Bauhaus. A school of art and design founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar in 1919 and closed by the Nazis in 1933 after moving successively to Dessau (1925) and Berlin (1932); in spite of its short life, it was the most famous art school of the 20th century, playing key roles in establishing the relationship between design and industrial techniques and in breaking down the hierarchy that had previously divided ‘fine’ from ‘applied’ arts.

The Bauhaus was created when Gropius was appointed head of two art schools in Weimar in 1919 and united them in one; they were the Kunstgewerbeschule (Arts and Crafts School) and the Hochschule für Bildende Kunst (Institute of Fine Arts). He gave his new school the name Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar (Weimar State ‘Building House'), coining himself the word ‘Bauhaus’ (an inversion of ‘Hausbau'—house construction). His manifesto formulated three main aims for the school: first, to unite the arts so that painters, sculptors, and craftsmen could in future embark on co-operative projects, combining all their skills harmoniously; secondly, to raise the status of the crafts to that enjoyed by the fine arts; and thirdly, to establish ‘constant contact with the leaders of the crafts and industries of the country’ (an important factor if the school were to survive in a country that was in economic chaos after the war).

All students had to take a six-month preliminary course (Vorkurs) in which they studied the principles of form and colour, were acquainted with various materials, and were encouraged to develop their creativity. After that they moved on to workshop training in the field of their choice. Each workshop—in carpentry, metalwork, stained glass, weaving, typography, and so on—was run by two people—a Werkmeister (Workshop Master—a craftsman) and a Formmeister (Master of Design—an artist): ‘The former would teach method and technique while the latter, working in close co-operation with the craftsmen, would introduce students to the mystery of creativity and help them achieve a formal language of their own’ ( Frank Whitford, Bauhaus, 1984). In theory the Werkmeister and Formmeister had equal status, but in practice the Formmeister were regarded as more important. Students were known as ‘journeymen’ and then (after moving to the workshop stage) as ‘apprentices', emphasizing the craft-based nature of the school.

Gropius brought together a remarkable collection of teachers at the Bauhaus. The first head of the preliminary course was Johannes Itten, and when he left in 1923 he was succeeded by László Moholy-Nagy, who replaced Itten's rather metaphysical approach with an austerely rational one. The Formmeister included some illustrious painters, most notably Kandinsky and Klee. Lyonel Feininger was the only teacher to be on the Bauhaus staff for its entire history (although he did little actual teaching for much of that time). Among the few women teachers the most important was the weaver Gunta Stölzl (1897–1983) (see FIBRE ART). Admission was difficult for students and many who did get in were rejected after the preliminary course. On average there were about a hundred students at the Bauhaus at any one time, the total enlistment in its 14-year history being about 1,250. Several students went on to become teachers at the school, notably Josef Albers and Herbert Bayer.

In 1924 right-wingers gained power in the provincial elections and cut funding to the Bauhaus, which consequently moved to Dessau the following year; it was housed in a group of new buildings designed by Gropius (built 1925–6). The school now styled itself a Hochschule für Gestaltung (Institute for Design), teachers were called professors (a term Gropius had previously avoided because it smacked of academicism), and the dual Werkmeister–Formmeister system was abandoned; Gropius had envisaged this last change from the start, for now former students were available to teach both theory and practice: ‘a new previously unavailable type of collaborator for industry, craft, and building, who is the master equally of technique and form'.

The Bauhaus had been involved in architectural commissions from the outset (Gropius's manifesto had begun by saying ‘the ultimate aim of all creative activity is the building'), but it was only in 1927 that an architectural department was established. Students who chose to specialize in this subject after their preliminary course were not obliged to acquire any craft skill. The Swiss architect Hannes Meyer (1889–1954) was appointed first professor in this department, and when Gropius resigned suddenly a year later to devote himself to private practice he named Meyer as his successor as director. It was an unpopular choice with the staff, as Meyer was a Marxist and instituted a sociological approach that changed the whole tone of the school, with politics occupying an important place in the curriculum. Moholy-Nagy resigned immediately and Bayer soon afterwards. Meyer wanted the Bauhaus to supply ‘the needs of the people instead of the needs of luxury’ and encouraged the workshops to make mass-produced goods. His approach earned considerable funds for the school but disaffected most of the staff, who hated the idea of advertising dominating aesthetics. In 1930 Meyer was forced to resign and was replaced by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), one of the greatest architects of the 20th century.

