Klaus Nomi - Klaus Nomi (Vinyl LP)

Klaus Nomi's 1981 Debut Studio Album on LP.

Bavarian-born Klaus Sperber emigrated to New York City in 1972 and soon became a staple in the East Village art scene, adopting the new last name of Nomi (fashioned after the popular science magazine Omni). After working on a production with Kristian Hoffman, whose band Mumps were playing Max's Kansas City and CBGB, the two began working together—with Hoffman writing originals and picking cover versions of popular songs that would showcase Nomi's multi-octave vocal range.

David Bowie hired Nomi as one his background singers for a 1979 performance on Saturday Night Live, and the exposure caught the eyes and ears of Bowie's label, RCA. Soon Kristian and Klaus began recording Nomi's debut album. Klaus Nomi appeared in 1981 featuring covers of Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes," Leslie Gore's "You Don't Own Me," Chubby Checker's "The Twist," and Camille Saint-Saëns' "Samson And Delilah (Aria)," plus originals from Hoffman including "Nomi Song" and "Total Eclipse" (memorably performed in the 1981 film Urgh! A Music War).