Douglas McCarthy, a founding member and frontman of legendary EBM outfit Nitzer Ebb, has died aged 58.
The Essex group broke the news on Instagram yesterday, June 11th, confirming that McCarthy died earlier that day. No cause of death was disclosed. “We ask everyone to please be respectful of Douglas, his wife and family in this difficult time,” the post read. “We appreciate your understanding and will share more information soon.”
Born in Barking, East London, and raised in Essex, McCarthy met future Nitzer Ebb drummer David Gooday while skateboarding in Chelmsford aged 10. Gooday introduced him to Bon Harris, who became the third member of the band. They formed in 1982, originally using the name La Comédie De La Mort before switching to Nitzer Ebb by cutting up words and letters and arranging them randomly to create something Germanic.
Inspired by post-punk, industrial music and early EBM groups, the band harnessed an ironically militaristic sound and aesthetic, which “reflected the austere political time, the miners’ strikes and riots,” Harris told the Guardian. McCarthy’s aggressively barked vocals, recalling that of an army sergeant, were crucial to this.
After releasing a handful of signals, they signed to Mute Records in 1986, and released their debut album That Total Age the following year. Though not the first EBM group, the presence of Nitzer Ebb and Belgium’s Front 242 helped popularise the sound outside of Germany. They landed five US Dance top 20 singles, including “Control I’m Here,” “Fun To Be Had” and “Join In The Chant,” arguably their most popular track.
The band influenced everyone from Gesaffelstein and The Hacker to Nine Inch Nails and Rammstein. Their music also hugely impacted the nascent house and techno scenes. In Chicago, they were regularly spun at cult club Medusa’s, while Jeff Mills, Juan Atkins, Carl Craig and other techno pioneers have spoken about Nitzer Ebb’s influence on their sound.
“I remember everyone from Detroit techno was there,” Mills told The Wire, reflecting on a Nitzer Ebb gig in the city. “I remember the lights came up and seeing everybody, from Kevin to Juan to Derrick.”
Outside of Nitzer Ebb, McCarthy collaborated with Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy, releasing two albums and touring regularly. He also worked with Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode, Swiss artist Headman and LA-based musician Cyrus Rex, and released his first solo album, Kill Your Friends, in 2012.
McCarthy experienced health issues in the latter years of his life, and pulled out of a Nitzer Ebb tour last year after being diagnosed with cirrhosis, which he attributed to “years of alcohol abuse.”
Listen to “Join In The Chant,” read some tributes and revisit our EBM feature from 2018.