Mies's main task was to rid the school of its political associations and thereby make it a less easy target for its right-wing opponents (the Nazi party was gaining strength throughout Germany). However, there were now a good many committed left-wing students at the school and one of their noisy meetings almost degenerated into a riot. Mies banned all political activity on threat of expulsion, but in 1932 the Dessau parliament closed the school. In an attempt to keep it alive Mies rented a disused factory in Berlin and reopened the Bauhaus there as a private enterprise, but it was closed by the Nazis in April 1933, soon after Hitler assumed power.

In its last few years the Bauhaus was dominated by architecture, but it produced a great range of goods, with many of them (furniture, textiles, and electric light fittings in particular) being adopted for large-scale manufacture. They were highly varied in appearance, but the style that is generally thought typical of the Bauhaus was severe, geometric, and undecorated. The school published a journal (Bauhaus, 1926–31) and a series of books, and its ideas were spread also by the emigration of many of its teachers before and during the Second World War (an exhibition was devoted to the Bauhaus at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1938, and the fact that the school had fallen victim to the Nazis enhanced its status in the democratic world). It has had an enormous influence on art education in the Western world and on visual creativity in general: ‘The look of the modern environment is unthinkable without it. It left an indelible mark on activities as varied as photography and newspaper design … [and] achieved a language of design liberated from the historicism of the previous hundred years’ ( Frank Whitford, Bauhaus).

After the Second World War Dessau became part of East Germany and the Bauhaus buildings were left derelict. In 1976 the school was faithfully restored for the 50th anniversary of its opening in Dessau, and after the reunification of Germany in 1990 it was reopened as a design institution.

Bauhaus A school of art and design founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar in 1919 and closed by the Nazis in 1933 after moving successively to Dessau (1925) and Berlin (1932); although it had such a short life it was the most famous art school of the 20th century, playing key roles in establishing the relationship between design and industrial techniques and in breaking down the hierarchy that had previously divided ‘fine’ from ‘applied’ arts. The Bauhaus was created when Gropius was appointed head of two art schools in Weimar in 1919 and united them in one; they were the Kunstgewerbeschule (Arts and Crafts School) and the Hochschule für Bildende Kunst (Institute of Fine Arts). He gave his new school the name Staatliches Bauhaus in Weimar (Weimar State ‘Building House’), coining himself the word ‘Bauhaus’ (an inversion of Hausbau: ‘house construction’). His prospectus formulated three main aims for the school: first, to unite the arts so that painters, sculptors, and craftsmen could in future embark on co-operative projects, combining all their skills harmoniously; secondly, to raise the status of the crafts to that enjoyed by the fine arts; and thirdly, to establish ‘constant contact with the leaders of the crafts and industries of the country’ (an important factor if the school were to survive in a country that was in economic chaos after the war).

All students had to take a six-month ‘preliminary course’ (Vorkurs) in which they studied the principles of form and colour, became familiar with various materials, and were encouraged to develop their creativity. After that they moved on to workshop training in the field of their choice. Gropius brought together a remarkable collection of teachers at the Bauhaus. The first head of the preliminary course was Johannes Itten, and when he left in 1923 he was succeeded by László Moholy-Nagy, who replaced Itten's rather metaphysical approach with an austerely rational one. The other teachers included some illustrious painters, most notably Kandinsky and Klee. Several students went on to become teachers at the school, notably Josef Albers. In 1924 right-wingers gained power in the provincial elections and cut funding to the Bauhaus, which consequently moved to Dessau the following year; it was housed in a group of new buildings designed by Gropius. The school had been involved in architectural commissions from the beginning, but it was only in 1927 that an architectural department was established, with the Swiss architect Hannes Meyer (1889–1954) as its first professor. When Gropius resigned in 1928 to devote himself to his own practice he named Meyer as his successor. It was an unpopular choice with the staff, as Meyer was a Marxist and instituted a sociological approach that changed the whole tone of the school, with politics occupying an important place in the curriculum. In 1930 Meyer was forced to resign and was replaced by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), one of the greatest architects of the 20th century. Mies tried to rid the Bauhaus of its political associations and thereby make it a less easy target for its right-wing opponents, but in 1932 the Dessau parliament closed the school. In an attempt to keep it alive Mies rented a disused factory in Berlin and reopened the Bauhaus there as a private enterprise, but it was closed by the Nazis in April 1933, soon after Hitler assumed power. In its last few years the Bauhaus was dominated by architecture, but it produced a great range of goods, with many of them (furniture, textiles, and electric light fittings in particular) being adopted for large-scale manufacture. They were highly varied in appearance, but the style that is generally thought typical of the Bauhaus was severe, geometric, and undecorated. The Bauhaus published a journal (Bauhaus, 1926–31) and a series of books, and its ideas were spread also by the emigration of many of its teachers before and during the Second World War. It has had an enormous influence on art education in the Western world and on visual creativity in general: ‘The look of the modern environment is unthinkable without it. It left an indelible mark on activities as varied as photography and newspaper design…[and] achieved a language of design liberated from the historicism of the previous hundred years’ (Frank Whitford, Bauhaus, 1984). After the Second World War Dessau became part of East Germany and the Bauhaus buildings were left derelict. In 1976 the school was faithfully restored for the 50th anniversary of its opening in Dessau, and after the reunification of Germany in 1990 it was reopened as a design institution.

