As documented in a new book, electronic body music swept Belgium and Germany as its artists strove to make something entirely new – but their militaristic look became controversial
In Düsseldorf in 1978, you might think Kraftwerk would be considered royalty in the local music scene. However, for a new era of kids coming up under punk at the Ratinger Hof club, the opposite was true. “They were uncool,” says Robert Görl of DAF. “You viewed yourself as the opposite of them.”
“Boring, sedate and sterile” was how his late bandmate Gabi Delgado once described the music of Kraftwerk, who were disliked so much that some took to violence against them in the club if they showed up. Kraftwerk’s Wolfgang Flür later recalled being kicked by people there multiple times, with cries of: “Let’s beat up the Kraftwerker!”
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