Cabaret Voltaire Redux: 50 years marked with exclusive Sheffield performance
Cabaret Voltaire (Photo by Pete Hill)
Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson will reunite for a one-off live performance as Cabaret Voltaire on October 25, 2025, at Forge Warehouse in Sheffield as part of the Sensoria Festival. The show marks 50 years since the band’s first performance at the Sheffield Students Union Refectory on May 13, 1975.
That early show – reportedly met with hostility from some attendees – laid the foundation for Cabaret Voltaire’s role as pioneers of experimental electronic music in the UK. The October event will celebrate the band’s five-decade legacy with a curated performance that draws from their full sonic archive.
According to the organizers, the performance will span the band’s trajectory, from its early tape experiments and Rough Trade/Factory releases to later collaborations with Adrian Sherwood and Marshall Jefferson, including work under the Doublevision label.
Stephen Mallinder explains: “The live set is built from scratch but faithful to the original tracks. Everything has been painstakingly reconstructed with the original technology and processes to build the tracks. But as with all Cabs live shows there is an element of unpredictable, the new. Chance meets causality.”
Chris Watson from his side adds: “I’m delighted and totally thrilled to make a contribution to the band’s 50th anniversary. To share a stage once more with Mal and to honour Cabaret Voltaire’s legacy will be a unique privilege, whilst remembering that in the current times – as back then – the Dadaist interventions of Cabaret Voltaire remain essential.”
Additional anniversary events
Sensoria is marking the 50-year milestone with several lead-up events under the banner of CV50. On May 13, 2025, Gut Level in Sheffield will host a special performance night featuring aya, as well as emerging local artists MYNA and Alex.Aubyn.
Further programming includes 50 Years of Sonic Shock – A Celebration of Cabaret Voltaire on May 16, with live performances from Russell Haswell, Prangers, and Synth Club, alongside an exhibition from May 15–18.
On May 14, Stephen Mallinder will join Jamie Taylor and Travis Elborough for a public conversation at the launch of Taylor’s book Studio Electrophonique.
About Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire was formed in 1973 in Sheffield, England, by Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson. The group took its name from the Zurich nightclub known for its Dadaist roots. Initially working with tape loops, distortion, and noise, the band emerged as key figures in industrial, experimental, and electronic music.
They began releasing material through Industrial Records and later signed with Rough Trade and Factory Records. Their influence grew through the 1980s as they incorporated more structured electronic rhythms and political overtones. Their work with Doublevision extended their output to video art and performance film.
Following personnel changes in the late 1980s, Richard H. Kirk continued Cabaret Voltaire as a solo project until his death in 2021. The October 2025 show is the first live appearance by original members Mallinder and Watson in decades, and the first under the Cabaret Voltaire name since Kirk’s passing.
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