I initially looked him up because of a "guest appearance" on The Venture Bros., and then I started looking for videos of his on Youtube... I first thought he was kinda freaky, then kinda interesting, and now I wanna buy his albums... too bad he passed away so young...

Anyone else ever heard of him before?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q7JcO7rMWF8

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gFaZyHxQGYQ

I remember him in the 70's with Bowie on SNL doing "Man who sold the world".

Blew my mind.

My wife is a HUGE fan, has the albums, one of them framed on the wall even......i bought her the dvd of The Nomi song, basically a lifestory told in an interesting fashion......def worth a look.....he was also in one of the og punk compilations, Urggh! a Music War.....

He was quite a character, and one of the first well known performers to die from the then unknown, aids.....like you said, young and underappreciated....when you can find his albums, their usually imports.....he was better received in europe than in the states.....

he's not everyone's cup of tea, but his theatrics and stage show were awesome......

PALM Pictures has a whole dvd documentary out about klaus nomi.
He was also in a decline of western civilization. Crappy new wave opera singer, did covers of a few songs, really weird tweaker stuff if you ask me.

heres an overview of The Nomi Song, the palm documentary:::

The Nomi Song is Andrew Horn’s award-winning look at the life of German-born singer Klaus Nomi. One of the most profoundly bizarre characters of the late 70s/early 80s New Wave underground scene, Klaus Nomi was a genuine counter-tenor who sang pop music like opera to enthusiastic club audiences. Through archival performance footage and interviews with his friends and fellow artists, Nomi’s influence and unique style are brought to life twenty-two years after his death from AIDS.

Part documentary, part music film and part sci-fi, The Nomi Song is a story of love of music and love of performing at a time when it seemed as though everyone was struck by a sense of urgency to make something - anything. A time of no limits. Klaus Nomi was on the verge of international fame as a singer when he tragically became one of the first gay artists to die of AIDS (then referred to as the “gay cancer”). He was as much a genuine talent as he was the engine of his own destruction. He was an alien amongst the outcasts and an obviously tortured soul who, at the same time, radiated optimism when optimism was “officially” out of fashion. The Nomi Song is a story that grows out of a group of people who influenced him; people who felt used, cheated yet, overall, inspired. Featuring Ann Magnuson, Gabriele Lafari, David MacDermot, Page Wood, Tony Frere, Man Parrish, Kristian Hoffman, Ron Johnsen, Kenny Scharf, Anthony Scibelli, Alan Platt with a special appearance by David Bowie.

The Nomi Song features the music of Wire, The Marbles, The Bongos, Pylon, The Mumps, Chi Pig, and, of course, David Bowie. This DVD also includes Klaus Nomi performances, many never before seen since originally performed by Klaus including a full performance of “The Cold Song” with full orchestra - Klaus’s ultimate performance.

I admit too, I had to do some research after that awesome V Bros. episode. My first thought was that it was Taco (lol) but than I thought "no, has to be connected to Bowie since Iggy was his other stooge (get it )"

This is the type of crap I love, partially out of giggles to myself, and partially cause' I know how many people I can annoy/piss off with it. Like King Diamond or William Shatner (though my love for both of them is not ironic.)

He was really an innovator - not ironic in the least. A perfect example of why the early punk/avant scene was so fascinating. Check out his contemporaries; there's a lot more great stuff there as well.

Jeez, you must be as old as.....me
I remember that , as well. They were in these solid cone/dresses if I remember. Or maybe that was for TVC015 (?).
Wish they would release specific SNL guest artists on dvd rather than the totally unfocused collections.

I like saying "It's too smart for me."

I love pre-punk and glam too. I can say I ONLY like this particular fellow ironically though, I like it only to laugh at sorry. But I'm honest about it, and so it makes it OK. I'm not a Bowie fan either actually, though I'm a fan of many he ripped off/hung out with.

I DO however find it very fascinating. Guys like this and Jobriath and many other un-sung heroes of that day interest me, even if I can't take their music too seriously sometimes.

He's also featured in the Urrgh A Music War film (in addition to the soundtrack referenced above). It's kind of pricey on ebay but there are inexpensive boots around. I've heard that this documentary will never be re-released (it's expensive as a collectible because it went out of print as a VHS tape in the mid-80's) because with so many different bands, it's impossible to get all the right clearances, etc.

If you haven't seen it, definitely check it out - awesome footage of classic bands like Wall of Voodoo, The Alley Cats, the DK's, the Cramps, Chelsea, 999, the Fleshtones and many, many more.

I got the nomi song movie a while back and my parents had the old vinyls, only because my dad who was into punk thought it was hilariously bad music, but he also used to hate new wave kids too wasn't really his thing. He left that stuff for nicholas cage in valley girl. Must say his banshee like character in v bros was a lot cooler and was awesome to see him in it because not many people know who he is. His only tolerable song in my opinion is lightning strikes and thats even like on low volume. He is like what the sex pistols are to punk rock for new wave.

Yeah, that's the first time I saw him, way back when. He was very popular here in San Francisco during the original punk/new wave heyday. I haven't yet seen the documentary on his life but people say it's outstanding. Fascinating, talented, and highly original weirdo! Cool to see he's getting a new round of appreciation even if posthumously.



Your dad left new wave for Nick Cage in Valley Girl? I don't understand, but thanks for bringing back fun memories of that odd little "B" movie. Cage's sidekick in that movie was played by a high school associate, Cameron Dye. It was really weird seeing Cam with the then-unknown Cage at the local drive in in the very early 80s. Who was the one-hit wonder band in that movie? The Rubinoos or someone like that? I don't remember ... Google time!

I like Nomi but probably cause I like eccentric and strange/unique stuff.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yuSrsGzhD9U&feature=related

Now I'm obsessed. I just went through most of those videos, nothing beats his cover of "Lightning Strikes" though.

LOL... that's how I got started...

I just watched the SNL Bowie/Nomi performance. Geez Bowie, way to rip! In the dudes face no less.

"Hey Klaus, I'm David, I'm sure you know, would you like to perform with me on SNL this Saturday?"

"Vhy yes I vould!"

"Excellent. By the way, I'll be stealing your outfit and clothing style totally too." I love and hate Bowie for being such a blatant rip-off artist.

All I could think, though, was how much more of Nomi I wanted to see.

LOL... no sooner do I order "The Nomi Song" documentary from Amazon, I find out that it's available for free On Demand from my cable operator... what are the odd? Sheesh...

HAHAHAHA I would have sent you my copy dude, I watched it twice and I don't think I could stand it again, I just keep it so I can be like oh yea I know about him, plus I really like PALM videos