In 1982 the gothic new wave band Bauhaus released their third album titled "The Sky's Gone Out". They already were a cult band in the gothic scene by then. They formed in Northampton in 1978 as Bauhaus 1919. 1919 was the first year the german art style bauhaus was introduced to the world.

Original Bauhaus band logo

The group consists of Daniel Ash (guitar, saxophone), Peter Murphy (vocals, occasional instruments), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J (bass). They quickly shortened the name to Bauhaus. The demo recordings at the Beck Studios in Wellingborough resulted in their 9 minutes long debut single "Bela Lugosi's Dead". Which gave them a contract with the 4AD label where they released a few more singles including a cover of the T-Rex song "Telegram Sam" and their debut album "In The Flat Field". They switched over to Beggars Banquet Records in 1981.

Bauhaus in 1982

Then in 1982 they released their most succesful single so far "Spirit" reaching #42 in the UK. That song was re-recorded for their third album. They decided to change in style dramatically becoming more experimental. The album included a cover of a Brian Eno song "Third Uncle". All songs sound very depressed and sad which is of course their trademark. Their biggest hit was an exclusive single released after their third album was released. A cover of Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" reaching #15 in the UK. This gave "The Sky's Gone Out" their biggest selling album reaching #4 in the UK. Then the band appeared in the 1983 horror movie "The Hunger" starring David Bowie as a vampire.

Ziggy Stardust - single cover

They succeeded in keeping their music at an interesting and unique level. And also manage to express the darkest and most sorrowful emotions in different musical styles. The whole album sounds like a soundtrack to a horror drama movie. Highlights are "Silent Hedges", "Swing The Heartache", "Spirit" and "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything".

Original album cover

The Sky's Gone Out
Third Uncle / Silent Hedges / In The Night / Swing The Heartache / Spirit / The Three Shadows (part 1) / The Three Shadows (part 2) / The Three Shadows (part 3) / All We Ever Wanted Was Everything / Exquisite Corpse

Spirit - single version
Silent Hedges

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything