Klaus Nomi
Encyclopedia
Klaus Sperber better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor
noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona.
Nomi was known for his bizarrely visionary 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 classical music opera
to covers of 1960s pop standards like Chubby Checker
's "The Twist
" and Lou Christie
's "Lightnin' Strikes
". He is remembered in the US as one of David Bowie
's backup singers for a 1979 performance on Saturday Night Live
.
Nomi died in 1983 at the age of 39 as a result of complications from AIDS
.
, Bavaria
, Germany
on January 24, 1944. In the 1960s, he worked as an usher at the Deutsche Oper in West Berlin
where he sang for the other ushers and maintenance crew on stage in front of the fire curtain after performances. Around that time he also sang opera arias at the Berlin gay discothèque Kleist Casino.
Nomi moved to New York City
in 1972. 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.
production of Richard Wagner
's Das Rheingold
at Charles Ludlam
's Ridiculous Theater Company as the Rheinmaidens and the Wood Bird.
Nomi 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 a skin-tight spacesuit with clear plastic cape, Klaus sang the aria Mon cœur s'ouvre à 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
recalled: "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.
At the New Wave Vaudeville show Klaus Nomi met Kristian Hoffman
, songwriter for the Mumps. Hoffman was a performer and MC in the second incarnation of New Wave Vaudeville and a close friend of Susan Hannaford and Tom Scully, who produced the show, and Ann Magnuson
, who directed it.
Anya Phillips, then manager of James Chance in the Contortions, suggested Klaus and Kristian form a band. Hoffman became Klaus' de facto musical director, assembling a band that included Page Wood from another New Wave vaudeville act, Come On, and Joe Katz, who was concurrently in The Student Teachers, the Accidents, and The Mumps.
Hoffman helped Klaus choose his pop covers, including the Lou Christie song "Lightning Strikes." Hoffman wrote several pop songs with which Klaus is closely identified: "The Nomi Song", "Total Eclipse", "After The Fall", and "Simple Man", the title song of Nomi's second RCA French LP.
This configuration of the Klaus Nomi band performed at Manhattan clubs, including several performances at Max's Kansas City
, Danceteria
and Hurrah.
Disagreements with the management Klaus engaged led to a dissolution of this band, and Klaus continued without them.
In the late 1970s while performing at Club 57
, The Mudd Club
, The Pyramid Club
, and other venues, Nomi assembled a group of up-and-coming models, singers, artists, and musicians to perform live with him, which at times included Joey Arias
, Jean-Michel Basquiat
, Keith Haring
, John Sex
and Kenny Scharf
. He also appeared on Manhattan Cable's TV Party
.
David Bowie
heard about Nomi's performances in New York and soon met him and Joey Arias
at the Mudd Club
. Bowie hired them as performers and backup singers for his appearance on Saturday Night Live
which aired on December 15, 1979. The band performed "TVC 15
", "The Man Who Sold the World
", and "Boys Keep Swinging
". During the performance of "TVC 15", Nomi and Arias dragged around a large prop pink poodle
with a television
screen in its mouth. Nomi was so impressed with the plastic quasi-tuxedo suit that Bowie wore during "The Man Who Sold the World" that he commissioned one to be made for himself. Nomi can be seen wearing the suit on the cover of his self-titled album, as well as during a number of his music videos. Nomi wore his variant of the outfit, in monochromatic black-and-white with spandex and makeup to match, until the last few months of his life. Then, mostly focusing on operatic pieces and increasingly ill with AIDS-related illnesses, including Kaposi's sarcoma
, he wore a Baroque era operatic outfit complete with full collar
.
Nomi also collaborated with producer Man Parrish
. He appeared on Parrish's album Hip Hop Bee Bop as a backup vocalist on the track "Six Simple Synthesizers."
He played a supporting role as a Nazi official in Anders Grafstrom's 1980 underground film The Long Island Four.
The 1981 rock documentary film, Urgh! A Music War
features Nomi's live performance of Total Eclipse
. His performance of Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix was used as the music for the closing credits.
666 Fifth Avenue
was listed as the contact address in the liner notes of Nomi's 1981 self-titled record.
. His ashes were scattered over New York City.
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 had not 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 Arts
gallery and one in Milan
(Italy
) at the Res Pira Lab, which subsequently moved to Berlin's Strychnin Gallery, called "Do You Nomi?". New music pieces inspired by Nomi were commissioned by the gallery from a variety of up and coming European musicians, among these the singer who is considered by many Nomi's heir, Ernesto Tomasini
.
