Cabaret Voltaire
Industrial musician Richard H. Kirk has died
Richard H. Kirk was 65 years old.
© imago / Votos-Roland Owsnitzki
The industrial musician Richard H. Kirk died at the age of 65. The Briton was a founding member of the band Cabaret Voltaire.
Mourning the loss of the industrial musician Richard H. Kirk (1956-2021). The Briton, who was among other things a founding member of the band Cabaret Voltaire, died on September 21 at the age of 65. This has been confirmed by the music label Mute Records via Twitter. The cause of death is unknown.
“Richard was a tremendous creative genius who has embarked on a unique and motivated path throughout his life and musical career. We will miss him very much,” said the label. They also shared an old black and white photo of Kirk wearing a mullet, sunglasses and a sleeveless striped shirt.
Around 20 albums in the 80s and 90s
Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson founded Cabaret Voltaire in 1973. With their mixture of punk rock, industrial, techno and house they hit the nerve of the times and later influenced well-known bands such as Depeche Mode, New Order, Skinny Puppy and Bauhaus. Watson left the group in 1981 and Cabaret Voltaire then changed their sound towards synth pop. To date, the band has released an impressive 23 studio albums, eleven of them in the 80s and seven in the 90s. In 1994 the band split up. On behalf of Cabaret Voltaire, Kirk released her last album “Shadow of Fear” last year.
The musician then continued as a solo artist. Kirks accounted for around 40 solo albums. His debut record “Disposable Half-Truths” was released in 1980. Together with Peter Hope, he released his last album in 2018, “Black & White Medicine”.