Bauhaus. German school of design (literally Building House), the ideals of which dominated C20 architecture after the 1914–18 war. Contrary to widespread belief, it had no Department of Architecture until 1927. In 1919 the Grossherzogliche Sächsische Kunstgewerbeschule (Grand-Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts) and the Grossherzogliche Sächsische Hochschule für Bildende Kunst (Grand-Ducal Saxon High School for Fine Art), two important art-schools founded in 1906 by Wilhelm Ernst (1873–1923) Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar (reigned 1901–18), expressly to promote the ideals of the Arts-and-Crafts movement, were merged to become the Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar (State Building House, Weimar). Walter Gropius had been proposed by Henry van de Velde to succeed him as Director in 1915, but Gropius was serving in the army, and was unable to take up the post until 1919. Under his leadership the School rapidly moved away from its Arts-and-Crafts ideals, although Gropius claimed his innovatory policies were derived from notions promoted by the Deutscher Werkbund.

The Bauhaus became a centre for Modernist theorizing, especially from 1922, when van Doesburg was there, propagating Constructivist and De Stijl ideas. Thereafter, self-dramatization was the forte of the institution, for although the Bauhaus claimed to be inspired by the notions of unifying art and technology, it did nothing of the sort: its protagonists accelerated the sundering of ‘design’ from craftsmanship, and, with an emphasis on ‘industrial design’, abandoned any pretence that hand-crafts had a part to play in the Bauhaus-envisaged future. As a State-subsidized but overtly Left-wing institution, it began (unsurprisingly) to be perceived as a threat to local private craft-workshops, and in 1925 opposition grew so intense it was disbanded, and its functions taken over by the Hochschule für Handwerk und Baukunst (High School for Handicrafts and Architecture), directed by Otto Bartning, who was more sympathetic to Arts-and-Crafts ideals. It should be emphasized that it was not Nazis (who were relatively unimportant then) who objected to the scandalously mismanaged and pretentious Bauhaus, but traditional craftsmen and designers.

After Weimar had proved hostile, the industrial town of Dessau became host to the Bauhaus, and a new building, designed by Gropius, was erected there (1925–6), which became a paradigm of the International Modern style: the complex included three wings, a large glass-fronted workshop-block, and residences for the ‘Masters’, or professors, at the institution. The Bauhaus became the State School of Art of Anhalt, and in 1927 a department of architecture was established under the direction of Hannes Meyer, who promoted a Collectivist and Socialist agenda, especially after he succeeded Gropius as Director of the Bauhaus in 1928. Meyer's insistence (backed by Ludwig Hilbersheimer, who taught architecture) that building was not an aesthetic process, and that everything depended on the marriage between function and economy, led to dissent. Eventually the Bürgermeister (Mayor) of Dessau was obliged to remove Meyer from his post in 1930. Meyer's successor was Mies van der Rohe, who demanded rigorous standards of quality as well as a ferocious work-ethic concentrated on building and development: this régime alienated the Leftists, and the ructions which followed led to the closure of the Bauhaus, partly as a consequence of the by then increasing influence of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Under Mies van der Rohe (who attempted a rapprochement with the Nazis) it moved to Berlin-Steglitz in 1932, but finally closed in 1933.

