Nitzer Ebb

Formed by Essex boys Vaughan Harris (synths, programming), Douglas McCarthy (vocals, guitar) and David Gooday (drums) in 1982, Nitzer Ebb were in the forefront of the so-called industrial dance style genre - hypnotic, pulsating synth-based music with a distinctly Germanic flavour, often referred to as EBM or electronic body music. The band achieved only minor chart recognition in the UK, never managing to break the top 50. In the USA it was a different story though, and the band were a popular dance act with six hit singles in the late 1980s, a number of which crossed over into the rock charts. Best known for the 1986 release "Murderous", a uncharted track which has been sampled and remixed by numerous artists, the band stopped performing in 1995 but reformed in 2007 following the release of the retrospective complation Body of Work in 2006. The band subsequently toured with Depeche Mode and latterly have enjoyed a renaissance due to some of their early material featuring in soundtracks such as Grand Theft Auto IV, the Saw films and the popular TV series Castle. After collapsing before a show in November 2021, McCarthy was forced to leave the band's shows, still remaining a member until his death on June 11, 2025, at the age of 58.