Kevin Haskins

Kevin Haskins grew up in Northampton, England, a small market town, mainly known for its boot and shoe industry. His interest in music began as a child with The Beatles but it was when he saw David Bowie's androgynous performance of Star Man on an after school TV show, that he knew he wanted to be in a rock group! He immediately took up the drums and began banging away on a makeshift set comprised of pots and pans stolen from his parents kitchen! During high school he "paid his dues" in various cover bands playing in pubs and US Air force bases around England.Upon leaving high school, he attended The Northampton School Of Art where he studied graphic design. It was at this time, in 1976 that he witnessed a legendary gig by The Clash and The Sex Pistols at the 100 Club in London. This one experience was extremely influential in defining his direction in music, in that it inspired him to use creativity and innovation in all his work. During his final year at art school he co founded the group, Bauhaus. Bauhaus combined a number of influences including punk music, glam rock, funk and dub reggae to create a dark and experimental sound which appealed to many fans left in the wake of punk's collapse. Their sound proved very influential, to later inspire a new wave of artists including Janes Addiction, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Interpol, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins,The Horrors, N.I.N., Massive Attack, Tool, Bjork, and Radiohead, to name just a few. Bela Lugosis' Dead, their first single was used to great effect in Tony Scott's cult vampire movie, "The Hunger". After Bauhaus disbanded Kevin joined Tones On Tail, who, although very experimental, also had a very commercial side. It was during his time with this group that Kevin first began sampling sounds and creating weird and wonderful atmospheric landscapes using samples and synths. Tones On Tails biggest hit was called, "Go!" A huge club hit, its innovative sound and high energy, caused it to be licensed to many commercials and movies. After Tones On Tail, Kevin co founded Love And Rockets. Love And Rockets emphasized the strains of psychedelia and glam rock that appeared underneath Bauhaus' dark exterior, adding elements of pop song craft, as well as cryptic, soul searching lyrics. For most of the late '80s, the group had a large devoted cult following, but with the top five charting of "So Alive", the group was suddenly rocketed in to the mainstream world of stadium shows. During the 90's the band was at the forefront of the acid house movement and pursued their innovative marriage of rock and electronica. After Love and Rockets, Bauhaus reformed in 1998 to enjoy a very successful and critically acclaimed world tour. In 1999, looking for a new career away from working within bands, Kevin began writing music for an array of independent films, video games, and television shows. In 2002, his use of textured electronics inside emotional and aggressive orchestrations caught the attention of esteemed director Michael Mann for the score of his CBS drama Robbery Homicide Division. As his work is known to, Mann's series called much attention to its music. Since Robbery Homicide Division, music by Haskins has appeared in CSI, Third Watch, Cold Case, Saturday Night Live and many other television shows and movies. In addition to licensing tracks, he scored the black comedy, "Employee of the Month", starring Matt Dillon and Christina Applegate, and the Sci/Fi classic "Species The Awakening" for MGM. Kevin has recently completed the score for the feature film, "Creature" for The Bubble Factory and the documentary, "Mark Lombardi - Death Defying Acts Of Art And Conspiracy."