In 2001 German band Rosenstolz
, featuring alternative pop stars Marc Almond
and Nina Hagen
, covered "Total Eclipse" for a maxi single CD release.
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 in the same way during his 2007 American tour. Morrissey included Nomi's song Death in his compilation of influential songs titled Under the Influence, after selecting it in 1984 as the last track for his appearance on the BBC radio show 'My Top 10'. Morrissey also chose Nomi's version of Schumann's "Der Nussbaum" ("The Walnut Tree") as one his selections on BBC Radio 4's "Desert Island Discs" in November 2009.
On television, a fictionalized version of Klaus Nomi appears in a two-part episode of animated comedy/adventure series The Venture Bros.
Nomi's cover of Lesley Gore
's 1964 hit "You Don't Own Me
" has been featured on the nationally broadcast The Rush Limbaugh Show
as the "Gay Update Theme".
Nomi's visual aesthetic has been noted as an influence on women's fashion such as Boudicca, Givenchy
, and Paco Rabanne
, as well as men's fashion designers such as Gareth Pugh
and Bruno Pieters for Hugo Boss
. Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2009 couture was influenced by Nomi and he used Nomi's recording of Nomi Song in his runway show.
Kazakh-American tenor Timur Bekbosunov, profiled in LA Weekly
's Best of LA People 2011 issue as 'The Reform Tenor', recorded Total Eclipse and performed it on America's Got Talent
Season 10 with his dark glam opera band, Timur and the Dime Museum, and composer of the song, Kristian Hoffman
, at the piano. According to Kristian Hoffman
, "Timur sang Total Eclipse to the utter befuddlement of the panel of judges, with the exception of Sharon Osbourne who gave some encouragement".
A biographical musical titled You Don't Nomi is currently developed by French playwright Baptiste Delval and director Nicolas Guilleminot. The title role is assigned to singer Matthieu d'Aurey who will share the stage with actor Denis d'Arcangelo. The play has been presented on June 10, 2011 in Paris during a public reading. The team is currently looking for producers.
International spy Alex Overby's cat was also named Klaus Nomi.
| valign=top |
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona.
Nomi was known for his bizarrely visionary 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
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-laden interpretations of classical music opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
to covers of 1960s pop standards like Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
's "The Twist
The Twist (song)
"The Twist" is a twelve bar blues song that gave birth to the Twistdance craze. The song was written and originally released in 1959 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side but his version was only a moderate 1960 hit, peaking at 28 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" and Lou Christie
Lou Christie
Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco , known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American singer-songwriter best known for three separate strings of pop hits in the 1960s , including his 1966 smash, "Lightnin' Strikes" and his incredible 3 octave vocal range.-Biography:Sacco was born in Glenwillard,...
's "Lightnin' Strikes
Lightnin' Strikes
"Lightnin' Strikes" is a song written by Lou Christie and Twyla Herbert, and recorded by Christie on the MGM label. The song was arranged, conducted, and produced by Charles Calello and was recorded on September 3, 1965. The backup singers on the recording were Peggy Santiglia, Bernadette Carroll...
". He is remembered in the US as one of David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's backup singers for a 1979 performance on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
Nomi died in 1983 at the age of 39 as a result of complications from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
Early life
Klaus Nomi was born Klaus Sperber in ImmenstadtImmenstadt
Immenstadt im Allgäu is a town in the Upper Allgäu, far southern region of Bavaria, Germany, in the German Alps.-External links:*...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on January 24, 1944. In the 1960s, he worked as an usher at the Deutsche Oper in West Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
where he sang for the other ushers and maintenance crew on stage in front of the fire curtain after performances. Around that time he also sang opera arias at the Berlin gay discothèque Kleist Casino.
Nomi moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1972. He began his involvement with the art scene based in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
. According to a documentary film made by Andrew Horn, Nomi took singing lessons and supported himself working as a pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
chef.
Career
In 1972, Nomi appeared in a satirical campCamp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
production of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
at Charles Ludlam
Charles Ludlam
Charles Braun Ludlam was an American actor, director, and playwright.-Early life:Ludlam was born in Floral Park, New York, the son of Marjorie and Joseph William Ludlam. He was raised in Greenlawn, New York, on Long Island, and attended Harborfields High School. The fact that he was gay was not a...
's Ridiculous Theater Company as the Rheinmaidens and the Wood Bird.
