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Neu!
Neu! was one of the most innovative bands from the 70’s krautrock scene and one of the most influential German bands in modern music.
Neu! was formed in Dusseldorf in 1971, when guitarist Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother quit Kraftwerk to record their first and legendary album “Neu!”, with the support of producer Conny Plank. The album called the attention of BBC DJ John Peel and got some international attention, being one of the most unique pieces of innovative experimental rock albums ever produced which featured some of the most pioneering punk rock and minimalist music from the 20th Century.
Neu! recorded just 2 studio albums, both of them true masterworks. “Neu! 2″ is credited for being one of the first albums that features remixes when Rother and Dinger, after having spent the whole recording company budget for the recording of the half of the album, decided to use the same material to remix it in different cassette speeds.
In 1975, Neu! rejoined for the recording of the live album “Neu!75″ featuring new material. After their disband Michael Rother joined Cluster, and later he formed Harmonia along with Roedelius and Dieter Moebius, meanwhile Klaus Dinger formed La Dusseldorf in 1974.
In 1985, Dinger and Rother rejoined for a modern version of Neu! including more synthesizers and a more commercially oriented sound, but the differences between both musicians spoiled the whole project. The out-take recordings of this project would be released in 1996 in the album “Neu! 4″ on the Japanese label Captain Trip label without Rother’s consent. This would cause the acrimony between both musicians for the next decade, which coincides with the legal disputes between Dinger and the members of his parallel project, La Dusseldorf. In the same manner, in 1996 was released the album “Neu! ‘72 Live!”, recorded in Dusseldorf on May 6th, 1972. The recording was taken from an on-stage rehearsal with a poor sound quality, and featuring a new member, the bass player Eberhard Kranemann. Captain Trip also released another two CD reissues the albums from Klaus Dinger’s post-Neu! project “La! Neu?” and “La Dusseldorf”.
The continuous legal battles on licensing arrangements for the Neu! catalogue caused their lack in the CD market. In 2001, the situation was finally resolved when Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother got to an agreement to re-master the classic Neu! albums to CD and they were released on the Astralwerks label.
After quitting Neu!, Michael Rother wrote and produced several solo albums. Klaus Dinger has also produced several solo works apart from his side project La Dusseldorf. Thomas Dinger died on April 9th, 2002 after having released several solo albums.
If you are a rich Led Zeppelin fan this is your opportunity to live in the very place where the band was born in 1968: The Boathouse, in Pangbourne, West Berkshire.
Jimmy Page bought the Boathouse in 1967 when he was still a member of The Yardbirds. A year later, he was introduced to Robert Plant and he later invited him to stay at the Boathouse to discuss his proposals to create a new band. It was also at this house where Led Zeppelin -The New Yardbirds at the time- rehearsed for their for their first gigs at The Marquee Club. It was also filmed at this location the part where Jimmy Page plays the hurdy-gurdy by the riverside in the movie “The Song RemainsThe Same”.
This is not the only famous house that the guitarist owned in England, he also lived at Boleskine House, the legendary hunting lodge in Loch Ness that used to be owned by the magician Alistair Crowley, the beautiful Towe House at London’s Holland Park built by Waterhouse that he bought from the actor Richard Harris, and Mill House in Windsor, which he bought from Michael Caine.
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10 years ago today on the 8th of October 1997, Jo (Jonas) Bruce, keyboard player and programmer from Afro Celt Sound System, died suddenly of an asthma attack ten days after finishing a world tour. He was the son of legendary British bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce (Cream, Blind Faith, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers).
Member Simon Emmerson said: “Then we understood he wasn’t going to come back. It was difficult. He was a very important songwriter. There was a loss of faith in what we could do as a group, but we survived it.”
Afro Celt Sound System (later changed Afro Celts) is one of the most significant British bands in the electronic ethnic fusion scene of the 90’s.
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The Marquee Club is opening it’s doors again in London’s Soho, this time located at 14 Upper St Martin’s Lane. The main launch it’s been announced for the 5th of September 2007, with a special show featuring The Move, one of the most reputed bands in the history of the oringinal club in the 60’s.
The last reincarnation of the club opened it’s doors in September 2004 at 1 Leicester Square. It was run by Plum Promotions and was closed in December 2005. Plum Promotions is once again running the new version of the celebrated club. I hope to have more details soon about the new club. For more information please visit The Marquee Club official web site.
Thanks to Alex Piva for the pictures and information.
This news via The Marquee Club
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“Mention an appreciation of 8 track tapes, and you’ll get a lot of bewildered looks. At one time 8-track was the only portable music format, and now it’s been unfairly reduced to a punchline - a thick plastic icon of the 60’s and 70’s.
There are a number of reasons to be genuinely sore at 8-tracks. You couldn’t rewind the carts, the internal mechanisms could fritz out, and worst of all - the songs were often put on the tape in a different order than the album. “
Read all about it at Retro Thing
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