bela lugosi's dead

béla ferenc dezső blaskó.



teeny 2, 12".

I am not a huge fan of gothic rock. The lumpen angst and greasepaint. The tortured sucking in of cheeks. From Alien Sex Fiend to Beetlejuice and Marilyn Manson, I could generally live better without it.

But this one is assuredly different, in addition to being the defining moment which served as catalyst for a thousand paler imitations. This song has it all in spades. A creaking, brooding bitch of an epitaph with just the right amount of theatrical swagger. Shadows gliding on the walls; mildewed skins fluttering. And since I've been skirting around the same noise seemingly for the last couple of posts, it's perhaps fitting to blow the dust off it now.

"Bauhaus is a British rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The band took their name from the German Bauhaus art movement, originally going by the name Bauhaus 1919, dropping the latter portion within a year of the band's formation."

The debt to Can is apparent. As is equally true with regards veteran krautrockers, Faust and expressionist director, F. W. Murnau.

In homage to the great Hungarian actor, Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó - born in 1882 - who first portrayed Bram Stoker's Count in a Broadway production of 1927 before resurrecting the role on celluloid for Universal Studios in 1931.

Originally limited to 5,000 copies on white vinyl.

▼ BAUHAUS: BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD from "Bela Lugosi's Dead b/w Boys / Dark Entries" 12" 45 (Small Wonder) 1979 (UK)

OUT OF PRINT