Klaus Nomi
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You don't know me, I'm not one of your little toys |
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Klaus Nomi is...
Well...
Um...
He just is.
Klaus Nomi (born Klaus Sperber) was a falsetto New Wave cover singer, performance artist and pastry chef who rose to fame in the 1970s. Raised in Germany (and coming from outer space), he started out singing operatic arias in vaudeville shows before becoming one of the most lauded New Wave talents of the era. Sadly, he became a victim of Executive Meddling, and eventually lost control over most of his music. Like many gay stars at the time, he died in 1983 as a result of complications from AIDS.
He cited Elvis Presley and Maria Callas as his biggest influences, and it shows -- his cover songs are a delicate balance between rock and opera, with a strong New Wave vibe. He appeared on Urgh! A Music War. where he performed his Signature Song, "Total Eclipse" (which was recently covered by Nina Hagen). He also worked with David Bowie, and they inspired each other's wardrobe for a short while.
Klaus Nomi still has a massive fanbase, and is considered by many to be New Wave's best example of Doing It for the Art.
The only person to even come close to his brand of "postmodern theatricality" is Lady Gaga, who cites him as an influence. It shows.
... And he sang The Wizard Of Oz.
- After the End: "After the Fall".
- Album Title Drop: "Simple Man" and "Za Bakdaz" are both songs as well as album titles.
- Anonymous Band: Initially, Klaus's band all wore black and ski masks to avoid distracting the audience from Klaus's theatrics. Then they realized it wasn't a problem.
- Averted for the Urgh! performance, which featured a band in weird white outfits, much to the original band's disgust.
- Anti-Love Song: "You Don't Own Me".
- Countertenor Boy
- Cover Version: Many. "Lightning Strikes," originally by Lou Christie, "The Twist," originally by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, "You Don't Own Me," originally by Leslie Gore, "Just One Look," originally by Doris Troy, "Falling in Love Again," originally by Marlene Dietrich, "Can't Help Falling in Love," originally by Elvis Presley, "I Feel Love," originally by Donna Summer. "Ding Dong The Witch It Dead", originally from The Wizard of Oz. And the opera songs.
- Lou Christie was so impressed by Klaus's version of "Lightning Strikes," he wanted to work on a space opera with Klaus.
- The Cover Changes the Gender: Spectacularly averted with "You Don't Own Me": "Don't say I can't play with other BOYS!".
- The End of the World as We Know It: "Total Eclipse".
- Epic Instrumental Opener: "From Beyond," "High Wire," "Fanfare".
- Fake-Out Fade-Out: "Samson and Delilah (Aria)".
- Glass-Shattering Sound
- Gratuitous French: "Samson and Delilah (Aria)," "Enchante".
- Hey, Let's Put on a Show: After his first performance at the New Wave Vaudeville, Ann Magnuson asked people who didn't even know Klaus to start a band for him.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: Several instances of Nomi/Know me.
- Incredibly Long Note: "The Cold Song" ends with one.
- Indecipherable Lyrics: The Za Bakdaz album.
- Last-Note Nightmare: "Samson and Delilah (Aria)" ends with a UFO takeoff.
- Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly: Klaus is... pop music covering opera performance art with heavy reliance on synthesizers? Let's just say it's New Wave.
- New Wave
- No-Hit Wonder: He never really made it into the mainstream, but in avant-garde circles, everyone knows Klaus Nomi.
- One Countertenor Wail: "From Beyond" and it's reprise, "Return."
- Power Ballad: New Wave Power Ballad!
- Protest Song: "You Don't Own Me".
- Rearrange the Song: And how!
- Revolving Door Band: The original band is not the album band is not the Urgh! band.
- Rhyming with Itself: Total eclipse! It's a total eclipse!
- Rockumentary: The Nomi Song.
- Scare Chord: "Nomi Chant".
- Self-Titled Album.
- Signature Song: "Total Eclipse," "Nomi Song," "Samson and Delilah (Aria)".
- Song of Song Titles: In "After the Fall": So I told you about the total eclipse now, but still it caught you unawares...
- The Song Remains the Same: Despite his tendency to Rearrange the Song, the opera pieces are left basically untouched.
- Stage Names: He's really Klaus Sperber.
- The Something Song: "Nomi Song," "The Cold Song".
- Word Salad Lyrics: "Cre Spoda, "Za Bakdaz," and most of that album, really. Also, the album version of the Samson and Delilah aria isn't actually French.