Buckley - Kraftwerk Publikation : a biography

a spirited, admiring effort Mojo ()

Publikation is certainly the most comprehensive study of Kraftwerks career and creative output to date Attack magazine

A terrific book The Scotsman

Buckley manages to get to the clockwork heart of the group, working out what makes them tick Record Collector ()

Buckley covers every possible angle of Kraftwerk in dazzling, dizzying detail, skillfully weaving tales of the bands rise and creative inspirations with lengthy quotes and punchy anecdotes. Its heady, but highly readable Digital Journal

This book is evidently a master work equally torn out of, and inspired by, a love and desire for understanding and recognition of its subject. Unlike any other music biography that I have read Andy McCluskey (OMD)

There have been other books about Kraftwerk (Ive read them) and there will be further books about Kraftwerk (I will read them too) but, for my money, right now youre not going to read a better one than Kraftwerk Publikation by David Buckley This Is Not Retro

The new Kraftwerk biography really is wonderful, isnt it? Alexis Petridis, chief rock and pop writer, The Guardian (on Twitter)

Copyright 2015 Omnibus Press

This edition 2015 Omnibus Press

(A Division of Music Sales Limited, 14-15 Berners Street, London W1T 3LJ)

EISBN: 978-1-78323-618-3

Cover designed by Malcolm Garrett

Picture research by Jacqui Black & David Buckley

The Author hereby asserts his / her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with Sections 77 to 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages.

Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of the photographs in this book, but one or two were unreachable. We would be grateful if the photographers concerned would contact us.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.

For all your musical needs including instruments, sheet music and accessories, visit www.musicroom.com

For on-demand sheet music straight to your home printer, visit www.sheetmusicdirect.com

WHEN I began researching this book back in 2009, I could not have imagined having the co-operation and input from four ex-members of Kraftwerk. Karl Bartos not only offered his help, but remained in regular contact through Skype during this period. Much of what he told me remains private and confidential, but I cannot thank him enough for his contribution to the book, for his friendship and for his terrific and wicked sense of humour.

In November 2010 I spent two days with Wolfgang Flr in Dsseldorf. Wolfgang was charming and warm and remarked after the interview that it was the longest he had ever given! Indeed, the transcription of our marathon chat came to a whopping 40,000 words.

Eberhard Kranemann, a member of the pre-fame Kraftwerk, also supplied excellent information and many rare photographs. It was a privilege to speak to Michael Rother who was also briefly a member of Kraftwerk before forming Neu! in 1971.

In alphabetical order, my other interviewees were: Rebecca Allen, Joe Black, Henning Dedekind, Ralf Drper, Rusty Egan, John Foxx, Malcolm Garrett, Manfred Gillig-Degrave, Ian Harrison, Andy McCluskey, Moby, Steve Redhead, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Jon Savage, Peter Saville, Uwe Schtte, John Taylor, Kristoff Tilkin, Martyn Ware and Simon Winder.

The quotes from Paul Buckmaster and John Peel come from interviews I conducted with them about David Bowie. The quotes from Chris Cross and Billy Curie of Ultravox, Gary Numan and Philip Oakey come from interviews conducted for Mojo magazine.

My editor, Chris Charlesworth, was simply everything you want an editor to be. Not only is he an excellent editor but his knowledge of popular music history means that he acts as a much-needed back stop when one gets things wrong, or forgets important matters. My wife, Ann Henrickson, as she has done for all my books, read the manuscript and made some important changes. Nigel Forrest acted as a sort of project manager and brought the book to fruition by organising, collating and annotating the transcriptions, commenting on the text and adding important slabs of information. Ros Edwards, my agent at Edwards/Fuglewicz, was also a wonderful support. My thanks too to Helenka Fuglewicz, Julia Forrest and Ann Waterhouse at E/F.

The books designer, Malcolm Garrett, not only came up with, for my money, a classic book cover (Kraftwerk fans have already been contacting me to ask if they can buy the design as a poster!) but also suggested that I make the book as Kraftwerk-like as possible. It was his idea to call the book Publikation and to make the chapter headings read like Kling Klang Produkt. Without this suggestion I would not have had the idea of writing the book in eight chapters and in 64-bits in homage to Kraftwerks obsession with numerology and computerised history.

I would also like to thank Jacqui Black, who helped source the photographs for the book and designed the photo sections and the books PR and rights manager, Helen Donlon, who waited so patiently for the text.

The transcriptions for my interviews were completed with great skill by Maria Stone, Helen Williams and Jackie Roper. John Ellis, was a huge support during the writing of the book, and also designed the captcha page. Essential Kraftwerk material was provided by my friend Michael Wiegers.

I would also like to thank my friends in the UK for their support: Bob and Eirwen Adkins, Mike Baker, David and Oonagh Blackshaw, John Ellis, Richard Freeman, Pete Gibbons, Richard and Ann Goosey, Robin Hartwell, Phill and Anne Humphries, Ian Craig Marsh, Jo and Rick Ord, Steve Jopson, Graham Lidster, Ron Moy and Paul Du Noyer, as well as my friends in Germany and elsewhere: Timo, Colin and Shona Andrews, Grant and Liz Coles, Matthew Hawkes, Klaus and Veronika Federa, Graham and Carol Johnstone, Simon Johnstone, Jim Lucas, Christel Keters, Birgit and Jakob Mayr, Lisa Meinecke, Brigitte Niehues, Steve Jones, Stella Kingsbury, Renate Krakowczyk, Jim Ready, Karl Siebengartner, Steve Thornewill and Karen Weilbrenner. I would also like to mention a close family friend, Angi Andrews, who passed away in 2010 and who is much missed.

Finally, much love to my wife, Ann, daughters, Louise and Elsa, my mum and dad, Harold and Mabel, John and Beth Buckley, Harry and Gill Buckley, Ruth, James, Hannah and Peter, Ziggy, and Hoggle (RIP).