Kraftwerk Ex-Member Karl Bartos Feels Slighted Band Didn't Invite Him to New York

Posted on Jan 3rd 2013 1:00PM by Jason MacNeil
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After a ticket snafu for their upcoming shows at London's Tate Modern Gallery and winning a lawsuit over a two-second song snippet, electro pioneers Kraftwerk continue to make headlines. This time it involves former member Karl Bartos who feels slighted by being asked to perform in New York last April.

According to Contact Music -- which reported the news from an Uncut interview -- Bartos said he didn't receive an invite to join the group at the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 residency last year at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

"I wish I had be invited to Kraftwerk's retrospective at Moma in New York, but I wasn't nor were Florian (Schneider) or Wolfgang (Flur)," Bartos told the magazine referring to other former band members. "I'm quite puzzled by them using the term retrospective, but at least I'm there acoustically if they play (songs) 'The Model' or 'The Robots.'"

Bartos joined the band in 1975 and along with Flur, Schneider and Ralf Hutter are considered to be Kraftwerk's classic line-up. Bartos left the group in 1990. Flur departed in 1987. Schneider didn't leave Kraftwerk until 2008, which the band officially confirmed in early 2009.

Kraftwerk -- who played a different studio album each evening during their eight-night New York residency -- will revisit the same format during their London stay next month. The first night begins with 1974's Autobahn. Kraftwerk is also doing a similar performance later this month in Dusseldorf starting Jan. 11.

Watch Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" Video