Prior to the Nitzer Ebb concert at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach in November 2021, the band’s frontman Douglas McCarthy suffered complications from a pre-existing, non Covid related medical condition. He was admitted to hospital and was declared stable and undergoing continued treatment and observation so the band’s management informed.

Despite the illness of Douglas McCarthy, the tour continued with Bon Harris stepping in to perform lead vocals. This was a temporary lineup, yet a special one for those who were at the concerned shows. The band was at that moment on tour including the original band members David Gooday and Simon Granger.

Since then McCarthy has been working on his health and comeback. In a 2022 video he announced he was indeed coming back to the stage.

But he is back now, and we have seen him perform across Europe, including last night in Oslo together with Front 242. He is not the old one yet, but he’s clearly enjoying the shows. And that is what counts after all.

Welcome back Douglas!

About Douglas McCarthy

Douglas (John) McCarthy (born 1 September 1966) is the vocalist of the English EBM band Nitzer Ebb. Apart from Nitzer Ebb he has appeared on multiple recordings by Recoil (Alan Wilder) and has released material in collaboration with DJ Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy. He also contributed vocals to tracks by Die Krupps, Motor, KLOQ (band), Client, and Kenneth James Gibson’s Reverse Commuter project.

After Nitzer Ebb originally split, McCarthy began his work with Recoil, then left the music business and focused on film studies and design in Cambridge. He moved to London in 2000 to work in the advertising field.

McCarthy’s first solo album was originally titled “Life Is Sucking the Life Out of Me”. The album was written, recorded and mixed at Easier with songwriter/musician/producer Stephen Papke and British house DJ/producer Mark “Blakkat” Bell. All songs were co-written by McCarthy, Papke and Bell. Performing as Douglas J. McCarthy, his first solo album, “Kill Your Friends”, was released in November 2012 on the Los Angeles-based label Pylon Records followed by the EP “Move On” in 2013.

McCarthy then collaborated with Headman and producer Scott Fraser on the “Noise” EP, and with Cyrus Rex on the “DJMREX” EP.

You can read a long interview with Douglas McCarthy here on Side-Line.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Out now is the 12 inch vinyl “Fall In Love With Me”, and Iggy Pop track, by Stark. The record itself is dedicated to the late Donald Rodie who was a good friend to all the people involved in these recordings.

Stark consists of David Gooday and Simon Granger who both recently rejoined Nitzer Ebb after they left early on in the band’s career. Out on Pylon Records, all proceeds from this recording will be going to cancer reseach uk. You can order your copy right here.

Tracklist:

• Side A: Stark (Featuring David Arscott) – Fall In Love With Me
• Side B: Stark (Featuring Nitzer Ebb) – Fall In Love With Me

Here’s the original track:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Nitzer Ebb has announced that they’ll be performing two legs of a U.S. tour this year – the first in May and then again in September. McCarthy and Harris will be joined onstage by original founding NEP members David Gooday and Simon Granger.

Nitzer Ebb 2019 tour dates

U.S. [First Leg]

• 05.09 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston MA
• 05.10 – Elsewhere – Brooklyn NY
• 05.11 – SAT (Societe des Arts Technologiques) – Montreal QC
• 05.12 – Theatre of the Living Arts – Philadelphia PA
• 05.14 – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto ON
• 05.15 – Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore MD
• 05.17 – The Oriental Theater – Denver CO
• 05.20 – The Orpheum – Tampa Bay FL
• 05.21 – Terminal West – Atlanta GA
• 05.24 – The Ground at Space – Miami FL
• 05.25 – Numbers – Houston TX
• 05.26 – Trees – Dallas TX

EUROPE

• 05.30 – Primavera Sound – Barcelona, Spain
• 05.31 – Nuits Sonores 2019 – Lyon, France
• 06.07 – Wave Got Treffen 2019 – Leipzig, Germany
• 06.30 – Val de Rock – Chessy, France
• 07.20 – Amphi Festival – Cologne, Germany
• 08.03 – Bergfest – Thale – Germany
• 08.04 – Dekmantel Festival – Amsterdam, Netherlands
• 08.17 – W-Fest – Amougies, Belgium
• 08.24 – Infest 2019 – Bradford, United Kingdom

U.S. [Second Leg]

• 09.19 – The Mohawk – Austin TX
• 09.20 – Metro – Chicago IL
• 09.21 – St. Andrew’s Hall – Detroit MI
• 09.23 – VENUE – Vancouver BC
• 09.25 – Neumos – Seattle WA
• 09.26 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR
• 09.27 – Slim’s – San Francisco CA
• 10.05 – The Regent Theater – Los Angeles CA

EUROPE

• 10.25 – Soundedit Festival – Klub Wytwórnia – Łódź, Poland
• 11.17 – La Machine – Paris, France
• 11.18 – La Laitrie – Straßburg, France

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Nitzer Ebb has premiered the never-before-seen video for their 1985 single “So Bright So Strong.” The video was originally filmed in either 1983 or 1984 by their original manager Chris Piper, the bands first manager. The video (which is not so good condition) features Bon Harris, Douglas McCarthy, and then drummer David Gooday.

“So bright, So Strong” was shot in a barn just outside of Chelmsford, UK. The audio time sync was done on 2 VHS machines, manually, which is not easy at all to manage.

Out later in October, but already available for pre-ordering right here, is the massive Nitzer Ebb vinyl boxset “1982-2010” holding 10 LPs. It’s the first time that all five of the band’s albums for Geffen/Mute have been collected in one complete box set.

Douglas McCarthy and Bon Harris return to reunite Nitzer Ebb after taking a hiatus in 2010. The band has confirmed a handful of European tour dates already, and will be announcing more in the near future. McCarthy and Harris will be joined onstage by original founding NEP members David Gooday and Simon Granger. This will mark the first time these four founding members have performed live together since 1987.

Here’s the video of “So Bright So Strong”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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