Later, emigration of Bauhaus members led to the spread of its anti-crafts and anti-Historicist ideals throughout the world: in the USA its message was promoted at Harvard by Gropius and Breuer, at Chicago by Moholy-Nagy, and at the Armour Institute, Chicago (now Institute of Technology), by Mies van der Rohe and others. The Bauhaus was promoted as an ideal by Giedion and by Pevsner who saw it as the Modernist educational academy par excellence. At the Ulm Hochschule für Gestaltung (Ulm High School for Construction), founded in 1950, Bill revived the Bauhaus programme.

Bibliography

Argan (1975);
H. Bayer (1938, 1968);
Wi. Curtis (1996);
Droste (1998);
Engelmann & and Schädlich (1991);
Fiedler et al. (eds.) (2000);
Forgács (1995);
Gropius (1965);
Herdeg (1985);
Jervis (1984);
Kentgens-Craig (1998, 1999);
Lupton & J. Miller (eds.) (1993);
A. Meyer (1925);
U. Meyer et al . (2001);
G. Naylor (1985);
E. Neumann (ed.) (1993);
Wingler (1969);
Wolfe (1993)

Bauhaus German school for architecture and the applied arts, which played an important role in developing links between design and industry. Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, it aimed to combine great craftsmanship with an ideal of an all-embracing modern art. Though Bauhaus specialized in architecture and design, several progressive painters, including Kandinsky and Klee, taught there. The studios focused on designing products for manufacturing industry, especially furniture, textiles and electric light fittings. Typical Bauhaus design was severe and impersonal. In 1928 Hannes Meyer succeeded Gropius as director. Mies van der Rohe took Meyer's place in 1930 but in 1933, after it moved to Berlin, the Nazis closed the school. Many students and staff emigrated, taking Bauhaus style and ethos with them. Moholy-Nagy, a Hungarian designer who taught at the Bauhaus in the 1920s, founded the New Bauhaus in Chicago in 1937. This later became the Institute of Design. See also Breuer

http://www.bauhaus.de/english

Wilhelm Meyer-Lübke , 1861–1936, Swiss philologist. Meyer-Lübke taught at the universities of Jena, Vienna, and Bonn. He was the author of many works on Romance languages, chief among them being a four-volume grammar of Romance languages (1890–1902) and an etymological dictionary (in 13 parts, 1911–20).

Bauhaus

Rock group

For the Record…

An Ambitious Follow-up

Provoked the Press

Bauhaus Split Up

Selected discography

Sources

Often referred to as the “godfathers” of goth-rock because of their sometimes dark music and frightening stage show theatrics, Bauhaus served as an inspiration to later gothic outfits such as Christian Death, Alien Sex Fiend, and Marilyn Manson. However, confining Bauhaus to the category of goth-rock ignores the group’s sense of humor, uniqueness, and desire for musical experimentation. “Their music was dark rock ‘n’ roll,” asserted the Official Bauhaus Web Site, “owing more to Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ than to their imitator’s pompous epics which gave the Gothic genre a bad name.” After the members of Bauhaus went their separate ways in 1983, they continued to find commercial and critical acclaim with acts such as Love and Rockets. And into the later 1990s, Bauhaus songs still sounded contemporary, the group’s albums sold better than ever, and the band’s live shows remained legendary.

Bauhaus formed in 1978 in Northampton, England; the group’s founding members included bassist and vocalist David J (born David Jay Haskins), his brother Kevin Haskins, a drummer, guitarist Daniel Ash, and vocalist Peter Murphy. David J, Haskins, and later Ash all played together prior to Bauhaus under various names such as The Craze, The Submerged Tenth or Jack Plug, and The Sockettes. However, all of these relatively unknown outfits seemed to lack a certain chemistry. In an attempt to salvage the threesome’s pursuits, Ash decided to call upon Murphy, an old school friend who shared the trio’s musical tastes, and asked him to join the band. This decision proved beneficial from the start, for within just a couple of weeks, Ash and Murphy had written an astounding number of songs, including “Dark Entries,” “In the Night,” “Boys,” “Harry,” and many more.

A month later, after David J and Haskins joined the pair to further develop lines for the collection of songs, and the four musicians officially named themselves Bauhaus 1919 after the German art movement (the suffix 1919 was later dropped in 1979 from the group’s namesake). On New Year’s Eve, 1978, they made their first public debut in England. Soon thereafter, Bauhaus recorded in just one take a 12-inch single on the Small Wonder label that included the track “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.” The epic, nine minute-long song, released in August of 1979, would later become a Bauhaus classic and goth-rock anthem. While the song never reached the pop charts, it remained on the United Kingdom independent charts for several years. At the band’s request, the 12-inch version of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” never appeared on an album until the release of the Bauhaus compilation Crackle in 1998.

