STEWART & BARBARA GASKIN It’s My Party (1981)
Keyboardist Dave Stewart, once of prog rockers HATFIELD & THE NORTH recruited friend and backing vocalist Barbara Gaskin to sing on the second of his electronic pop covers, the first being ‘What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted’ with Colin Blunstone. Their inventively oddball synth version of ‘It’s My Party’ made famous by Lesley Gore was a triumph and a worldwide hit which reached No1 in the UK and Germany.
Available on the DAVE STEWART & BARBARA GASKIN album ‘The Singles’ via Broken Records
TECHNO TWINS were wife and husband duo Bev Sage and Steve Fairnie; they indulged in their own brand of ‘Technostalgia’ with silent partner Dave Hewson who later reappeared in POEME ELECTRONIQUE and more recently TWINS NATALIA. This abstract theatrical cover of the 1930 German song composed by Friedrich Hollaender as ‘Ich Bin Von Kopf Bis Fuß Auf Liebe Eingestellt’ and made famous by Marlene Dietrich actually managed to reach No70 in the UK singles chart!
Available on the TECHNO TWINS album ‘Technostalgic’ via Satril
‘Wichita Lineman’ was one of Jimmy Webb’s great narrative songs like ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ and ‘Galveston’ which were made famous by Glen Campbell. Although included for the ambitious ‘Music Of Quality & Distinction Vol1’ project, BEF’s recording was originally recorded by the other Glenn as his HEAVEN 17 audition piece. The chilling electronic arrangement takes on an even darker turn as a magnificent cacophony of sound invades the climax.
Available on the BEF album ‘1981-2011’ via Virgin Records
NEW ORDER Turn The Heater On (1982 – released 1986)
‘Turn The Heater On’ by reggae artist Keith Hudson’s was a favourite of Ian Curtis and recorded by NEW ORDER for their second John Peel session as a tribute to the late vocalist of JOY DIVISION. Bernard Sumner’s melodica gave a claustrophobic dub laden vibe alongside the white noise rimshot of Stephen Morris, while Peter Hook actually played bass as opposed to his trademark higher register six string and Gillian Gillian’s ARP string machine added some appropriately frozen textures.
A cover of a cover, ‘No Regrets’ was written by Tom Rush and a comeback hit for THE WALKER BROTHERS in 1976. During an ULTRAVOX break, Midge Ure created this synth heavy rework. But that wasn’t all that was heavy… out of nowhere came a blistering guitar solo that would have made Gary Moore proud and a doubled Linn and Simmons pounding for the overdriven climax. Possessing high and lows in a way that previous versions never had, he made ‘No Regrets’ his own.
Available on the MIDGE URE album ‘No Regrets’ via EMI Gold
FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD Ferry Cross The Mersey (1983)
FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD were very good at covers as Born To Run’ and ‘War’ proved. With a superbly honest vocal from Holly Johnson, the Trevor Horn produced reworking of this paean to Liverpool’s famous river crossing, written by Gerry Marsden for the 1965 film of the same name, climaxed with some joyous cascading synth lines and a frantic Linn Drum programme that couldn’t have been originally imagined by its composer.
Available on the FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD album ‘Frankie Said’ via Union Square / Salvo
NAKED EYES Always Something There To Remind Me (1983)
NAKED EYES comprisong of Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher had been in NEON with Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. They had a huge US hit with a synthpop cover of this Bacharach and David classic produced by Tony Mansfield which was put together in the studio from memory. Rob Fisher later met Simon Climie and formed CLIMIE FISHER but he sadly passed away in 1999; Pete Byrne still continues to tour as NAKED EYES.
There once was a time when it was not cool to like ABBA and covering their songs was certainly not on many artists’ agenda. But BLANCMANGE changed all that with their version of what many regard as the last ABBA song. Combining that noted Swedish melancholy and melodicism with the artful quirkiness of Synth Britannia, ‘The Day Before You Came’ fitted well with Neil Arthur’s deep melodramatics.
Available on the BLANCMANGE album ‘Mange Tout’ via Edsel Records
They did the ‘ABBA-esque’ EP and the mid-career crisis ‘Other People’s Songs’ album but ERASURE’s best cover was right at the beginning with this Hi-NRG romp in the big shadow of DIVINE. Turning ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’ into the ultimate anthem, the progressively faster ending made for an appropriately thrilling climax. Following not long after BLANCMANGE’s cover of ‘The Day Before You Came’, the seeds of an ABBA revival were now well and truly planted.
