Nitzer Ebb: История британской EBM-группы

British EBM band

Nitzer Ebb ('/n//aɪ//t//s//ər// //ɛ//b//, /'/n//ɪ//t// /) are a British EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris (programming, synthesizers, drums, vocals), Douglas McCarthy (vocals), and David Gooday (drums). The band were originally named La Comédie De La Mort but soon discarded that and chose the name Nitzer Ebb by cutting up words and letters and arranging them randomly to create something Germanic without using actual German words.

The group released their demo Basic Pain Procedure in 1983, but it was two years until they met PWL producer Phil Harding, who produced their 1985 debut single "Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works?" and helped them set up their own label, Power Of Voice Communications. The band at the time was inspired by the post punk scene and specifically acts like "Siouxsie and the Banshees, Killing Joke and Bauhaus who were having a big influence on us, in some ways stylistically but also in the energy that they gave". They released three more singles on their own label, "Warsaw Ghetto" (1985), "Warsaw Ghetto Remixes" (1986) and "Let Your Body Learn" (1986), before signing to Mute Records in 1986. The singles "Murderous" (1986) and "Let Your Body Learn" (1987) followed, building their reputation in the Industrial Rock and EBM scenes, as well as making inroads into the developing Chicago House scene. "Join In The Chant" (1987) became part of the Balearic beat scene that influenced the UK acid house scene.

Their debut album That Total Age was released in 1987. Depeche Mode, longtime friends and label mates of the band, invited them to open for the European leg of their successful Music For The Masses Tour in 1987. David Gooday left after the tour and they completed their next album Belief (1989) as a duo. Mark 'Flood' Ellis became their new producer. They recruited Julian Beeston to assist them on their own world tour, and he soon became a regular contributor both on and off stage. The third Nitzer Ebb album Showtime, released in 1990, revealed a less confrontational sound. The single "Fun to Be Had" (1990) featured a remix by George Clinton and was a hit on the US dance chart. Their fourth album, Ebbhead (1991), showcased a more traditional songwriting style with an emphasis on melodic choruses was produced by Alan Wilder from Depeche Mode and Flood. They promoted the album with a global tour that took them from the southern U. S. to northern Siberia (in the Siberian city of Barnaul). This track, along with "Payroll", were debuted live as Nitzer Ebb played a handful of shows and festivals during 2007. These tracks were then featured on Nitzer Ebb's album, Industrial Complex. McCarthy and Harris reunited up with Jason Payne and producer Flood to finish up the first new Nitzer Ebb record in over a decade. In the meantime, Fixmer/McCarthy released its second album in June 2008, Into the Night. The band announced a US tour for fall–winter 2009 and were selected as the opening act of the January and February European and Russian dates of Depeche Mode's Tour of the Universe in 2010. In 2019, the band announced a North American tour that included the original band members David Gooday and Simon Granger. In 2021, the band continued more tour dates including in Europe. During the COVID 19 pandemic, Harris and McCarthy got together to work on a side project called D R A G.

In November 2021, McCarthy collapsed before a show in Palm Beach, Florida and had to go to the hospital. The band emphasized it was due to complications from a pre existing illness and it had nothing to do with COVID 19. The band went on to perform with Harris on lead vocals.

The single "Murderous" has been sampled by other electronic music acts, such as Information Society (on "Now That I Have You") and Kode IV (on "Success"). Nitzer Ebb's early tracks also made inroads to techno culture, notably in Richie Hawtin's 1999 DJ mix, Decks, EFX & 909.

SongA sideYear"The Way You Live""Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works"1985"Crane""Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works"1985"Cold War""Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works"1985"So Bright, So Strong""Warsaw Ghetto"1985"Get Clean""Let Your Body Learn"1986"K. I. A. ""Control I'm Here"1988"Time Slips By""Hearts and Minds"1989"Backlash""Shame"1989"Who We Are""Lightning Man"1990"Out of Mind""Fun to Be Had"1990"Taken From Me (Servant Mix)""Fun to Be Had"1990"Lovesick"'As Is' EP1991"Come Alive"'As Is' EP1991"Higher"'As Is' EP1991"Stray Cat Blues""I Give to You"1991"Skintight""Kick It"1995"Dead & Gone""Kick It"1995"Friend (Brittle Mix)""I Thought"1995"Beats Me""I Thought"1995"Payroll (John O Mix)"'Saw IV' Soundtrack2007"Promises"NCIS (The Official TV Series Soundtrack)2009"Never Known"Saw VI Soundtrack2009