Bauhaus – The Bela Session

The Bela Session is a little piece of gothic rock history that should sit proudly in the record collection of any fan of The Cure, Joy Divison, Siouxsie and the Banshees et al

Album Review by Claire Francis | 20 Nov 2018
Album title: The Bela Session
Artist: Bauhaus
Label: Leaving Records in partnership with Stones Throw Records
Release date: 23 Nov

Goth kids, rejoice. Here we have a rare gem conjured up from deep within the Bauhaus vaults, just in time to mark the Northampton group's 40th anniversary. The Bela Session is the first official release of Bauhaus' debut studio recording, made in January 1979 just six weeks after they formed as a band.

The EP opens with the original studio recording of the nine-minute-plus Bela Lugosi's Deadthe single that kick-started the group's long career. Far from a rusty demo, it's a startlingly fresh take on what has been described as "the original gothic rock record." A spiky original version of Boys, clearly indebted to Bowie, closes the EP – previously unreleased, it was later rerecorded and released as the B-side of Bela Lugosi’s Dead. In between, there's Harry, which was later released as a B-side in 1982; Bite My Hip, which was later reworked, rerecorded and released as Lagartija Nick in 1983; and the sprightly, never before released, post-punk Some Faces.

Far from a superfluous 'for fans only' reissue, this five-track record (which has been beautifully mastered from the original analogue tape) is a little piece of gothic rock history that should sit proudly in the record collection of any fan of The Cure, Joy Divison, Siouxsie and the Banshees et al.

Listen to: Bela Lugosi's Dead, Boys


The Bela Session is out Nov 23 via Leaving Records

https://bauhaus.bandcamp.com/