Nomi came to the attention of New York City's art scene in 1978 with his performance in "New Wave Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
", a four-night event MC'd by artist David McDermott. Dressed in a skin-tight spacesuit with clear plastic cape, Klaus sang the aria Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix ("My heart opens to your voice") from Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
' 1877 opera Samson et Dalila
Samson and Delilah (opera)
Samson and Delilah , Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire...
. 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
Joey Arias
Joey Arias is a New York City based performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist.Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was six when he moved with his family to Los Angeles. After singing with the rock band "Purlie" on Capitol Records and a stint with famed improvisational group the...
recalled: "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.
At the New Wave Vaudeville show Klaus Nomi met Kristian Hoffman
Kristian Hoffman
Kristian Hoffman is an American musician. His sister is writer Nina Kiriki Hoffman.-History:Singer/songwriter Kristian Hoffman first emerged during the late 1970s as songwriter and keyboardist for New York City cult favorite the Mumps, and was also an active figure in the No Wave, performing...
, songwriter for the Mumps. Hoffman was a performer and MC in the second incarnation of New Wave Vaudeville and a close friend of Susan Hannaford and Tom Scully, who produced the show, and Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer who first gained prominence in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan...
, who directed it.
Anya Phillips, then manager of James Chance in the Contortions, suggested Klaus and Kristian form a band. Hoffman became Klaus' de facto musical director, assembling a band that included Page Wood from another New Wave vaudeville act, Come On, and Joe Katz, who was concurrently in The Student Teachers, the Accidents, and The Mumps.
Hoffman helped Klaus choose his pop covers, including the Lou Christie song "Lightning Strikes." Hoffman wrote several pop songs with which Klaus is closely identified: "The Nomi Song", "Total Eclipse", "After The Fall", and "Simple Man", the title song of Nomi's second RCA French LP.
This configuration of the Klaus Nomi band performed at Manhattan clubs, including several performances at Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...
, Danceteria
Danceteria
Danceteria was a well-known four-floor nightclub located in New York City which operated from 1980 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. Throughout its history, the club had seven different locations, three in NYC and four in the Hamptons...
and Hurrah.
Disagreements with the management Klaus engaged led to a dissolution of this band, and Klaus continued without them.
In the late 1970s while performing at Club 57
Club 57
Club 57 was a nightclub located at 57 St. Mark's Place in the East Village, New York City during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was a hangout and venue for performance- and visual-artists and musicians, including Madonna, Keith Haring, Cyndi Lauper, Charles Busch, Klaus Nomi, The B-52s, Futura...
, The Mudd Club
Mudd Club
The Mudd Club was a TriBeCa nightclub that was opened in October 1978 by Steve Mass, art curator Diego Cortez and Anya Phillips, a figure in the downtown punk scene...
, The Pyramid Club
Pyramid Club
__notoc__The Pyramid Club is a nightclub in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. After opening in 1979, the Pyramid helped define the East Village drag and gay scenes of the 1980s...
, and other venues, Nomi assembled a group of up-and-coming models, singers, artists, and musicians to perform live with him, which at times included Joey Arias
Joey Arias
Joey Arias is a New York City based performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist.Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was six when he moved with his family to Los Angeles. After singing with the rock band "Purlie" on Capitol Records and a stint with famed improvisational group the...
, Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
, Keith Haring
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
, John Sex
John Sex
John McLaughlin , better known as "John Sex" was a cabaret singer and performance artist in New York City from the late 1970s until his death.-Early life:...
and Kenny Scharf
Kenny Scharf
Kenny Scharf is an American painter who lives in Brooklyn, New York. The artist received his B.F.A in 1980 at the School of Visual Arts located in New York City. Scharf's works consist of popular culture based shows with made up science-related backgrounds...
. He also appeared on Manhattan Cable's TV Party
TV Party
TV Party was a Public-access television cable TV show in New York City that ran from 1978 to 1982. Glenn O'Brien was the host. Chris Stein, co-founder of the pop band Blondie, was the co-host and Walter "Doc" Steding was the leader of the TV Party orchestra. Amos Poe was the director...
.
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
heard about Nomi's performances in New York and soon met him and Joey Arias
Joey Arias
Joey Arias is a New York City based performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist.Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was six when he moved with his family to Los Angeles. After singing with the rock band "Purlie" on Capitol Records and a stint with famed improvisational group the...
at the Mudd Club
Mudd Club
The Mudd Club was a TriBeCa nightclub that was opened in October 1978 by Steve Mass, art curator Diego Cortez and Anya Phillips, a figure in the downtown punk scene...
