12 March 2010 (gig)
15 March 2010
Back in the 1980’s Electronic music was in its infancy and various groups of lads and lasses from all over the globe started experimenting with synthesizers, and drum machines. One of these groups hailed from Chelmsford in Essex and were called Nitzer Ebb.
Despite being friends with fellow electronic popsters 'Depeche Mode’ they never quite made the big time, instead they shared the same stages as the likes of DAF and label mates Fad Gadget.
They re-formed in 2006 and have just finished a European stadium tour supporting Depeche Mode. Tonight they are playing a headline show at the Islington Acadamy.
The venue is packed to the rafters with predominantly middle-aged men, although there are a smattering of youngsters whose own heroes have named this iconic group as an influence.
As you would expect, they pump out all the old favourites such as 'Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works’ and 'Join in the chant’ plus quite a few new ones from their first studio album in 15 years.
The three guys have an amazing stage presence, a bit like Depeche mode if they had been locked in a fetish club for a year! We don’t get three bored lads standing by keyboards instead we get animated humanoids bashing things, which is always a bonus in my book.
At times the sound is very industrial and at others it is pure electro pop but is always throbs and pulses.
Why these guys aren’t more successful is a mystery to me but hopefully the superb new album, industrial complex and the Depeche Mode tour will give them the success they deserve.
