Cabaret Voltaire's Richard H Kirk dies aged 65

Richard H Kirk (right) with Cabaret Voltaire bandmate Stephen Mallinder

Richard H Kirk, whose band Cabaret Voltaire were pioneers of electronic and industrial music in the 1970s and 80s, has died, at the age of 65.

The Sheffield band's experimental use of synthesisers and tape loops was a big influence on a generation of pop, house, techno and art-rock artists.

Kirk was "a towering creative genius who led a singular and driven path throughout his life and musical career", his record label, Mute, said.

"We will miss him so much," Mute added.

Those paying tribute included 808 State, who said Kirk had been "one the UK daddies of electronica" and his band's do-it-yourself approach was "an early inspiration of what to do with synths in the 70s".

Kirk formed the group in 1973 with Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson, at Sheffield University, and they named themselves after the Zurich nightclub that was the birthplace of the Dada art movement.

The group were influenced by beat writer William Burroughs's experiments with tape collages, and by bands such as Kraftwerk and Roxy Music.

Kirk told author Simon Reynolds, in his book Totally Wired: "Just listening to [Roxy Music's Brian] Eno talk in interviews about how anyone can make music because you don't need to learn an instrument, you can make music with a tape recorder or a synth, that was the inspiration that really got us started."

Cabaret Voltaire borrowed the same type of synthesiser Eno used, from the university's music department, and acquired a sequencer and drum machine.

'Went mad'

They played their first concert in 1975 - but, according to Kirk, it descended into a near-riot because the crowd had been expecting a conventional rock band.

"Someone else grabbed my clarinet and started hitting someone with it," he said.

"Everything just went mad."

Their other early performances included one at 10:00, at a school assembly in Bury, but the plug was pulled after four minutes and someone set off the fire alarm.

'Hugely influential'

The band attracted a growing number of followers with albums such as 1980's The Voice of America, 1981's Red Mecca and 1983's The Crackdown, however, the latter of which was their only release to crack the UK top 40.

They were "way, way ahead of their time", DJ magazine wrote in 2013.

"Creating a challenging sound that soaked up electronics, dub, found sounds and scuzzy punk, their sonics were hugely influential on the creation of industrial, house and techno," it added.

They were also the founding fathers of a fertile music scene in Sheffield, paving the way for the likes of The Human League, Heaven 17, Moloko and Warp Records.

And the Human League's Martyn Ware has described Cabaret Voltaire as "big brothers".

Coachella offer

The band went into hibernation in the 1990s but Kirk revived the group in 2009 - albeit as the only remaining member of the original line-up.

Mallinder moved to Australia and Watson had left in 1981, going on to become a highly respected sound recordist working with the likes of Sir David Attenborough.

Kirk told the Irish Times he had been offered "a very large amount of money" by the Coachella festival a few years ago to put the original line-up back together but did not want to dwell on nostalgia.

"It would be an insult to the spirit of the original Cabaret Voltaire, I think, to go for the quick buck," he added.