Nitzer Ebb - Beginnings and Basic Pain Procedure (1983)

Beginnings and Basic Pain Procedure (1983)

Nitzer Ebb began when Bon Harris and David Gooday asked Douglas McCarthy to sing in their band. They shared an interest in witchcraft, talking to trees, and collecting runestones in Chelmsford and Little Baddow. Their inspiration were bands such as DAF, Killing Joke, and Bauhaus. In August 1983, the group recorded its first demo tape, Basic Pain Procedure, produced by Chris Piper and Paul Chousmer (Also known for Another Green World, Webcore, Zuvuya and Astralasia). This rare demo tape included eight songs. (“Faded Smiles,” “Tradition,” “The Home,” “Star,” “The Pass,” “The Book,” “Crane,” “Trust Ran in Colours”) The trio began with shows in small local venues, but its arresting stage presence, military-like image, and energy garnered a growing base of followers and soon led to appearances in larger clubs and concert venues. Combining the energy of punk with the electronic pulse of DAF, it released its debut single "Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works" on 7 January 1985 on its own label, Power of Voice Communications, and its music soon became a fixture on the club scene. A double-A-sided single, "Warsaw Ghetto"/"So Bright So Strong," followed in 1985 to similar critical and dance floor acclaim. Two further releases, "Let Your Body Learn"/"Get Clean" and "Murderous" were released on Power of Voice Communications before the group signed with Mute Records. The group’s recordings were licensed to Geffen Records in the United States, which kept the band on its roster when that label switched distributors from Warner Bros. Records to MCA Records.