Slapp Happy

Slapp Happy was a multi-national art-pop trio, formed in Hamburg, Germany, in 1972 by American singer/songwriter Peter Blegvad, English avant-garde musician Anthony Moore, and German cabaret singer Dagmar Krause. They debuted with a UK/German release on Polydor, followed in 1974 by Casablanca Moon on Virgin.

In 1975, Virgin paired them with avant-rockers Henry Cow for a joint-sequence of albums: Desperate Straights, a collection of short Blegvad/Moore art songs; and In Praise of Learning, comprised of fractious Cow epics. Slapp Happy dissolved amid the merger. Krause stayed in the Cow camp (and its offshoots the Art Bears and News from Babel), Blegvad teamed with Cow bassist John Greaves on the cabaret-jazz project Kew Rhone, and Moore launched a solo career.

Demos for Slapp Happy’s 1974 album, recorded with the rhythm section of Faust, were later released as Acnalbasac Noom.

Members: Peter Blegvad (guitar, bass, woodwinds, percussion, vocals), Anthony Moore (guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals), Dagmar Krause (vocals, piano, percussion, harmonica, 1972-75, 1982-present)

Albums:

• Sort of… Slapp Happy (1972)
  
• Slapp Happy [aka Casablanca Moon] (1974)
  
• Desperate Straights (1975 • Slapp Happy / Henry Cow)
  
• Slapp Happy or Slapp Happy [aka Acnalbasac Noom] (1980, recorded 1974)
  
• Ça va (1998)
  
• Camera (2000 • Dagmar Krause, Anthony Moore & Peter B)

Singles:

• “Just a Conversation” / “Jumpin’ Jonah'” (1972)
  
• “Casablanca Moon” / “Slow Moon’s Rose” (1974)
  
• “Johnny’s Dead” / “Mr. Rainbow” (1975)
  
• “Alcohol” (1981)
  
• “Everybody’s Slimmin’ (Even Men and Women)” / “Blue-Eyed William” (1983)

Sources:

• Discogs: Slapp Happy