Kraftwerk by David Buckley

Author:David Buckley [Buckley, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-78323-618-3
Publisher: Music Sales Limited
Published: 2015-05-20T16:00:00+00:00

5.6 ‘RFWK’*

Behind the carefully constructed carapace of The Man-Machine, Kraftwerk were, of course, four young men. Sometimes Kraftwerk are spoken of as if they were abstractions, divorced from everyday life, a chimera largely created by Ralf and Florian who would rather we all see them as worker bees serving the Queen bee that was Kling Klang. Not so.

The dynamic within the band was important. Some members of Kraftwerk were more equal than others. By the late seventies, Ralf had emerged as the undisputed leader of Kraftwerk. Wolfgang and Karl certainly did not feel in the same league as Ralf. Karl thought of himself always as the younger brother, and although, technically, he was more proficient musically than Ralf, he demurred in many other areas. Ralf had been educated in a Waldorf school, guided by the intellectual programme of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. This humanist schooling helped students fulfil their ‘unique destiny’. What effect this schooling had on Ralf is, of course, open to conjecture, although one critique of those who have gone through the system is that it produces children who believe themselves to be members of an elite; and detractors of Steiner schools also point to something approaching educational quackery behind the educational plan. Ralf was, without question, extremely bright. He could speak English and French fluently and was an unconventionally brilliant musician.

Ralf was, however, somebody who felt isolated, different. ‘How can a man like him find love? And a good partnership, that’s most difficult,’ says Wolfgang. ‘The girls he had, as far as I know, in the 14 years I was in the band with him, he would try to change their personality so they were how he wanted them to be. This would work a little while until the moment the girl realised what was happening and left him. It was always the same. So he had no long-term relationship, ever.’

Ralf liked to give the impression that he was always on duty. He was driven, and even lapses into idleness and boredom would not be admitted readily. ‘In our society, everything is geared towards leisure and holidays. You can put people into slavery for 10 months by promising them fulfilment on their holidays. This separation between work and holidays doesn’t interest us,’ he said a little later in 1982. ‘You don’t get out of slavery by going on holidays. We don’t need to go on holiday. I wouldn’t know what to do. We are suggesting that people re-think their whole working situation, co-operate with one another and become productive. This is how work should be whether you are a musician, a journalist or a dentist.’

In an interview with Glenn O’Brien from 1977, we get a snapshot of the human side of Ralf. He would be somebody, using the parlance of the time, who might have been called an ‘odd-bod’. We learn that he has no pets: ‘We are not fond of animals. We like humans. Most people have animals as a substitute for human contact.’ He gets up around noon and goes to bed around 4 a.

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