Just heard the sad news that Holger Czukay has been found dead at 79, hot on the heels of the news about Walter Becker. Although I liked Steely Dan, Holger’s death hits closer to home cos I loved Can and his quite often insane and always innovative solo work. Check out Cool in the Pool above, Boatwoman Song which basically invented world fusion and developed sampling – My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts owes everything to Czukay or Can’s legendary I Want More.
I guess as the excellent James Murphy says on the song that has become my siren ‘american dream’:”And you couldn’t know he was leaving, But now more will go with age, you know”.
You know that more of the 70’s-80’s generation will die, but it’s still hard. And I’d almost forgotten that Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit also died in January, leaving only the two vocalists. Damo and Michael and keyboardist Irwin Schmidt surviving from Can.
And the frankly odd time Can were on Top of the Pops…with Noel Edmonds? Robin Sarstedt, OMG. I don’t think that was ‘another hit’ for him as he stayed a one-hit wonder. But this is the time where Krautrock rubbed shoulders with the likes of Tina Charles, Demis Roussos, ABBA, Acker Bilk (?), Gallagher & Lyle (?!), Cliff Richard (??!) and err, Sherbert. Howzat! (quite wonderfully odd, actually)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xldavi
Leave a Comment! Be nice….