Simple Man
Label: Sony
Genre: Electronic, Minimal Wave, Experimental
$29.99
Availability: In stock
Sony/Legacy is reissuing the catalog of the utterly unique New Wave standout Klaus Nomi in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of his untimely death, with four albums now on streaming services and new CD and vinyl reissues to follow next month.
The label is reissuing Nomi’s two studio albums — 1981’s Klaus Nomi and 1982’s Simple Man — as well as the 1983 posthumous compilation Encore… (Nomi’s Best) and the 1986 live album In Concert.
All four titles are being reissued on CD, in digipacks, and the first three also will be available as standalone vinyl reissues. The In Concert vinyl edition will only be available as part of a boxed set of the new reissues. Additionally, the self-titled debut also is being reissued on cassette.
It appears these new reissues may only be coming out in Europe and Japan, but they can all be ordered — along with those boxed-set bundles — from a new Klaus Nomi site.
Nomi, German-born countertenor who came to New York in the early 1970s, was known for his unusual stage performance and attire, as well as an impressive vocal range. He emerged from New York City’s East Village scene during the New Wave era, performing with David Bowie on “Saturday Night Live” in 1979 and appearing in the groundbreaking 1981 concert film “Urgh! A Music War.”
His music career was sadly cut short when Nomi died of complications from AIDS in 1983. He was just 39.