. Bowie hired them as performers and backup singers for his appearance on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
which aired on December 15, 1979. The band performed "TVC 15
TVC 15
"TVC 15" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie and released in 1976.The track was inspired by an episode in which Iggy Pop, during a drug-fuelled period at Bowie’s LA home, hallucinated and believed the television set was swallowing his girlfriend. Bowie developed a story of a holographic...
", "The Man Who Sold the World
The Man Who Sold the World
The Man Who Sold the World is the third studio album by David Bowie. It was originally released on Mercury Records in November 1970 in the United States and in April 1971 in the UK. The album was Bowie's first with the nucleus of what would become the "Spiders from Mars", the backing band made...
", and "Boys Keep Swinging
Boys Keep Swinging
"Boys Keep Swinging" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released as a single from the album Lodger on 27 April 1979.-Recording and release:...
". During the performance of "TVC 15", Nomi and Arias dragged around a large prop pink poodle
Poodle
The Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
with a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
screen in its mouth. Nomi was so impressed with the plastic quasi-tuxedo suit that Bowie wore during "The Man Who Sold the World" that he commissioned one to be made for himself. Nomi can be seen wearing the suit on the cover of his self-titled album, as well as during a number of his music videos. Nomi wore his variant of the outfit, in monochromatic black-and-white with spandex and makeup to match, until the last few months of his life. Then, mostly focusing on operatic pieces and increasingly ill with AIDS-related illnesses, including Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor caused by Human herpesvirus 8 , also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus . It was originally described by Moritz Kaposi , a Hungarian dermatologist practicing at the University of Vienna in 1872. It became more widely known as one of the AIDS defining...
, he wore a Baroque era operatic outfit complete with full collar
Ruff (clothing)
A ruff is an item of clothing worn in Western Europe from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-seventeenth century.The ruff, which was worn by men, women and children, evolved from the small fabric ruffle at the drawstring neck of the shirt or chemise...
.
Nomi also collaborated with producer Man Parrish
Man Parrish
Man Parrish is an American composer, songwriter, vocalist and producer. He, along with artists such as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Art of Noise, Arthur Baker, Afrika Bambaataa, John Robie, Jellybean Benitez and Aldo Marin helped create and define electro in the early 1980s...
. He appeared on Parrish's album Hip Hop Bee Bop as a backup vocalist on the track "Six Simple Synthesizers."
He played a supporting role as a Nazi official in Anders Grafstrom's 1980 underground film The Long Island Four.
The 1981 rock documentary film, Urgh! A Music War
Urgh! A Music War
Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. Among the artists featured in the movie are Magazine, The Go-Go's, The Fleshtones, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, XTC, Devo, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Dead...
features Nomi's live performance of Total Eclipse
Total Eclipse
A total eclipse is an eclipse where either the Sun is entirely covered by the Moon, or the Earth's shadow entirely covers the Moon.Total Eclipse may also refer to:-Music:* Total Eclipse , a Goa trance music group...
. His performance of Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix was used as the music for the closing credits.
666 Fifth Avenue
666 Fifth Avenue
666 Fifth Avenue is a 41-story office building on Fifth Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets in New York City.-Tishman ownership:The Tishman family via Tishman Realty and Construction built the tower in 1957. It was designed by Carson & Lundin and the building was called the Tishman Building...
was listed as the contact address in the liner notes of Nomi's 1981 self-titled record.
Illness and death
Nomi died on August 6, 1983 at the Sloan Kettering Hospital Center in New York City, one of the first celebrities to die of complications from AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. His ashes were scattered over New York City.
In popular culture
Filmmakers such as Andrew Horn and writers such as Jim FourattJim Fouratt
-Life and works:Jim Fouratt was an early member of the Gay Liberation Front and a participant in the Stonewall riots. Fouratt lived with Carl Miller, Allen Young, Giles Kotcher, Bob Bland and Punit Auerbacher in the Seventeenth Street commune...
consider Nomi an important part of the 1980s East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
scene, which was a hotbed of development for punk rock, music, the visual arts, and the avant-garde. Although Nomi's work had not yet met with national commercial success at the time of his death, he garnered a cult following, mainly in New York and in France.
The Nomi Song
The Nomi Song is a 2004 documentary about the life of singer Klaus Nomi, written and directed by Andrew Horn. The film debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2004, where it won a Teddy Award for "Best Documentary Film."-Structure:...
, which was released by Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures is a US-based entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires and distributes innovative music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD format...
