Kraftwerk - The Fairfield Four (2024)

CLASSIC LINE-UP BROADCAST RECORDING FROM 1975 • Formed in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1969 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, Kraftwerk remain widely considered true innovators and pioneers of electronic music; Kraftwerk was among the first successful acts to popularize the genre. The group began as part of West Germany's experimental krautrock scene in the early 1970s before fully embracing electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. Wolfgang Flür joined the band in 1974 and Karl Bartos in 1975, expanding the line-up to a quartet. • Their 4th album Autobahn was released late in 1974 and saw them achieve success in the USA, where the record hit the top 10, and also around Europe. With financial support from their American record company, they were able to tour internationally, spending most of 1975 on the road, playing dates in the USA, Canada and Europe. The tour featured what is often referred to as the "classic line-up" of, Hutter, Schneider, Flur and Bartos, which lasted for 12 years until 1987 when Flur left. • September 1975 saw Kraftwerk playing a number of dates around the UK, including a show at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls, in South London. This gig now features in its entirety on this new CD for the first time, a dynamic concert which helped to raise the band’s profile in the UK, following which their status became such that David Bowie – a fan of the group and in particular of their follow-up record, Radio Activity - invited them to support him on his Station to Station tour, an offer the group declined.