Françoise Cactus Explained

Françoise Cactus (5 May 1964 – 17 February 2021), born Françoise van Hove, was a French musician and author, active in Berlin, Germany, best known as co-founder, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist in the band Stereo Total.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]} Cactus wrote several novels as well as contributing to German papers such as Die Tageszeitung.^{[13] [14] [15] [16] [17]} Prior to founding Stereo Total with Brezel Göring in 1993, Cactus played in the West Berlin band Les Lolitas with co-founder marquis de Coco Nut, one of only a few Western bands to play officially unsanctioned gigs in East Berlin during the final years of the dictatorship.^{[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]} She was originally from France, having moved to West Berlin in 1985.^{[28] [29] [30] [31]}

Françoise Cactus died aged 56 on 17 February 2021 in her Berlin home after having suffered from breast cancer.^[32] She is buried in Berlin. The inscription on her gravestone reads:

Hier liegt sie,so wie sie zu liegen pflegte, nur dass sie, solange sie lebte, den Po dazu bewegte.

An English translation might be:

Here she is reclinedjust as she was inclined, only so that she, so long as she was living, kept moving her behind.

Radio plays

• Weill jagt Fantômas (Oliver Augst/Cactus/Göring), Radio Berlin-Brandenburg, Radio France Culture 2018
• Alle Toten 1914 (Oliver Augst/John Birke), Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, Volksbühne Berlin, Hessischer Rundfunk 2014 - participation as speaker, singer, musician
• City of the thousand fires (Augst/Birke), Hessischer Rundfunk/Südwestrundfunk 2012 - participation as speaker, singer

Notes and References

1. Web site: Crossing National Boundaries and Genres. Jon. Pareles. 14 May 2005. The New York Times.
2. Web site: Moving in Stereo – November 7, 2001. 7 November 2001. SF Weekly.
3. Night Life. 20 August 2007. The New Yorker.
4. Web site: Stereo Total: Do the Bambi. Pitchfork.
5. Web site: Stereo Total Goes "Plastic". 21 August 2007.
6. Web site: Stereo Total: Show Preview. Emily. Savage. SF Weekly.
7. Web site: Stereo Total. The Village Voice.
8. Web site: The Warhol hosts Stereo Total's multilingual mélange. Mike. Shanley. Pittsburgh City Paper.
9. Web site: Francoise Cactus – 2 Bücher – Perlentaucher. perlentaucher.de.
10. Web site: Heute: Autorin und Musikerin Françoise Cactus über Berthe Morisot. Berliner Morgenpost-. Berlin. 16 September 2007. morgenpost.de.
11. Web site: Françoise Cactus - DFFB. dffb-archiv.de.
12. Web site: 5 Fragen an: Françoise Cactus. 1 December 2008.
13. Web site: Artikel von 'Francoise Cactus'. taz. die. tageszeitung. die Tageszeitung.
14. Book: Abenteuer einer Provinzblume: Amazon.de: Françoise Cactus: Bücher. .
15. Book: Neurosen zum Valentinstag: Amazon.de: Françoise Cactus: Bücher. .
16. Book: Zitterparties: Amazon.de: Françoise Cactus: Bücher. .
17. Web site: Françoise Cactus. rowohlt.
18. Web site: Kitschy Cool. Adam. Bregman. 2 June 2005. Dallas Observer.
19. Web site: Cut 'n' paste culture. Peter. Orlov. 9 October 2006. Seattle Weekly.
20. Web site: Stereo Total – New Songs, Playlists & Latest News – BBC Music. BBC.
21. Web site: Renfield-Fanzine: Tres chic – an evening with Francoise Cactus. Gary. Flanell. 27 January 2015.
22. Web site: Auch im Alter relevant: Minderwertigkeitsgefühle und Liebeskummer. 29 February 2016 .
23. Book: Lied und populäre Kultur – Song and Popular Culture 57 (2012): Jahrbuch des Deutschen Volksliedarchivs Freiburg – 57. Jahrgang – 2012. Deutsch-französische Musiktransfers – German-French Musical Transfers. Michael. Fischer. Fernand. Hörner. 6 March 2013. Waxmann Verlag. Google Books. 9783830977872.
24. Web site: Lolitas – Rock made in France – Encyclopédie du Rock. 23 July 2009.
25. Web site: Stereo Total has international appeal. Tom . Lanham . April 28, 2013 . The San Francisco Examiner.
26. Web site: Yé-Yé Girls of '60s French Pop / Boing Boing. boingboing.net.
27. Web site: Stereo Total: Paris-Berlin. Pitchfork.
28. News: Stereo Total im Interview: "Rock'n Roll ist spießig geworden". Thomas. Winkler. 13 June 2015. die Tageszeitung.
29. Web site: WE AREN'T MAINSTREAM, WE STILL HAVE AN AURA OF UNDERGROUND.
30. Web site: Mafia pop: Stereo Total. Michael. Hoh. 14 April 2016. EXBERLINER.com.
31. Web site: Françoise Cactus: 'society is a little too turned on by sex'. Prune. Antoine. Cafébabel. 12 October 2007 .
32. News: Niemeyer . Hannes . Françoise Cactus (Stereo Total) in Berlin gestorben - Stil prägte deutsche Musik-Szene . 17 February 2021 . Frankfurter Rundschau . 17 February 2021 . de.