Throbbing Gristle
| Throbbing Gristle | |
|---|---|
Throbbing Gristle performing in New York in 2009
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Kingston upon Hull, England |
| Genres | Industrial, experimental, noise, electronic, post-punk |
| Years active | 1976–1981, 2004–2010 |
| Labels | Industrial |
| Associated acts | |
| Past members |
Peter Christopherson Cosey Fanni Tutti Chris Carter Genesis P-Orridge |
Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1976 in Kingston upon Hull. The band comprised Genesis P-Orridge (born Neil Megson; bass guitar, violin, vocals, vibraphone), Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Newby; guitars, cornet, vocals), Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson (tapes, found sounds, horns, piano, vibraphone, synthesizer) and Chris Carter (synthesizers, tapes, electronics).
Evolving from the experimental performance art group COUM Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle are widely viewed as early pioneers of industrial music. They disbanded in 1981, but the individual members went on to participate in other projects, and reformed in 2004 for a second stint before disbanding again in 2010 after the death of Christopherson.
Throbbing Gristle evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions, which was formed in Kingston upon Hull by a group of performers centred on Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti. The final performance of COUM Transmissions in 1976 was also the debut of Throbbing Gristle.
Throbbing Gristle's confrontational live performances and use of often disturbing imagery, including pornography and photographs of Nazi concentration camps, gave the group a notorious reputation. However, the group always maintained that their mission was to challenge and explore the darker and obsessive sides of the human condition rather than to make attractive music. Throbbing Gristle made extensive use of pre-recorded tape-based samples and special effects to produce a distinctive, highly distorted background, usually accompanied by lyrics or spoken-word performances by Cosey Fanni Tutti or Genesis P-Orridge. Though they asserted they wanted to provoke their audience into thinking for themselves rather than pushing any specific agenda (as evidenced by the song "Don't Do As You're Told, Do As You Think" on Heathen Earth), Throbbing Gristle also frequently associated with the anarchist punk scene. They appeared in the fanzine Toxic Grafity, with a condensation of their own propaganda parody series, Industrial News.
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