Richard H Kirk, founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, dies aged 65

The British electronic musician Richard H Kirk, best known as a founding member of Sheffield group Cabaret Voltaire, has died aged 65.

Mute Records, which released several of Kirk’s solo albums and albums by the band, confirmed the news yesterday, describing him as a “towering creative genius who led a singular and driven path throughout his life and musical career”.

Robin Rimbaud, also known as electronic musician Scanner, paid tribute to Kirk’s work with Cabaret Voltaire: “Connecting the experimental side of Roxy Music with William S Burroughs’ cut-up techniques, their [albums] The Voice of America (1980) and Red Mecca (1981) remain utter gems of exploratory sound today.”

Kirk, along with Chris Watson and Stephen Mallinder, formed the group in 1973, taking their name from the Zurich nightclub from which the dadaist movement emerged and forging their sound via experiments combining music and technology.

They became known around Sheffield in the late 1970s for provocative live performances, and frequent support slots with Joy Division. The latter’s Bernard Sumner, later of New Order, cited the group among his musical influences. They founded a recording studio, the Western Works – a former cutlery factory – which acted as a hub for the Sheffield punk scene.

Kirk once described his motivation as “boredom” stemming from the absence of distraction in early 70s Sheffield: “You had to find your own entertainment, which turned out to be making weird electronic music.” The band signed to Rough Trade in 1978 and became beloved of peers such as Gang of Four’s Andy Gill. Watson left in 1981 and Kirk and Mallinder spent the subsequent decade bouncing from Virgin to EMI, with hits such as Sensoria and I Want You, exploring pop, house and techno.

Kirk maintained a prolific solo career alongside Cabaret Voltaire – once describing it as a combination of having too many ideas and “taking a lot of amphetamines” – using dozens of aliases such as Bit Crackle, Destructive Impact, Dr Xavier, PSI Punky Dread Allstars and Wicky Wacky. After Mallinder moved to Australia in 1995, Kirk continued his solo work.

He revived the Cabaret Voltaire name in 2009 for a series of collaborations and live performances, and in 2020 released an album, Shadow of Fear, as the sole band member.