Born on 11 July: Peter Murphy, the great Bauhaus architect

Anatomy of the Bauhaus vampire, who just released “Silver Shade”, his eleventh solo album, in May this year with a plethora of guests.

At the age of 68, the English singer of Bauhaus is still indulging in gothic rock that is as hypnotic as it is singularly distressing at times.

Born in Northampton in 1957, he founded the band at the age of twenty with his mates Daniel Ash (guitar), David J Haskins (bass) and his younger brother Kevin Haskins (drums), all four of whom were art students at some point during their studies. Obviously inspired by the school of architecture and design in Weimar (Germany), the quartet initially chose the name Bauhaus 1919 in reference to the school's founding date.

Composed of three strong personalities, each needing to express themselves through personal projects, Bauhaus is now no more than a vehicle for nostalgia, rooted in the early 80s and fleetingly materialising in short tours usually bearing the explicit title of “Reunion Tour”. The last of these dates back to 2022. During their appearance at the W Festival in Ostend (Belgium) in August this year, they didn't forget to play ‘A God In The Alcove’ or ‘Telegram Sam’ (1980), ‘Bela Lugosi's Dead’ (their first single in 1979) and of course the emblematic ‘She's In Parties’ (1983). Murphy's baritone voice was still devilishly impressive.

As venomous as ever, before the unexpected “Silver Shade” discovered a few weeks ago, his latest personal compositions were 2014's “Lion”, although my favourite is still “Love Hysteria” (1988) for the impeccable “All Night Long” and the amusing (but anecdotal) “I've Got A Secret Miniature Camera”. And surprise, surprise, he was back in 2023 on Isabelle Adjani's long-awaited and generally uneven second album, Bande Originale. Here he rubs shoulders with Simon LeBon (Duran Duran), David Sylvian (Japan) and the cream of French chanson. The project has taken so long to materialise that some of them, such as Daniel Darc and Christophe, have left us in the meantime. A bit like Iggy Pop on his album ‘Free’ in 2019, he contented himself with a few words articulated in his deep voice on ‘Prélude’: This is the story of an actress / This is the story of a once-girl / Isabelle Adjani, he simply whispered in the actress's ear. Three little tricks and, like Houdini, Peter Murphy is gone. God knows when this fascinating, adventurous devil of a man will reappear.

More than a decade after her previous eh(udio effort, ‘Silver Square’, released in May 2025, takes up Adjani's idea of multiplying the number of guests but, despite the presence of Trent Raznor (Nine Inch Nails) on the harsh “Swoon” or the more incongruous and d!scrète Boy George on ‘Let The Flowers Grow’, Peter Murrphy remains the undisputed mastermind.

New album: Silver Shade - Metropolis Records - May 2025

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Peter Murphy with Bauhaus on stage at the Futurama Festival in Stafford (UK) on 5 September 1981