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Throbbing Gristle
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Throbbing Gristle was an English music and visual art group, formed in Kingston upon Hull around Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, later joined by Peter Sleazy Christopherson and Chris Carter. The group grew out of the performance art collective COUM Transmissions and made its debut in October 1976 at the exhibition Prostitution at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. The name is Yorkshire slang for a male erection. A British Member of Parliament consequently called the group wreckers of civilisation.
Music and breakthrough
In 1977 came the single United and the album The Second Annual Report, on their own label Industrial Records. D.o.A: The Third and Final Report followed in 1978 and 20 Jazz Funk Greats in 1979. The group used recorded tapes and self-built or modified effects units to create a distorted sound, with spoken word and lyrics about mysticism, extreme politics, sex and the dark sides of society. Their image was deliberately shocking, with pornography and fascist symbolism. The group said it did not want to make attractive music, but to explore the dark and obsessive sides of human beings.
Influence
In 1981 the group split, and its members went on with Psychic TV, Coil and Chris and Cosey. In 2004 it returned, until P-Orridge left in 2010 and Christopherson died. Throbbing Gristle is regarded as one of the creators of industrial, alongside Cabaret Voltaire. The slogan industrial music for industrial people appears on The Second Annual Report.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1977The Second Annual Report
- 1978D.o.A. The Third and Final Report
- 197920 Jazz Funk Greats
- 1979Pastimes / Industrial Muzac
- 19812nd Annual Report
- 1982Journey Through a Body
- 1984In the Shadow of the Sun (soundtrack)
- 1986CD1
- 1993Funk Beyond Jazz
- 2004TG Now
- 2007Part Two: The Endless Not
- 2009The Third Mind Movements
- 2017Thirty-Second Annual Report
- 2024TG Berlin
Mentioned in other articles
- Industrial Genre
In the late 1970s Throbbing Gristle of London made music from noise, tape loops and electronics, released on their own label Industrial Records: industrial.