With just one single to their name, Bauhaus quickly gained attention for their live performances held in small clubs. Using videos projected onto a small screen and a single white strobe light, the band produced a startling and hypnotic show. “You may not care to have the fear of God instilled in you at a gig, partially from the band,” wrote Melody Maker, as quoted by the band’s website, “but Bauhaus proved an exhilarating exception. Audience communication is never broached, more a sense of intimidation that immediately demands you take an interest—deeply explosive drums, throbbing basses and a never ending variety of guitar sounds which never resort to conventional methods of attack.”

After performing almost non-stop and just three months after releasing their first single, Bauhaus signed with the Beggars Banquet’s subsidiary label 4AD. In January of 1980, the group released their second single, “Dark Entries.” Later in the summer of the same year, after touring Europe, they released the single “Terror Couple Killed Colonel,” another independent chart hit. In September of 1980, Bauhaus arrived in the United States for their first American tour, releasing another single, a cover of the 1970s glam-rock group T-Rex’s “Telegram Sam,” toward the end of the month.

Upon returning to England, Bauhaus released their debut album, the psychedelic, dark, and original In the Flat Field, in October of 1980. An immediate success,

For the Record…

Members include Daniel Ash, guitar, vocals; David J (born David Jay Haskins), bass, vocals; Kevin Haskins, drums; Peter Murphy (born in Northampton, England), vocals.

Group formed in Northampton, England, developed legendary yet simple stage shows, 1978; released classic single “Bela Lugosi’s Dead, “Small Wonder, 1979; released debut album, In the Flat Field, 4AD, 1979; released Mask, Beggars and Banquet, 1980; released first U.K. Top 20 hit, “Ziggy Stardust,” which reached number 15 and The Sky’s Gone Out, Beggars Banquet, both in 1982; released Burning from the Inside, Beggars Ban-quet/A&M, 1983; reunited for worldwide tour; released compilation album Crackle, 1998.

Addresses: Record company —Beggars Banquet Records, 580 Broadway, Ste. 1004, New York City, NY 10012; phone: (212) 343-7010; fax: (212) 343-7030. Website—The Official Bauhaus Web Site, http://www.bauhausmusik.com.

although the album originally contained none of Bauhaus’s previous singles, the record peaked at number one on the independent charts and number 72 on the pop charts. (In the 1990s, all of the 4AD singles were remastered and included in an expanded CD of In the Flat Field.) Unlike any other band prior, Bauhaus on their debut introduced listeners to the dense, raw force that would become their own unique style.

February of 1981 took Bauhaus back to the United States for a second, 16-date tour. Also that year, Bauhaus, by now gaining a wider audience, transferred to the Beggars Banquet label. Subsequently, they released the single “Kick in the Eye,” which introduced a more commercial sound through its dance rhythms, soon followed by “The Passion of Lovers,” which Bauhaus composed and recorded in one day. Both singles made the British top 60 in 1981. Also this year, Ash formed a group outside of Bauhaus called Tones on Tale.

An Ambitious Follow-up

In October of 1981, Bauhaus released their second album entitled Mask, marking a shift in musical direction for the group. More ambitious, accessible, and mature than the group’s debut effort, Mask featured other musical elements such as metal and electronic textures. However, the broader collection of songs also retained the experimental edge and the dark, foreboding core of Bauhaus’s earlier music. Bob Gulla in musicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide defined the work as “Bauhaus’s finest, showing a variety of styles and extremes in both musicianship and verse.” Likewise, the album succeeded in terms of commercial appeal as well, reaching number 30 on the British charts.

Despite the group’s intense touring schedule that led them across Europe and abroad, a significant breakthrough record continued to elude Bauhaus. Nonetheless, the band headed back to the studio to record the EP Searching for Satori (released in March of 1982), which also included a remix of “Kick in the Eye” and reached number 45 on the British charts. The next single, “Spirit,” appeared later that summer, making the British top 50. For this song, Bauhaus used an outside producer for the first and last time. Unhappy with the arrangement and final outcome of “Spirit,” the group recorded a longer, more complete version that showed up on their next album.