Remix version available on the ERASURE deluxe album ‘Wonderland’ via Mute Records
Written by Paul Haig and Malcolm Ross, ‘Sorry For Laughing’ was the key song on from the only JOSEF K album ‘The Only Fun In Town’. A favourite of ZTT arch strategist Paul Morley, as per the label’s early policy, he persuaded PROPAGANDA to the rework the frenetic guitar track into a more moodily percussive electronic one. However, Ralf Dörper later said: “I very much would have preferred to have a THROBBING GRISTLE cover version…”
Available on the PROPAGANDA album ‘A Secret Wish’ via Union Square
Having written and sung lead vocals on ‘In A Manner Of Speaking’ with TUXEDOMOON which was later covered by a certain Martin L Gore, Winston Tong embarked on a solo electronic pop adventure with Alan Rankine of ASSOCIATES fame at the production helm. The subsequent album entitled ‘Theoretically Chinese’ dealt with the theme of cultural identity and an excellent pulsating cover of Marianne Faithfull’s ‘Broken English’ slotted into the overall concept perfectly.
Written by Bobby Troup and covered by Nat King Cole and The Rolling Stones, this signalled the start of DEPECHE MODE’s fixation with a more blues based sound. While largely guitar driven, the rhythmical structure was driven by drum machine and sequences while the instrumental break of’Behind The Wheel’ made a guest appearance during the middle eight. It was performed during the ‘World Violation’ tour in 1990, but with Dave Gahan on lead vocals instead of Martin Gore.
Available on the DEPECHE MODE single ‘Behind the Wheel’ via Mute Records
Often having his biggest hits with covers, you could be forgiven for thinking Jimmy Sommerville was a falsetto karaoke machine. But for the most part, his reinterpretations were good. One of his lesser known covers was ’From This Moment On’, a throbbing contribution to the charity album ‘Red Hot & Blue’ of Cole Porter standards. With a snatch of ‘I Feel Love’ thrown in for good measure, this was one of the best on the collection.
Available on the album ‘Red Hot & Blue’ (V/A) via Chrysalis Records
Performed at The Hacienda in 1991, ‘Go West’ had been due to be released in Christmas 1992, but PET SHOP BOYS bottled it when it was pointed out a VILLAGE PEOPLE cover would look like the duo were aping ERASURE’s ‘Abba-esque’. ‘Go West’ was based on Pachebel’s ‘Canon’ and its elegiac quality was particularly poignant with AIDS still very much in the news. Meanwhile the ‘Oklahoma’ male choir styled key change gave the song a lift that was never apparent in the original.
Available on the PET SHOP BOYS album ‘Pop Art’ via EMI Records
Written by Moon Martin, an American rock artist who also wrote ‘Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)’ which was covered by Robert Palmer, ‘Bad News’ with its metronomic core had been popular in German new wave clubs, which was how CAMOUFLAGE came to hear it. Given a pacey Eurodance treatment that was very much of its time, it also mixed in twangy ‘Pulp Fiction’ surf guitar elements alongside the trancey electronics for an unusual but successful hybrid of styles.
Available on the CAMOUFLAGE album ‘The Singles’ via Polydor Records
A song by Wakefield indie band BRICK SUPPLY released in 1994, DUBSTAR made ‘Not So Manic Now’ their own with the Northern lass earthiness of Sarah Blackwood providing the chilling commentary of an attack on a helpless pensioner. the wonderful Stephen Hague production fused electronics with guitars and cello in fine fashion, while the incessant programmed rhythms drove the song along without being obtrusive to the horrifying story.
Available on the DUBSTAR album ‘Disgraceful’ via Food Records
Named after the opera by Richard Wagner, Düsseldorf’s RHEINGOLD were part of Die Neue Deutsche Welle movement which also included artists such as NENA, PETER SCHILLING and ALPHAVILLE.
Between 1980 to 1984, RHEINGOLD released three albums ‘Rheingold’, ‘R.’ and ‘Distanz’, all working with the legendary Conny Plank. Led by Bodo Staiger, the band also featured his now-wife Brigitte Staiger on backing vocals and Lothar Manteuffel on keyboards.Singing primarily in Deutsch, they also differed from their electronically driven contemporaries by having a more melodic vocal style and a distinctive rhythm guitar template.
Staiger starred in the 1982 West German horror film ‘Der Fan’ directed by Eckhart Schmidt which warned against the dangers of fanaticism, but RHEINGOLD never performed live so have almost become a forgotten band whenever the history of German pop is discussed. However, the inclusion of 2010 reworkings from a ‘Best Of’ album of their domestic hits ‘Fluss’ and ‘Dreiklangdimensionen’ on the splendid ‘Electri_City 1_2’ 2CD compilation, released by Grönland Records, deservedly placed their work alongside LA DÜSSELDORF, HARMONIA, RIECHMANN, DAF, NEU! and DIE KRUPPS.
RHEINGOLD are certainly one of the most underrated acts from the German New Wave, but this year’s excellent new album ‘Im Lauf Der Zeit’ was a fine return after an absence of original material for many years. Bodo Staiger kindly took time out to talk about the career of RHEINGOLD.
In 2010, you re-recorded the old hits like ‘Fluss’ and ‘Dreiklangdimension’, having also done the ‘Electric City – Düsseldorfer Schule’ 2007 covers album, so why was the time right for a brand new RHEINGOLD album?
