Photo Courtesy: Thomas Tadeus Bak

We’ve been holding back from posting about this because we’ve been waiting for more facts to emerge. The Blogging Goth isn’t breaking news – it’s correct news, not assumption and opinion thrown at something that has occurred.

So, Peter Murphy – lead singer of Bauhaus and current solo artist – was arrested in Los Angeles on Saturday 16th March for an alleged hit-and-run, driving under the influence, and possession of methamphetamine. It was broken first in the regional newspaper Glendale News-Press – where the initial incident occurred – on Monday, and only began to propagate through social media to the wider world on Tuesday.

At that point there was still only the initial report from the Glendale NP, so I e-mailed all of Mr Murphy’s agents and representatives hoping to take his side. Unfortunately there was no response, and only Murphy’s comments to police that he was just under the influence of anti-depressants and severe jet-lag. Afterwards, his lawyers communicated with the press to advise them that all felony charges had been reduced to misdemeanours, and that Murphy was going to challenge these as well. This statement was later repeated on Facebook, and with clarifications later that seemed to challenge the allegation of Mr Murphy being DUI.

Crucially, the message coming from Bauhaus HQ is that Murphy will still go ahead with the Mr Moonlight Tour of North America and Europe – which promises to be unique as it will only feature Bauhaus material. This has not been the case since the last reunion of the Bauhaus lineup which performed the original material, in 2006 – whereas now, Murphy will be performing the classic songs with a backing band.

Response to the arrest and subsequent bail was muted on the official website forum, but a good indicator of the reaction from the internet as whole, and dedicated fans in particular, is probably taken from My Heartland, the discussion forums for the slightly younger post-punk English rock band The Sisters Of Mercy.

Back to Murphy’s charges, and he is due to return to court on May 17th for a pre-trial hearing – no doubt scheduled during a quiet period in his North American tour date schedule. We look forward to further news on this story arising.