DAVID J’S UP FRONT AND VERY PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF HIS TUMULTUOUS TIMES WITH THE SEMINAL GOTHIC/ART ROCK BANDTITLED “WHO KILLED MISTER MOONLIGHT? BAUHAUS, BLACK MAGICK AND BENEDICTION”

Fast, compelling, and disarmingly honest, this is an invaluable account of a strange and spectral cultural twilight era that we shall almost certainly never see again.  Highly recommended.

-Alan Moore, Author of Watchmen

Bauhaus was…one of the reckless few that created such an important and unusual genre of music.  Their odd, witchy songs snaked themselves all the way from whence they came into my temporal lobe and impacted on what I ended up becoming as an artist.

-Marilyn Manson

I’ve just read David J. Haskins’s memoirs.  I had expected drugs and sex and rock music; I had not expected the kaleidoscopic parade of sheer insanity, the loads of blood and punch-ups, fantastic egos, dark arts, creeps and cons, curses, witches, gurus, psychological warfare, superstars and nameless angels, demons and doomed types, fire, arrests, legal battles, gods and doors to other worlds, astral projection, ASTRAL FUCKING PROJECTION....AND it’s actually quite a hilarious read, save all the creepy crawly bits.

-Black Francis (Pixies)

A rollicking, heady ride laced with sex, loaded with narcotics and exploding with violent spats and some of the most deliciously dark rock music ever created, Who Killed Mister Moonlight? Bauhaus, Black Magick and Benediction is Bauhaus bassist David J. Haskin’s intimate memoir wherein he describes in captivating detail the seminal spark that led to gothic rock, the turbulent disintegration of his highly influential band and the personal spiritual journey that followed.

Soaring from the glowing embers of punk rock’s cataclysmic burn out, Bauhaus (Peter Murphy on vocals, Daniel Ash on guitar, Kevin Haskins on drums and the author on bass.) initiated post-punk’s primary manifestation.  With an inimitable sound and great style, this gang of talented mutant misfits seared their mark on England’s musical scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s , only to “…fly too close to a screaming black sun and die on the Icarus wing,” writes Haskins.  Regardless, the band’s pervasive spirit would live on long after its demise, influencing the work of musicians such as Marilyn Manson, Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan and many more.

Featuring cameo appearances by a wide range of fascinating characters, including William S. Burroughs, Genesis P. Orridge and Rick Rubin, and a forward penned by poet and author Jeremy Reed, the autobiography opens with the haunted nativity that resulted in Bauhaus’s debut hit ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’, and offers an unmitigated recounting of the band’s rapid rise to fame and glory in the late 70s, their sudden dissolution in the 80s, and their subsequent—and often contentious—reunions.  Where it is germane, Haskins also touches on his work with Love And Rockets and various other collaborators and delves deep into his exploration of the occult.

The book’s publication will be supported with live performances by Haskins in both the U.S. and Europe.

Brimming with wit, wisdom and wonder, Who Killed Mister Moonlight? Bauhaus, Black Magick and Benediction is a one of a kind rock ’n’ roll memoir.

About David J. Haskins

David J. Haskins (AKA David J) was born in Northampton, England, in 1957, and was a founder member of Bauhaus, the highly influential band that spearheaded the post-punk alternative-music scene of the early 80s with a string of innovative albums and a powerfully dramatic live presentation.  Following the band’s split in 1983, he embarked on a long and varied solo career that has produced a series of critically acclaimed albums and various avant-garde collaborations.  He has also written and directed a number of stage productions—including the spectacular multimedia event Silver For Gold (The Odyssey Of Edie Sedgwick), and The Chanteuse And The Devil’s Muse, a surrealistic investigation into the notorious Black Dahlia murder mystery—plus several screenplays (with writing partner Don C. Tyler), and his visual art has been exhibited internationally.