Nitzer Ebb

While you can credit (or blame) The Pixies for kicking off this whole reunion thing of the past couple of years, it's nice to see the trend extending beyond just graying college-rock outfits (and a few '70s arena-rock groups, too). Now back from the band graveyard is Nitzer Ebb, the...

By Michael Alan Goldberg

September 21, 2006

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While you can credit (or blame) The Pixies for kicking off this whole reunion thing of the past couple of years, it's nice to see the trend extending beyond just graying college-rock outfits (and a few '70s arena-rock groups, too). Now back from the band graveyard is Nitzer Ebb, the '80s industrial/EBM trio everyone thought was from Germany thanks to the name and the quasi-fascist imagery, barked vocals, forbidding synth lines, and brutal jackboot beats, but was really just three nice lads — Douglas McCarthy, Bon Harris, and David Gooday — from quaint Chelmsford, England. Tours with their Essex pals and Mute Records label mates Depeche Mode in '88 and '90 softened the Ebb's edges a bit, and they subsequently moved into more dance-floor-friendly techno before flaming out around 1995. Gooday, who left the band around 1989, has been replaced on this reunion tour by L.A.'s Kourtney Klein, a Maxim-approved bombshell who's hosted shows on Spike TV and drummed for loads of rock and industrial bands. Interestingly enough, one of Gooday's temporary replacements behind the kit in the early '90s was The Pixies' David Lovering. Now it's all starting to make sense.

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