, helped spur renewed interest in the singer, including an art exhibit in San Francisco at the New Langton Arts
New Langton Arts
-About:New Langton Arts was a not-for-profit arts organization focusing on contemporary art founded in 1975 in San Francisco, California. Part of the first wave of alternative art spaces in the US, New Langton Arts was a leader in exhibiting new media forms in art, and involving artists in the...
gallery and one in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) at the Res Pira Lab, which subsequently moved to Berlin's Strychnin Gallery, called "Do You Nomi?". New music pieces inspired by Nomi were commissioned by the gallery from a variety of up and coming European musicians, among these the singer who is considered by many Nomi's heir, Ernesto Tomasini
Ernesto Tomasini
Ernesto Tomasini is an Italian actor/singer/writer living in Britain. Best known for his more recent forays into contemporary music, he has behind himself a 20 year career on the stage.-Early performances:...
.
In 2001 German band Rosenstolz
Rosenstolz
Rosenstolz is a German music band from Berlin. Their music combines several styles including rock, pop and ballads. AnNa R. and Peter Plate form the duo. They had their breakthrough in 1998 with the song Herzensschöner...
, featuring alternative pop stars Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
and Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress.-Early years:Hagen was born as Catharina Hagen in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen , a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen, an actress and singer...
, covered "Total Eclipse" for a maxi single CD release.
British pop icon Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
used the song Wayward Sisters as an introduction prior to appearing on stage to begin a concert for his Kill Uncle
Kill Uncle
Kill Uncle is Morrissey's second solo album, released on 4 March 1991 by EMI and HMV Records...
tour. He used the song After the Fall in the same way during his 2007 American tour. Morrissey included Nomi's song Death in his compilation of influential songs titled Under the Influence, after selecting it in 1984 as the last track for his appearance on the BBC radio show 'My Top 10'. Morrissey also chose Nomi's version of Schumann's "Der Nussbaum" ("The Walnut Tree") as one his selections on BBC Radio 4's "Desert Island Discs" in November 2009.
On television, a fictionalized version of Klaus Nomi appears in a two-part episode of animated comedy/adventure series The Venture Bros.
The Venture Bros.
The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series that premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on February 16, 2003. The series mixes action and comedy together while it chronicles the adventures of the Venture family: well-meaning but incompetent teenagers Hank and Dean Venture; their...
Nomi's cover of Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore is an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.- Biography :Gore was born in New York City, New York. She was raised in...
's 1964 hit "You Don't Own Me
You Don't Own Me
"You Don't Own Me" is a popular song written by the Philadelphia songwriters John Madara and David White, and recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, when Gore was 17 years old. The song reached No...
" has been featured on the nationally broadcast The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks...
as the "Gay Update Theme".
Nomi's visual aesthetic has been noted as an influence on women's fashion such as Boudicca, Givenchy
Givenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
, and Paco Rabanne
Paco Rabanne
Francisco "Paco" Rabaneda Cuervo, more commonly known as Paco Rabanne is a Franco-Spanish fashion designer. He fled Spain for France with his mother when the Spanish Civil War broke out...
, as well as men's fashion designers such as Gareth Pugh
Gareth Pugh
Gareth Pugh is an English fashion designer. He currently lives and works in Paris.-Career:At 14, Pugh began working as a costume designer for the English National Youth Theatre. He started his fashion education at City of Sunderland College and finished his degree in Fashion Design at Central...
and Bruno Pieters for Hugo Boss
Hugo Boss
Hugo Ferdinand Boss was the founder of clothing company Hugo Boss.-Early life:Boss was born in Metzingen, Germany. After completing his apprenticeship and one year of employment, he founded his own company in Metzingen in 1923.-Support of Nazism:Boss joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before...
. Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2009 couture was influenced by Nomi and he used Nomi's recording of Nomi Song in his runway show.
Kazakh-American tenor Timur Bekbosunov, profiled in LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
's Best of LA People 2011 issue as 'The Reform Tenor', recorded Total Eclipse and performed it on America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
Season 10 with his dark glam opera band, Timur and the Dime Museum, and composer of the song, Kristian Hoffman
Kristian Hoffman
Kristian Hoffman is an American musician. His sister is writer Nina Kiriki Hoffman.-History:Singer/songwriter Kristian Hoffman first emerged during the late 1970s as songwriter and keyboardist for New York City cult favorite the Mumps, and was also an active figure in the No Wave, performing...
