Robert Görl

• Name — Robert Görl • Birthplace — Munich, West Germany (now Germany) • Born — 15 June 1955 • Genre — Industrial, electronic • Occupation — Composer • Instrument — Voice, drums, synthesizers • Years Active — 1978–present • Label — Mute, Virgin • Website — robert-goerl.de

Görl started his life in an orphanage. At the age of 18, Görl took drum lessons with the jazz musician Freddie Brocksieper. In 1974, he started a classical music education at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg and in 1976 at the University of Graz while also devoting himself to jazz. In 1978, he interrupted his studies, went to London and became interested in punk rock. In the same year, he met Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López in Düsseldorf and formed Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (D.A.F.). Robert Görl served as a composer and musician for the group. In total, DAF released seven studio albums between 1979 and 2003. Robert Görl played drums for the 1981 Eurythmics album In the Garden. Görl also played in other bands such as Der Plan. With their third album, Alles ist Gut (1981, Virgin Records), DAF achieved international success and two European tours followed. In 1982, DAF received the "Deutscher SchallplattenPreis" (German Music Award) for their album Alles ist Gut. The first DAF break was in 1983 at their musical peak. In 1984, Robert Görl recorded his first solo album Night Full of Tension (Mute Rec). The album featured Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox who sang a duet with Görl on the song Darling Don't Leave Me. DAF reformed in 1985 to record their first English-language album, 1st Step to Heaven (1986 Dean-Ariola-Illuminated Rec). In 1989, Görl was involved in a serious car accident. Afterward, he became a Buddhist and traveled through Asia for three years of study. After his return, he released several solo albums and singles throughout the 1990s on Disko B, a Munich-based techno label run by Peter Wacha. From 2000 to 2002, Görl met with Delgado-López to stage a D.A.F. comeback. Their album Fünfzehn neue D.A.F.-Lieder was released in early 2003. In 2003 DAF gave their first live show at Tokyo's Yokohama Stadium. The group disbanded again in November 2005. In 2008, DAF made another comeback. A reunion tour, "30 Years of DAF (The Thirty Years' War)," followed. In September 2010, the duo released the single "Du bist DAF" as a limited-edition release. Delgado-López died in 2020 at the age of 61 as plans for a new DAF album were underway. In 2021, Görl released the album under the title Nur Noch Einer with help from producer Sylvie Marks. The album utilized unreleased DAF audio sequences from the 1980s. In October 2023, Görl published his autobiographical novel Das Versteck der Stimme (The Voice That Dwells Within), which was co-authored with Hanna Rollmann.

• Ein Produkt der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft (Warning, 1979) • Die Kleinen und die Bösen (Mute, 1980) • Alles ist gut (Virgin, 1981) • Gold und Liebe (Virgin, 1981) • Für Immer (Virgin, 1982) • 1st Step to Heaven (Dean/Ariola, 1986) • Fünfzehn neue D.A.F.-Lieder (Superstar, 2003) • Nur Noch Einer (Grönland, 2021)