HALLOWEEN TREASURE TROVE
Book a bounty of Bauhaus memorabilia, Stuart Derdeyn writes.
Bauhaus Undead: The Visual History and Legacy of Bauhaus is this Halloween’s must-have, limitededition collector’s book. Curated by the celebrated early ’80s band’s drummer Kevin Haskins, the unique package contains everything from set lists and gig posters to never-before-told stories in chapters on Iggy Pop, the single Bela Lugosi’s Dead and more on the chart-topping U.K. goth rock act.
Part memorabilia, part memoir, the book never would have happened if not for Haskins’s pack rat habit producing a veritable treasure trove through which to sort.
“I kind of have a theory that there is one collector in every band,” Haskins said. “It all started when we had our first write-up in our local Northampton paper The Chronicle and Echo, which was the first recognition any of us had ever had from the bands we’d played in. Then I just never stopped.”
What came out of the boxes of everything from band buttons to handwritten lyrics is a book that not only gives Bauhaus fans more trivia than they could ever have hoped for. Bauhaus Undead also charts the development of the whole post-punk, goth-rock genre and its dedication to design and imagery. Haskins wanted whatever he did with his collection to be presented in a way that celebrated the band’s devotion to style with substance.
“Jeff Anderson, who has a company called Artist in Residence, kept running into me at shows and we got along,” Haskins said. “When I told him I was working on a book idea, he told me that he designed them for a living. After seeing the incredible work he had done on box sets for Sigur Ros, Pixies, Roger Waters and more, it was obvious we had to work together.”
Far from being a study in black and drenched in gloom, Haskins discovered piles of snapshots that put a different face on his bandmates. There actually was a smiling and playful side to singer Peter Murphy, guitarist Daniel Ash and Haskins’ bassist brother, David J.
“There are all these photos of us just larking about being quite candid that are in opposition to that ever-so-serious side,” he said. “The truth is we were working stuff out, David had some lyrics about Bela Lugosi, we all liked film noir and that became Bela Lugosi’s Dead. During the recording of the first album, we would usually listen to dub reggae and late Beatles in between, but somehow our music came out dark.”
Bauhaus Undead: The Visual History and Legacy of Bauhaus shines light on one of the most enduring cult acts. As to whether the group will be back in black in future, Haskins says, “It seems very unlikely. But I’ve learned to never say never.”
The book is available in both deluxe (US$195) and compact ($69) editions at bauhausbook.com.
There are all these photos of us just larking about being quite candid that are in opposition to that ever-so-serious side.