In the meantime, Bauhaus experienced a bit of mainstream recognition when Murphy took on an acting job and starred in a series of television commercials advertising Maxell tapes. Filmed by a renowned director named Howard Guard (who later made the video for a Bauhaus song entitled “She’s in Parties”), the trend-setting commercials drew acclaim from the advertising industry. Moreover, the popularity of the ads resulted in Bauhaus receiving a cameo appearance in the film “The Hunger.” In the movie, a vampire myth set in New York City starring David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve, the group performed “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” in a club frequented by the film’s leading characters.

Provoked the Press

In the fall of 1982, Bauhaus made a connection of sorts with Bowie again by releasing a cover of the musician’s song “Ziggy Stardust,” followed by a version of pop/electronic innovator Brian Eno’s “Third Uncle.” Throughout the group’s career, and especially since their recording of “Telegram Sam,” some members of the English press accused Bauhaus of sounding similar to Bowie or mimicking the glam-rock style with their elaborate stage shows. Fully realizing that a remake of a Bowie song would invite an abundance of media protest, Bauhaus decided to provoke the press even more by adding “Third Uncle” to the release of “Ziggy Stardust.” Forthe 12-inch version, the group further included a live cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Waiting for the Man,” featuring the vocals of former Velvet Underground member Nico. And while the project began out of Bauhaus’s sense of humor, the popular single finally earned the group their first United Kingdom Top 20 hit as “Ziggy Stardust” ascended to number 15.

Propelled by the pop chart success of the single, The Sky’s GoneOut, Bauhaus’s next album also released in 1982, entered the album charts at number four. To show their gratitude to record buyers, the group included free with the first 30,000 copies a live album consisting of live performances from late 1981 and early 1982. The free album was released later that year independently as Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape. Although The Sky’s Gone Out gave the group their greatest mainstream recognition, the album nonetheless lacked the lyrical humor of Bauhaus’s earlier work.

In early 1983, with the band already booked for studio time to work on their next album, Murphy contracted viral pneumonia. The other members of Bauhaus, though, opted to start recording without the lead singer, whose serious illness prevented him from participating. By the time he recovered, the bulk of the record was completed, leaving Murphy the opportunity to reinterpret the vocals for only four songs. Consequently, 1983’s Burning from the Inside consisted of greater contributions from Ash and David J, who sang on most of the album’s tracks and added a more acoustic sound to the music. Despite the fact that all the members of Bauhaus did not contribute equally to writing and recording Burning from the Inside, the albu m proved yet another critical and popular achievement, climbing to number ten on the pop charts, and spurred the successful single “She’s in Parties.” However, the diverse album also prompted the breakup that would come in July of 1983, as the members of Bauhaus displayed an obvious interest in pursuing other musical avenues.

Bauhaus Split Up

Bauhaus promoted the album with a tour of Japan, returning to the British for a tour of England from June 11 until July 5. During Bauhaus’s last performance held at Hammersmith Palais in England, Ash exited the stage with the words “Rest in peace,” as quoted by the group’s website. (A recording of the live show entitled Rest in Peace: The Final Concert was later released in 1992.) Shortly thereafter, a press release confirmed rumors that Bauhaus had broken up. Feeling that fan club members who had already paid their annual subscription deserved compensation, Bauhaus sent out 325 copies of a single the band had decided not to release on an album called “The Sanity Assassin.” The song was later made available to the general public as a track on Crackle.

After Bauhaus split apart, all of the group’s members went on to enjoy commercially successful careers. Murphy first formed a band called Dali’s Car with Mick Karn (formerly of the group Japan) and then released a string of solo projects. His more noteworthy albums included Deep(1990) and Cascaded (1995). Ash continued playing with Tones on Tail, joined by Haskins after Bauhaus’s breakup, and David J released some solo records in addition to joining the group the Jazz Butcher for a short time. In 1985, Ash, David J, and Haskins reunited as Love and Rockets after a proposed Bauhaus reunion fell through. Love and Rockets, embracing the diversity and creativity evident on Burning from the Inside, earned both critical acclaim and commercial acceptance throughout the remainder of the 1980s and into the 1990s.

In 1998, with Love and Rockets and Murphy at a recording standstill, Bauhaus reformed for several live shows in Los Angeles, followed by a series of summer concerts across the United States and a fall tour in Europe. In celebration of the reunion, the band released the “best of” album Crackle on the Beggars Banquet label. Duringtheir visittoChicago while ontour, Bauhaus booked some studio time and even began work on a new song, leading to rumors that a new release was in the making. Although 15 years had passed since the Bauhaus breakup, the group’s reunion and tour of sold-out performances established the notion that the legacy and influences of Bauhaus remained as strong as ever.

