Friday 5 June 2026
The Royal Albert Hall, London
★★★★★
Kraftwerk’s music sounds as fresh and contemporary as ever
by guest reviewer Mike Holmes
Between 1975 and June 2026, Kraftwerk have been infrequent visitors to London, with a total of 26 visits in 51 years (I am indebted to the meticulously curated website keepwerking.co.uk for its detailed and searchable database). Tickets for the three Royal Albert Hall gigs were in incredibly high demand, and I was happy to secure some after doing battle with the online ticketing portal (remember the good old days when paper tickets were sold in local record shops?!)
On the face of it, Kraftwerk should have disappeared from musical consciousness years ago. They were not prolific, having released eight studio albums between 1974 and 2003 (with a live album and a remix offering in 2005 and 2009 respectively). Of the four founding members, only Ralf Hütter remains active (impressively so, as he will soon be an octogenarian). Sadly, fellow founder Florian Schneider died in 2020. With no new music since 2003, it would be expected that this incarnation of the pioneers from Düsseldorf would be a sad karaoke pastiche of a once interesting and relevant band (we could all name pale imitation modern versions of ancient bands that are doomed to endless nostalgia tours. The really unlucky ones end up doing holiday camp weekenders).
So why are Kraftwerk different? Why were we all competing for tickets? I have been lucky enough to see them four previous times, and yet I was just as excited about this gig. So what is it about Kraftwerk? And even more importantly, did this latest visit to planet Earth by the Kraftwerk Spacelab live up to expectations?
To answer that question, let’s start with some history. Kraftwerk were founded in Düsseldorf in 1970. They were early adopters of the primitive synthesisers and drum machines that were being developed at the time. Although several early electronic music pioneers were experimenting around that time (the Doctor Who theme from 1963, written by Ron Gainer and brought to life by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, comes to mind), Kraftwerk took the technology to a new level. They combined simple pure melodies with stripped-down bass lines and drum patterns. They also developed a fascinating image (the classic Kraftwerk look: short, slicked back hair, red shirts and identical black ties) at a time of maximum hippy bell-bottom flares and massive hair. The first four albums had a huge influence. The style has been described as ‘robot pop’, although there is far more to it than that.
What is critical to their story is the massive influence they had on modern electronic music. Kraftwerk had a big impact on the Bellville Three, who invented Detroit techno. Afrika Bambaataa borrowed a drum rhythm from Numbers and a lead line from Trans-Europe Express as he kicked off the hip-hop revolution. Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys stated in 1990, ‘they started it all’ (BBC News Obituary for Florian Schneider). Many articles about the impact of Kraftwerk refer to the band as ‘the electronic Beatles’, which is entirely justified in my view. Even though the music is generated by a series of ones and zeros, there is something incredibly human, dare I say even beautiful, about this ‘robot rock’.
So, the history is legendary, and the story has been told many times (certainly by me to any ‘willing’ listener!) The question is, how was this latest live incarnation of Kraftwerk? The short answer is, as powerful and compelling as ever. Hütter’s voice may be a little less strong these days (but still remarkable for 79), but the ability to mesmerise and captivate an audience is as strong as ever. The visuals were stunning, with an almost hallucinogenic quality. The screen was huge and intense. The sound was as pure and deep as is demanded by the Kraftwerk aesthetic.
The set list was as predicted (with one exception, see below), and yet the music sounded as fresh and contemporary as ever. It’s hard to pick out highlights from what is a near-perfect set list. Tour de France was as dynamic as ever. The Numbers/Computer World/Computer World 2 medley was a great way to engage the audience from the start. Hütter does not tend to talk to the audience except to say goodnight. He broke this rule when he announced an unexpected extra track. Kraftwerk were very close to composer/actor Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died aged 71 in 2023. Hütter explained that Sakamoto had translated the lyrics of Radioactivity into Japanese for them. There then followed a moving tribute in the form of a cover of the theme from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.
This was another incredible two hours of pure electronic music that combined a high-minded aesthetic with an ultimately human and uplifting experience. We all hope that Kraftwerk will land the Spacelab in London again very soon. ‘
A final thought: Kraftwerk do play a lot of the synth lines live, despite what some cynics have suggested. I know every note of every song, and I hear subtle differences every time I see them live: ‘By pressing down a special key, it plays a little melody.’
