On this day in 1960, drummer Kevin Haskins was born in Northampton, England. Haskins and his older brother, bassist David J, played in a punk band called Submerged Tenth before joining guitarist Daniel Ash in the trio Craze. In 1978, the three added singer Peter Murphy to form goth-rock godfathers Bauhaus.

After four albums of moody, genre-defining music, Bauhaus disbanded in 1983. Haskins and Ash stuck together in the doom-pop band Tones on Tail, but in 1985, the two hooked up again with J to form the psychedelic-pop band Love and Rockets.

The band's first single was a cover of the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion." Love and Rockets' debut album, Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven (1985), was very melancholy and received mixed reviews. But by Express (1986) -- an album full of the band's obsession with mysticism and the heavens -- the band's fanbase had increased.

Earth, Sun, Moon (1985) was notable for its reliance on Beatles-like pop/rock. It spawned the college-radio hit "No New Tale To Tell." The band's eponymous 1989 album of mostly hard rock was a surprise hit in the U.S. based on the success of the single "So Alive," which reached #3 on the charts.

After the success of their 1989 disc, Love and Rockets took a five-year break, during which Haskins produced for Trans-Global Underground's Natacha Atlas. Love and Rockets came back in 1994 with the totally different Hot Trip to Heaven, which moved the band toward dance, ambient and techno music. The disc's first track, the 14-minute-plus "Body and Soul," was electronica meets the Beatles. Atlas sang on the Hot Trip cut "Ugly."

In 1996, Love and Rockets issued the EP The Glittering Darkness, which included the Bauhaus-tribute title track and the 18-minute, free-form "Ritual Radio." The group's next full-length album, Sweet F.A., barely contained a trace of Hot Trip's dance music. Guitars featured prominently on much of the album, and the group enjoyed another hit single in "Sweet Lover Hangover."

While Love and Rockets are scheduled to release a new album, Lift, in the fall, the trio has temporarily reunited with Murphy and presently are touring as Bauhaus. Everything, a Tones on Tail retrospective, was issued in April on the Beggars Banquet label.

Also celebrating a birthday today: Alan Gorrie (Average White Band), 52.