Selected discography

as Bauhaus

“Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” (12-inch single), Small Wonder, 1979.

In the Flat Field, 4AD, 1980.

Mask, Beggars Banquet, 1981, reissued, 1995.

Lagartija Nick, (EP), Beggars Banquet, 1982.

Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape, Beggars Banquet, 1982.

Searching for Satori, (EP; includes “Kick in the Eye”), Beggars Banquet, 1982.

The Sky’s Gone Out, Beggars Banquet/A&M, 1982.

Ziggy Stardust, (EP), Beggars Banquet, 1982.

4AD, (EP), 4AD, 1983.

Burning from the Inside, Beggars Banquet/A&M, 1983, reissued, 1989.

The Singles 1981–1983, Beggars Banquet, 1983.

1979–1983, Beggars Banquet, 1985.

1979–1983, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Beggars Banquet, 1986.

Swing the Heartache: The BBC Sessions, BBC/Beggars Banquet, 1989.

Rest in Peace: The Final Concert, Nemo/Beggars Banquet, 1992.

Crackle, Beggars Banquet, 1998.

as Love and Rockets

Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven, UK Beggars Banquet, 1985, reissued, Beggars Banquet/RCA, 1988.

Express, Beggars Banquet/Big Time, 1986.

Earth, Sun, Moon, Beggars Banquet/Big Time, 1987.

Love and Rockets, Beggars Banquet/RCA, 1989.

Hot Trip to Heaven, American, 1994.

This Heaven, (EP), UK Beggars Banquet, 1995.

Body and Soul, (EP), American, 1995.

The Glittering Darkness, (EP), UK Beggars Banquet, 1996.

Sweet F.A., American, 1996.

Peter Murphy solo

Should the World Fall Apart, UK Beggars Banquet, 1986, reissued, Beggars Banquet, 1996.

Love Hysteria, Beggars Banquet/RCA, 1988, reissued, Beggars Banquet/Atlantic, 1995.

Deep, Beggars Banquet/RCA, 1990, reissued, Beggars Banquet/Atlantic, 1995.

Holy Smoke, Beggars Banquet/RCA, 1992, reissued, Beggars Banquet/Atlantic, 1995.

You’re So Close, (EP), Beggars Banquet/RCA, 1992.

The Scarlet Thing in You, (EP), Beggars Banquet/Atlantic, 1995.

Cascade, Beggars Banquet/Atlantic, 1995.

Sources

Books

Graff, Gary and Daniel Durchholz, editors, musicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press, 1999.

Robbins, Ira A., editor, Trouser Press Guide to ’90s Rock, Fireside/Simon and Schuster, 1997.

Periodicals

Atlanta Journal and Constitution, September 11, 1998, p. P04.

Dallas Morning News, September 24, 1998, p. 43A.

Toronto Star, September 4, 1998.

Online

All Music Guide website, http://www.allmusic.com, (September 26, 1999).

The Official Bauhaus website, http://www.bauhausmusik.com, (September 26, 1999).

RollingStone.com, http://www.rollingstone.tunes.com, (September 26, 1999).

—Laura Hightower

Bauhaus •douse, dowse, Gauss, grouse, house, Klaus, louse, Manaus, mouse, nous, Rouse, souse, spouse, Strauss •Windaus • madhouse • cathouse •Gasthaus • guardhouse • farmhouse •glasshouse • bathhouse • almshouse •penthouse • guesthouse • warehouse •playhouse •bakehouse, steakhouse •alehouse, jailhouse •gatehouse, statehouse •treehouse • wheelhouse • greenhouse •clearing house • meeting house •counting house • ice house •lighthouse, White House •doghouse • dollhouse •chophouse, flophouse •dosshouse •hothouse, pothouse •poorhouse, storehouse, whorehouse •courthouse • malthouse • Bauhaus •town house • outhouse • coach house •roadhouse • smokehouse • boathouse •oast house • schoolhouse •Wodehouse • cookhouse • clubhouse •nuthouse • beerhouse • powerhouse •summerhouse • barrelhouse •porterhouse, slaughterhouse, Waterhouse •workhouse • lobscouse • woodlouse •field mouse • titmouse • dormouse