The Damage Manual | |
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Genres | Industrial, post-punk |
Years active | 2000–2004 |
Labels | Invisible Records |
Associated acts | Pigface, Killing Joke, Public Image Ltd, Murder, Inc., Hate Dept. |
Website | thedamagemanual.com |
Members | Martin Atkins, Steven Seibold |
Past members | Geordie Walker, Chris Connelly, Jah Wobble |
The Damage Manual is an industrial supergroup that originally formed in 2000. It featured Martin Atkins on drums and loops, Chris Connelly on vocals, Geordie Walker on guitar and Jah Wobble on bass. A second lineup saw Steven Seibold of the band Hate Dept. replacing both Walker and Wobble after their departure.
Originally stemming from discussions between Atkins and Wobble, Walker was brought aboard when Wobble expressed interest in working with him. After writing and arranging material through exchanging recordings from their own respective studios, the trio had put together a batch of instrumental ideas in need of a vocalist. It has been said that they originally approached John Lydon (Public Image Ltd, Sex Pistols) for an amicable resurgence (both Atkins and Wobble did notable work in PiL) but he declined the opportunity. Atkins and Walker had both done solid work with the talented vocalist/songwriter Chris Connelly in the early '90's with Murder, Inc. and the rest was history. They released two recordings in 2000, the One EP in April followed by a self-titled album that September, both on Atkins' own Invisible Records label. The group dissolved after a US tour which did not include Jah Wobble on bass, who was reported as not interested in touring with the band, although he had played on the UK leg of the tour. Invisible Records later released a collected reissue of the first EP and full length album titled "Double Damage" as well as a remix LP.
In 2004, a resurrected Damage Manual without Walker and Wobble found Steven Seibold of the band Hate Dept. providing guitar and bass. The revised band released the full length record Limited Edition. It was to be followed by a headlining tour in 2004; however, that was canceled due to multiple family emergencies for Martin Atkins. A subsequent tour with Pigface and Sheep on Drugs in 2005 was also canceled, this time due to Chris Connelly's illness. A DVD compilation of studio recording footage, interviews and more, titled The Damage Manual was released in 2008.