Cabaret Voltaire (band)

Cabaret Voltaire are an English music group formed in Sheffield in 1973 and initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson The group was named after Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that served as a centre for the early Dada movement.

The early work of Cabaret Voltaire consisted primarily of Dada-influenced performance art, and the group would eventually develop to become a pioneer of industrial music in the mid-1970s along with contemporaries such as Throbbing Gristle. Finding an audience during the post-punk era, they integrated their experimentalist sensibilities with new wave, dance, techno, and wider forms of pop music. They are often characterized as among the most innovative and influential electronic groups of their era.

History

The band formed in Sheffield in 1973 and experimented widely with sound creation and processing. Some of these early experiments were first documented on the Industrial Records cassette 1974-1976 (1980), then later on the triple album CD set Methodology '74/'78: The Attic Tapes (Mute 2002). They eventually turned to live performance, often sharing the bill with Joy Division. In one incident, Mallinder was hospitalised with a chipped backbone after the band had objects thrown at them. However, the arrival of punk rock brought a more accepting audience for their industrial, electronic sound and they were championed by Sheffield punk fanzine Gunrubber edited by Paul Bower of local band 2.3.

Cabaret Voltaire

Cabaret Voltaire may refer to:

Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich)

Cabaret Voltaire was the name of a nightclub in Zurich, Switzerland. It was founded by Hugo Ball, with his companion Emmy Hennings on February 5, 1916 as a cabaret for artistic and political purposes. Other founding members were Marcel Janco, Richard Huelsenbeck, Tristan Tzara, and Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Jean Arp. Events at the cabaret proved pivotal in the founding of the anarchic art movement known as Dada.

History

Switzerland was a neutral country during World War I and among the many refugees coming to Zurich were artists from all over Europe. Ball and Hennings approached Ephraim Jan, patron of the Holländische Meierei at Spiegelgasse 1, which had already hosted Zurich's first literary Cabaret, the Pantagruel in 1915. Jan permitted them to use the back room for events. The press release which accompanied the opening of the nightclub reads:

The cabaret featured spoken word, dance and music. The soirees were often raucous events with artists experimenting with new forms of performance, such as sound poetry and simultaneous poetry. Mirroring the maelstrom of World War I raging around it, the art it exhibited was often chaotic and brutal. On at least one occasion, the audience attacked the Cabaret's stage. Though the Cabaret was to be the birthplace of the Dadaist movement, it featured artists from every sector of the avant-garde, including Futurism's Marinetti. The Cabaret exhibited radically experimental artists, many of whom went on to change the face of their artistic disciplines; featured artists included Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Giorgio de Chirico, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, and Max Ernst.

Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet (French: [fʁɑ̃.swa ma.ʁi aʁ.wɛ]; 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume Voltaire (/voʊlˈtɛər/;French: [vɔl.tɛːʁ]), was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state.

Voltaire was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate of several liberties, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day.

Biography

François-Marie Arouet was born in Paris, the youngest of the five children (three of whom survived) of François Arouet (1650 – 1 January 1722), a lawyer who was a minor treasury official, and his wife, Marie Marguerite d'Aumart (ca. 1660 – 13 July 1701), from a noble family of the province of Poitou. Some speculation surrounds his date of birth, which Voltaire always claimed to be 20 February 1694. Voltaire was educated by the Jesuits at the Collège Louis-le-Grand (1704–1711), where he learned Latin and Greek; later in life he became fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English.

Voltaire (racehorse)

Voltaire (1826 – 16 April 1848) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won five of his six races, including the Doncaster Gold Cup in 1828. After retiring from racing he became a successful stallion, siring St. Leger winner Charles the Twelfth and Voltigeur, who won both the Epsom Derby and the St. Leger. He was bred and owned by Robert Stephenson, before being sold to William Vane, Marquess of Cleveland, whom he raced for as a three-year-old.

Background

Voltaire was a brown colt bred by Robert Stephenson and foaled in 1826. He was sired by Blacklock, who won seventeen races including three Great Subscription Purses. Blacklock was also a successful stallion and was the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1829. Amongst his other progeny were York St. Leger winner Velocipede and Doncaster Gold Cup winner Laurel. Voltaire was the fifth foal of his dam, an unnamed daughter of Epsom Derby winner Phantom.

Racing career

1828: Two-year-old season

Voltaire made his debut on 9 April 1828 at Catterick Bridge, when he beat four rivals to win the Richmond Club Stakes. His only other start as a two-year-old came in July in the Tyro Stakes at Newcastle, where he faced five opponents. Starting as the 6/4 favourite and ridden by Sim Templeman, he won the race from Zodiac. During the winter he was amongst the favourites for the 1829 St. Leger Stakes.

Voltaire (disambiguation)

Voltaire is the pen name of French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher François-Marie Arouet.

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