Bauhaus, formed in 1978 and briefly popular in the early ’80s, are considered by many the first ‘goth’ band, though in truth the sound hadn’t yet developed into what would come from bands like Sisters of Mercy and Fields of the Nephilim. In truth, Bauhaus’ influence was to do with image, since their music hardly set them apart from fellow post-punk acts like Joy Division or Public Image Limited and they had few real hits.

With that in mind, they should be the ideal band to see rather than hear, and that’s precisely what this DVD offers – combining two old VHS releases, Shadow of Light (a compilation of nine live/promo videos) and Archive (ten further live songs, recorded 1982 at the Old Vic theatre, London) on a single disc. Fans may be disappointed to find there’s no new bonus material, simply the videos themselves, but will no doubt welcome the option to replace their wearing tapes with a DVD.

Sadly, it seems the band missed the chance to make the most of the new technology. Aside from the lack of extras, there’s no evidence of any remastering of the footage. The picture quality remains as grainy as I’d expect from an old video, which is particularly noticeable given that a lot of it’s in the dark and unfortunately the same is true of the sound which, despite stereo and 5.1 surround sound options, is also poor quality by modern standards.

It’s a slice of history, accurately portraying the early 1980s for better and worse (in music, hair and fashion), but like much of the decade hasn’t stood the test of time too well. With only a few songs, such as ‘She’s In Parties’, ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’, ‘The Passion of Lovers’, ‘Dark Entries’ and their cover of ‘Ziggy Stardust’ really of much note, this DVD’s of little appeal to those who weren’t there at the time.

(3/5)

Release Date: 23 January 2006

---

Shadow of Light