Douglas John McCarthy was born in London in 1966. He founded Nitzer Ebb in 1982 with Vaughn “Bon” Harris and David Gooday. In light of the sad loss of this electronic music icon, we would like to remember his first and last performances in Switzerland.
Nitzer Ebb’s first concert in Switzerland was on June 5, 1987, in Fribourg at Fri-Son. (Unfortunately, no information is available about that evening).
The second concert was on February 25, 1989. Nitzer Ebb performed on the occasion of the Belief Tour. The concert was organized by Sebastian Koch and took place at Stutz with Séance as the supporting band.
The following day (26.2) continuing the tour McCarthy and Co performed live in Lausanne @ La Dolce Vita. (No material of that concert is available).
Then, unexpectedly, after Geneva, Nitzer Ebb returned to Zürich to perform again the following day (27.6) at Stutz. Read below to find out the reason for this additional show.
All photos by Lilith.
Suddenly, in the middle of the first show in Zürich, the sound started to fail and the bass was heard intermittently. McCarthy: “What the fuck is going on in Zurich?” The band tried to get through the show but after the ninth song “Captivate” and despite the attempts of the sound engineer in charge, McCarthy had to stop the show: “Sorry guys, the system is fucked”.
And that is the reason why two days later Nitzer Ebb returned from Geneva and played again (for free) for their fans in Zürich at the same venue. (The photo of McCarthy dressed in black is from this second concert in Zürich).
Setlist of the second concert in Zürich: TWA, Without Belief, Warsaw Ghetto, Violent Playground, Let Beauty Loose, Blood Money, For Fun, Join in the Chant, Captivate, Hearts and Minds, Drive, Shame, Let Your Body Learn, Control I’m Here. Encore: Murderous, Let Your Body Learn, Control I’m Here.
Below is an excerpt from a review written by Christof Welte for the magazine New Life.
And here two videos (by Andreas Ender) from Nitzer Ebb last performance in Switzerland. This time, Swiss Dark Scene was part of the event: Der Schwarze Ball (April 4, 2022) where we had the opportunity to share a brief moment with McCarthy backstage to talk a little about music from back then and now. A very nice person with that aura that some people have.
Rest in peace Douglas John McCarthy, your music will continue with the beat… your heartbeat…
