Band & Artist Dossier

Cabaret Voltaire

Origin: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England · Active Years: 1973-1994, 2009-2021, 2025-present

A detailed catalogue profile for Cabaret Voltaire.

In this archive

1 album / credit record(s) · Industrial/Electro

English experimental/industrial electronic group formed in Sheffield in 1973 by Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, taking their name from the Zurich nightclub that fostered Dada. Pioneers of industrial and post-punk electronics on Rough Trade in the late 1970s and early 1980s (The Voice of America, Red Mecca), the group continued as a duo of Kirk and Mallinder after Watson's 1981 departure, moving toward funk- and dance-influenced synth-pop on Some Bizzare/Virgin releases The Crackdown (1983) and Micro-Phonies (1984), the latter featuring the singles "Sensoria" and "James Brown."

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Band Lineup & Member Profiles

Guitars, keyboards, tapes, sequencer programming
1973-1994
Co-founder whose tape-loop experiments and self-built electronics anchored Cabaret Voltaire's industrial sound; later steered the group toward funk and synth-pop production on The Crackdown and Micro-Phonies.
Vocals, bass, keyboards, sampling
1973-1994
Co-founder and vocalist/bassist who provided the group's rhythmic backbone and lead vocals through its Rough Trade and Some Bizzare/Virgin eras.
Keyboards, tapes
1973-1981
Founding member and tape-loop pioneer who left in 1981 to work in television and later became a celebrated BBC natural-sound recordist; co-founded the Hafler Trio.

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Photo & Visual Gallery

Complete 1980s Studio Discography

7 studio albums released from 1980–1989 by Cabaret Voltaire. Archived records link directly to full dossiers; remaining releases are queued for harvesting. MusicBrainz source.

♫ 1980
The Voice of America
1980 ·
⏳ Queued for Harvesting
♫ 1981
Red Mecca
1981 ·
⏳ Queued for Harvesting
♫ 1982
2×45
1982 ·
⏳ Queued for Harvesting
♫ 1983
The Crackdown
1983 ·
⏳ Queued for Harvesting
Micro‐Phonies cover
Micro‐Phonies
1984 · Virgin/Some Bizzare
✓ In Archive — Open Dossier →
♫ 1985
The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord
1985 ·
⏳ Queued for Harvesting
♫ 1987
Code
1987 ·
⏳ Queued for Harvesting

80s discography & production credits in the archive

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