Bauhaus formed in 1979 at Northampton, England, under the name Bauhaus 1919 (to mark the date of the formation of the Bauhaus school of art). The line-up at that time was: Peter Murphy (vocals), Daniel Ash (guitar), David Jay (bass) and Kevin Haskins (drums). Later in 1979 they released "Bela Legosi's Dead" which was the first of Bauhaus' amazing singles.
Bauhaus released their first album "In the Flat Field" in 1980, which went to number 1 on independent charts, and number 72 on the pop charts.
Their next album "Mask" was even more of a hit, reaching number 30 on U.K. charts.
Their third album "The Sky's Gone Out" reached number 4 on the charts, propelled by a single released not long before that consisted of a cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust."
It's amazing that such a dark band would have such a high chart placing, and their last album went even further up the charts. "Burning From the Inside" had more contributions from Daniel Ash and David Jay, because Peter Murphy had pneumonia at the beginning of the sessions. "Burning..." went to number 13. But only a few months after its release Bauhaus split up.
From 1998 to 1999 Bauhaus went on a reunion tour, releasing a live album in the process, as well as causing Bauhaus fans to orgasm and line-up for days to get tickets. For the next 10 years (1998-2008), they toured sporadically, mostly playing American festivals, before releasing their final album, "Go Away White," and then breaking up once again.
Albums Discography
(A note: The best collection of Bauhaus material is Crackle (1998); very good for new fans.)