Klaus Sperber, better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona.

Nomi was known for his bizarrely visionary theatrical live performances, heavy make-up, unusual costumes, and a highly stylized signature hairdo that flaunted a receding hairline.

His songs were equally unusual, ranging from synthesizer laden interpretations of classical opera to covers of 1960’s pop.

He came to the attention of New York City’s art scene in 1978. Dressed in a skin-tight spacesuit with a clear plastic cape, Nomi sang the aria ‘Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix’ from Camille Saint-Saëns’ opera ‘Samson et Dalila’.

The performance ended with a chaotic crash of strobe lights, smoke bombs, and loud electronic sound effects as Nomi backed away into the smoke.

I still get goose pimples when I think about it … It was like he was from a different planet and his parents were calling him home. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

After that performance Nomi was invited to perform at clubs all over New York City.

In the late 1970’s while performing at Club 57, The Mudd Club, The Pyramid Club, and other venues, Nomi assembled various up-and-coming models, singers, artists, and musicians to perform live with him.

David Bowie heard about Nomi’s performances in New York and soon met him at the Mudd Club and hired him as performer and backup singer.

In the last several months of his life, Nomi changed his focus to operatic pieces and adopted a Baroque era operatic outfit complete with full collar as his typical onstage attire.

The collar helped cover the outbreaks of Kaposi’s sarcoma on his neck, one of the numerous AIDS-related diseases Nomi developed toward the end of his life.

Nomi was reported to be gay; before his illness, there was speculation that he was asexual. Nomi died in 1983 at the age of 39 as a result of complications from AIDS.