Guide Note:
Klaus Nomi was a countertenor known for have mixed various styles of music as rock, disco, classical and opera. Nomi was born in Germany in 1944. He began his career working as an usher in Deutshe Oper in Berlin and singing operatic arias in a gay club called Kleist Casino. In the mid-1970s he moved to New York City and began to take singing lessons. In 1978 he drew the attention with his presentation in "New Wave Vaudeville" in which he sang an area of the opera Samson et Delilah of the composer Camille Saint-Säens and where Nomi appeared dress with a skin tight space suite with spectacular effects of sound, strobe lights and smoke bombs. He created a group of artists around him which was composed by Joey Arias, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and John McLaughlin and on December 15, 1979 they were hired by David Bowie to carry out presentations and back-ups on "Saturday Night Live". Nomi also collaborated with the producer Man Parrish where appeared on the track "Six Simple Synthesizers" as backing vocals. In 1980 he began conducting tours in Europe and United_States and signed with RCA Records. In 1981 he released his debut album Klaus Nomi. He died on August 6, 1983 after several complications in his health.
Fast Facts:
- Birth Name: Klaus Sperber
- Born: January 24, 1944
- Died August 6, 1983 (aged 39)
- Birthplace: Immenstadt, Germany
- Years Active: 1977-1983
- Record Label: RCA Records
- He was fanatical reader of the OMNI magazine, which talked about UFOs and extraterrestrials
- Nomi was one of the first celebrities to die by AIDS.
- The rock documentary Urgh! A Music War features Nomi's live performance of "Total Eclipse".
- His first single was a cover of Elvis Presley`s "Can not Help Falling in Love,"
- Discography
