Everything about Klaus Nomi totally explained
Klaus Sperber (
January 24,
1944 -
August 6,
1983), better known as
Klaus Nomi, was a
German countertenor noted for remarkable vocal performances and an unusual, otherworldly, elfin stage persona. Nomi is remembered for bizarrely theatrical live performances, heavy make-up, unusual costumes, and a highly stylized signature hairdo which flaunted a receding hairline. His songs were equally unusual, ranging from
synthesizer-laden interpretations of classic
opera to covers of 1960s pop standards like
Chubby Checker's "
The Twist" and
Lou Christie's "
Lightnin' Strikes".
Personal life
Klaus Nomi was born Klaus Sperber in
Immenstadt,
Bavaria,
Germany. His birthday is commonly observed as
January 24,
1944. In his youth in the 1960s, he worked as an usher at the
Deutsche Oper in West
Berlin where he'd sing on stage in front of the
fire curtain after the shows for the other ushers and maintenance crew. Around that time he also sang operatic arias at a Berlin gay club called
Kleist Casino.
Nomi moved from
Germany to
New York City in the mid-1970s. He began his involvement with the art scene based in the
East Village. According to a documentary film made by Andrew Horn, Nomi took singing lessons and supported himself working as a pastry chef.
Nomi died on
August 6,
1983 in New York City, one of the first celebrities to die of an illness complicated by
AIDS. His ashes were scattered over New York City.
(External Link
)
Career
Nomi appeared in a satirical
camp production of
Richard Wagner's
Das Rheingold with
Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theater Company in 1972. ("Art After Midnight: The East Village Scene" by Steven Hager; 1986 St. Martin's Press)
But Nomi first came to the attention of New York City's art scene in 1978 with his performance in "New Wave
Vaudeville", a four-night event MC'd by artist
David McDermott. Dressed in skin-tight spacesuit with clear plastic cape, Klaus sang the aria
Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix ("My heart opens to your voice") from
Camille Saint-Saëns' 1877 opera
Samson et Dalila. The performance ended with a chaotic crash of strobe lights, smoke bombs, and loud electronic sound effects as Nomi backed away into the smoke.
Joey Arias recalls, "I still get goose pimples when I think about it... It was like he was from a different planet and his parents were calling him home. When the smoke cleared, he was gone." The reaction was so overwhelmingly positive that he was invited to perform at clubs all over New York City.
(External Link) (External Link)
Nomi assembled a group of then up-and-coming artists around him which at times included
Joey Arias,
Jean-Michel Basquiat,
Keith Haring,
John McLaughlin (who also used the pseudonym "Johnny Sex") and
Kenny Scharf.
(External Link)
David Bowie had been hearing about Nomi's performances in NYC and after meeting him and
Joey Arias at the Mudd Club one night, he hired them as performers and back-up singers for his appearance on
Saturday Night Live which aired on
December 15,
1979.
Nomi also collaborated with producer
Man Parrish. He appeared on the track Six Simple Synthesizers as backing vocals which came out on the album Hip Hop Bee Bop.
The 1981 rock documentary film,
Urgh! A Music War features Nomi's live performance of
Total Eclipse.
(External Link) (External Link)
Influence and cultural significance
Filmmakers like Andrew Horn and writers like Jim Fouratt consider Nomi an important part of the 1980s
East Village scene, which was a hotbed of development for punk rock, music, the visual arts, and the avant-garde. Although Nomi's work hadn't yet met with national commercial success at the time of his death, he garnered a cult following, mainly in New York and in France.
Andrew Horn's 2004 feature documentary about Nomi's life,
The Nomi Song, which was released by
Palm Pictures, helped spur renewed interest in the singer, including an art exhibit in San Francisco at the
New Langton gallery.
Nomi's influence can also be measured by references and homages to him in the work of later artists.
British pop icon
Morrissey used the song
Wayward Sisters* as an
introduction prior to appearing on stage to begin a concert for his
Kill Uncle tour. He used the song
After the Fall for the same purpose during his 2007 American tour. Morrissey included Nomi's song
Death in his compilation of influential songs titled
Under the Influence.
Austrian composer
Olga Neuwirth wrote
Hommage à Klaus Nomi for countertenor and chamber ensemble.
A fictionalised version of Klaus Nomi appears in a two-part episode of animated comedy/adventure series
The Venture Bros. In "
Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part I)," he appears as one of
David Bowie's bodyguard henchmen (alongside an animated
Iggy Pop, another Bowie collaborator). "Klaus" attacks his opponents with ultra-high-pitched singing and the over-sized bow tie of his famous costume, spun and ejected as a battering weapon. In "
Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part II)," "Klaus" seems to have been killed after betraying Bowie in order to become a henchman of a villain known as
The Phantom Limb.
Nomi's flamboyant cover of
Lesley Gore's 1964 hit "You Don't Own Me" with a thick German accent is sometimes featured on
The Rush Limbaugh Show as the Gay Update Theme. This was done after Gore's original was for a time adopted as the Feminist Update. Nomi doesn't change the gender (for example "Don't say I can't play with other boys"); in fact, the last word of the phrase is emphasized as "with other... BOYS!"
Discography
|-
| width=50% valign=top |
Albums
Singles
"You Don't Own Me" / "Falling in Love Again" (1981)
"Nomi Song" / "Cold Song" (1982)
"Lightning Strikes" / "Falling in Love Again" (1982)
"Simple Man" / "Death" (1982)
"Ding Dong" / "ICUROK" (1982)
"ICUROK" / "Ding Dong" (Canadian 12")
"Za Bak Daz" / "Silent Night" (CD single, 1998)
"After the Fall"
| valign=top |
Music Videos
"Simple Man"
"Lightning Strikes"
"Nomi Song"
"After the Fall"
"Falling in Love Again"
"The Cold Song" (from Henry Purcell's 1691 opera "King Arthur")
Movie Appearances
Urgh! A Music War (1982)
Long Island Four (1979)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Klaus Nomi'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://klaus_nomi.totallyexplained.com">Klaus Nomi Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
