Belfegore

Belfegore was a short-lived European Gothic New Wave band, formed in the early 1980s by Meikel Clauss. The group released several singles and two albums, initially for the German independent Pure Freude and later for Elektra. Belfegore are probably best known now for the US college radio hit "All That I Wanted", the video to which aired on MTV and VH1 and USA Network.

History

Belfegore was a project and brainchild of the German singer and guitarist Michael (Meikel) David Clauss, formerly of Nichts and Der KFC, with Charly Terstappen (aka Charly T Charles) and Walter Jaeger, formerly with Die Krupps. The band was formed 1982 in Düsseldorf and quickly became part of the Neue Deutsche Welle (German New Wave) movement, playing a distinctly German style of new wave music that owed a lot to both the early UK Goth scene as well as the European punk movement.

Their First album "A Dog Is Born" was a mostly self-financed affair, gaining limited release in Germany through Pure Freude and was imported into the UK by Rough Trade. This release was followed by the self-titled 12" EP "Belfegore" and the 7" live single "Marmour". In 1983, just as the group signed a record deal with Elektra, Jaeger left the band and was replaced by Raoul Walton. The resultant album, "Belfegore", produced by Conny Plank and released with two different covers, saw a shift away from the more experimental new wave sound to something harder-edged and industrial.

The band supported U2 on the European part of the Unforgettable Fire Tour. In 1985 Clauss dissolved the band because he claimed he'd had enough of the rock'n'roll lifestyle and he went on to study medicine in Germany. Raoul Walton later played with the German rock band Anyone's Daughter.

The video for "All That I Wanted" was also aired on MuchMusic in Canada, to much acclaim.

Members

* Meikel Clauss: Vocals/guitar/electronics
* Charly T. Charles: Drums/backing vocals
* Raoul Walton: Bass/backing vocals
* Walter Jaeger: Synth/bass

Discography

Albums

*"A Dog Is Born" - 1983 Pure Freude [ [http://www.purefreude.de/Belfegore-sounds83.html critics Sounds83 ] ]
*"Belfegore" - 1984 Elektra [ [http://music.aol.com/artist/belfegore/15748/biography Belfegore Biography - AOL Music ] ]

Singles

*"Belfegore/Nacht in Sodom/Heilige Kreige" - 1983 Pure Freude
*"Belfegore in Roma: Marmour/Hertz Amet Echos" - 1983 Pure Freude
*"All That I Wanted (Remix)/All That I Wanted (single vesrion)" - 1984 Elektra
*"All That I Wanted (Extended Club Mix)/Wake Up With Sirens (Remix)/Seabird Seamoan (Remix)" - 1984 Elektra

References

*http://www.myspace.com/belfegoreger