There was a collection of about 50 songs / layouts over the last years and in 2014, I got back the lightness of playing guitars, so I felt that is the right time for a new album.
What was different about your approach to ‘Im Lauf Der Zeit’ compared to your debut and ‘R.’?
Compared to the 80s albums, I have learned a lot about studio work, technology and production. So this time, I knew exactly what I wanted and how RHEINGOLD should sound today without changing the style.
You give thanks to Karl Bartos in the ‘Im Lauf Der Zeit’ album credits, how was he involved?
Karl is one of my best friends, we’ve known each other for a long time and I really appreciate his musical competence. Since I started to work on the selected songs, there were many telephone calls, MP3s and comments between us. Finally he wrote the lyrics for ‘Im Lauf der Zeit’ and ‘Weisses Licht’ for the new album.
The artwork also features some nostalgic photos including ones of you and Conny Plank who was involved in all the previous RHEINGOLD albums, what was he like to work with?
The photos document my musical journey – over time – starting in 1967 with a band called HARAKIRI WHOOM with a young singer called Marius Müller-Westernhagen, who today is a big rock star here in Germany and also the band SINUS with Karl Bartos, THE LILAC ANGELS and my own project RHEINGOLD.
Referring to Conny Plank, we met in 1970 and I recorded – with Marius and Karl – my first tracks with Conny that year were at the Rhenus Studio near Cologne. To work with him was always a pleasure, he was relaxed, very competent and had the talent to listen what the artist wants. And he also brought some good ideas and inspiration. For example, the percussive synth sound on ‘Dreiklangsdimensionen’ was his idea.
Like classic RHEINGOLD, there are several great instrumentals on this new record. Was the opening track ‘Kraut’ intended as a kind of statement?
Yes, of course.
‘Sternstaub’ is very electronic compared with other RHEINGOLD tracks, what inspired this?
When I digitalized our old 24 track tapes in 2010 and I found this song on a tape of the first album from 1980. I think because of the limitation of time on the vinyls, we didn’t use it. So I kept the original recording and mixed it 2016 in for the 1st time. But I forgot what inspired me 🙂
The wonderful ‘Paradieshafen’ sounds like OMD meets Michael Rother?
I take it as a compliment.
‘Theme ‘84’ recalls LA DÜSSELDORF, is it true you gave Klaus Dinger guitar lessons? What he a compliant student?
That’s correct, musically regards to Klaus. I don’t remember the guitar lessons, but I played a lot of sessions with Klaus at his studio Im Grund here in Düsseldorf… maybe I showed him some chords or licks and tricks.
Of the songs on ‘Im Lauf Der Zeit’, which ones have become your favourites and why?
I can’t answer this question.
You disliked working with drummers and preferred drum machines, were there any particular reasons for this?
Since I got the Roland CR-78 drum machine in 1979, I liked the sound, the groove and tightness of this unit. But we also worked with a drummer – on ‘Fanfanfanatisch’ and ‘Das Steht Dir Gut’ from the second album ‘R.’
RHEINGOLD did not perform as a live band; do you ever regret this?
No, RHEINGOLD was always a one man band. I never thought about performing live.
How do you feel about the renewed interest in RHEINGOLD?
Well, we enjoy it. But let’s see the result end of the year.
What were your career highlights with RHEINGOLD?
The first years – ’81 to ’84 were our good times, TV shows and films and sales.
What is next for you, either as RHEINGOLD or with your other musical interests?
First of all, we’re trying to promote the new album and keep our Rheinklang studio going.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Bodo Staiger
‘Im Lauf Der Zeit’ is released in CD and digital formats by Lucky Bob Records / Soulfood
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‘Doctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Collection’
is musically eclectic, it differs from his other ALKA work in that a pop element is omnipresent, a quality that can perhaps be attributed to the presence of 
via Universal Records
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via Beggars Banquet Records
via EMI Belgium
via Virgin Records
via BMG Records
via EMI Records
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(V/A) via Some Bizzare Limited
via Broken Records
via Virgin Records
via Strange Fruit Records
via EMI Gold
via Union Square / Salvo
via Cherry Pop
via Edsel Records
via Mute Records
via Union Square
via Mute Records
(V/A) via Chrysalis Records
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via Food Records
, 
and ‘Distanz’, all working with the legendary Conny Plank. Led by Bodo Staiger, the band also featured his now-wife Brigitte Staiger on backing vocals and Lothar Manteuffel on keyboards.Singing primarily in Deutsch, they also differed from their electronically driven contemporaries by having a more melodic vocal style and a distinctive rhythm guitar template.
album of their domestic hits ‘Fluss’ and ‘Dreiklangdimensionen’ on the splendid 
2CD compilation, released by Grönland Records, deservedly placed their work alongside LA DÜSSELDORF, HARMONIA, RIECHMANN, DAF, NEU! and DIE KRUPPS.
was a fine return after an absence of original material for many years. Bodo Staiger kindly took time out to talk about the career of RHEINGOLD.
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