Cabaret Voltaire‘s Richard H. Kirk has died.

The post-punk outfit’s sole remaining member’s death was announced by his record label Mute yesterday afternoon (September 21). He was 65.

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“It is with great sadness that we confirm our great and dear friend, Richard H. Kirk has passed away,” a statement from the label said. “Richard was a towering creative genius who led a singular and driven path throughout his life and musical career. We will miss him so much. We ask that his family are given space at this time.”

A cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

Broadcaster Dave Haslem, was one of the first to pay tribute to Kirk, describing him as a “creative genius indeed and a truly top fella. RIP.”

Goldblade member John Robb also paid his respects. “Really sad news. Richard H Kirk (Cabaret Voltaire) RIP. Musical and cultural game-changer,” he wrote.

New Order, meanwhile, posted on social media: “Richard and all of Cabaret Voltaire were good friends and very influential electronic musicians that made a big impact on the music of [Joy Division] and many other bands.

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“They helped us enormously after Ian [Curtis] passed away when we collaborated with them for the first time in a studio without Ian. Richard will be sorely missed, he left his mark in music innovation and experimentation.”

Elsewhere, Orbital wrote: “So sorry to hear about Richard. He was a massive influence on our musical lives, both listening and playing but more that we became friends in the 90’s [sic]. (RIP : Richard H Kirk).”

You can see those messages and more below.

Originally active between 1973-1994 – Cabaret Voltaire featured Chris Watson until 1981 and Stephen Mallinder until 1994.

The group were inactive for 20 years until Kirk as the sole remaining member, returned for a 2014 performance at Berlin’s Atonal festival.

A new album, Shadow Of Fear, their first in 26 years was also released in 2020.

Speaking about the record at the time Kirk said in reference to the coronavirus crisis: “The album was finished just as all the weirdness was starting to kick in,” adding that “Shadow Of Fear feels like a strangely appropriate title” for these trying times.

He continued: “The current situation didn’t have much of an influence on what I was doing – all the vocal content was already in place before the panic set in – but maybe due to my nature of being a bit paranoid there are hints in there about stuff going a bit weird and capturing the current state of affairs.”