, at the piano. According to Kristian Hoffman
Kristian Hoffman
Kristian Hoffman is an American musician. His sister is writer Nina Kiriki Hoffman.-History:Singer/songwriter Kristian Hoffman first emerged during the late 1970s as songwriter and keyboardist for New York City cult favorite the Mumps, and was also an active figure in the No Wave, performing...
, "Timur sang Total Eclipse to the utter befuddlement of the panel of judges, with the exception of Sharon Osbourne who gave some encouragement".
A biographical musical titled You Don't Nomi is currently developed by French playwright Baptiste Delval and director Nicolas Guilleminot. The title role is assigned to singer Matthieu d'Aurey who will share the stage with actor Denis d'Arcangelo. The play has been presented on June 10, 2011 in Paris during a public reading. The team is currently looking for producers.
International spy Alex Overby's cat was also named Klaus Nomi.
Albums
- Klaus NomiKlaus Nomi (album)Klaus Nomi is the debut album by German countertenor Klaus Nomi.-Track listing:#"Keys Of Life" – 2:26#"Lightning Strikes" – 2:59#"The Twist" – 3:10#"Nomi Song" – 2:47...
(1981) - Simple ManSimple Man (album)Simple Man is the second album by German countertenor Klaus Nomi. It was also the last album to be released during Nomi's lifetime.-Track listing:#"From Beyond" – 2:51#"After the Fall" – 4:43...
(1982) - EncoreEncore (Klaus Nomi album)Encore! is the third album by German countertenor Klaus Nomi, released posthumously in 1983. It is partly a compilation of previous works, with some new work added.Nomi died of complications from AIDS earlier that year...
(1983) - In Concert (1986)
- Za BakdazZa BakdazZa Bakdaz is a collection of songs German countertenor Klaus Nomi was working on up until his death in 1983 from AIDS, a disease poorly understood at that time. The album was released posthumously in 2007. The large majority of the tracks have never before been heard on an official studio release...
(2007) – posthumous compilation of an "unfinished opera"
Singles
- "You Don't Own MeYou Don't Own Me"You Don't Own Me" is a popular song written by the Philadelphia songwriters John Madara and David White, and recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, when Gore was 17 years old. The song reached No...
" / "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)"Falling in Love Again " is the English language name for a 1930 German song composed by Friedrich Hollaender as Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt...
" (1981) - "Nomi Song" / "Cold Song" (1982)
- "Lightnin' StrikesLightnin' Strikes"Lightnin' Strikes" is a song written by Lou Christie and Twyla Herbert, and recorded by Christie on the MGM label. The song was arranged, conducted, and produced by Charles Calello and was recorded on September 3, 1965. The backup singers on the recording were Peggy Santiglia, Bernadette Carroll...
" / "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)" (1982) - "Simple Man" / "Death" (1982)
- "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" / "ICUROK" (1982)
- "ICUROK" / "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" (Canadian 12")
- "Za Bak Daz" / "Silent NightSilent Night"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
" (CD single, 1998) - "After the Fall"
| valign=top |
Music videos
- "Simple Man" (directed and edited by John Zieman)
- "Lightning Strikes"
- "Nomi Song"
- "After the Fall"
- "Falling in Love Again"
- "The Cold Song" (from Henry PurcellHenry PurcellHenry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
's 1691 opera King ArthurKing Arthur (opera)King Arthur or, The British Worthy , is a semi-opera in five acts with music by Henry Purcell and alibretto by John Dryden. It was first performed at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden, London, in late May or early June 1691....
)
Movie appearances
- Urgh! A Music WarUrgh! A Music WarUrgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. Among the artists featured in the movie are Magazine, The Go-Go's, The Fleshtones, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, XTC, Devo, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Dead...
(1982) - Long Island Four (1979)
- Mr. Mike's Mondo VideoMr. Mike's Mondo VideoMr. Mike's Mondo Video was a 1979 movie conceived by Saturday Night Live writer/featured player Michael O'Donoghue.-Plot:Mondo Video was a spoof of the controversial 1962 documentary Mondo Cane, showing people doing weird stunts. The logo for this film copies the original Mondo Cane logo...
(1979)
External links
- Klaus Nomi Keys Of Life
- Klaus Nomi Za Bakdaz
- Klaus Nomi Home Page
- The Nomi Song, a documentaryDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
feature filmFeature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
devoted to the life of Klaus Nomi - "Lightning Strikes" music video
- "Falling in Love Again" music video
- "The Cold Song" music video
- "Samson and Delilah Aria" music video
- "Three Wishes" music video