Throbbing Gristle

Abrasive, aggressive, and antagonistic, Britain's Throbbing Gristle pioneered industrial music; exploring death, mutilation, fascism, and degradation amid a thunderous cacophony of mechanical noise, tape loops, extremist anti-melodies, and bludgeoning beats, the group's cultural terrorism -- the "wreckers of civilization," one tabloid called them -- raised the stakes of artistic confrontation to new heights, combating all notions of commerciality and good taste with a maniacal fervor.



Formed in London in the autumn of 1975, Throbbing Gristle consisted of vocalist/ringleader Genesis P-orridge, his then-lover, guitarist Cosey Fanni Tutti, tape manipulator Peter "sleazy" Christopherson, and keyboardist Chris Carter. A performance art troupe as much as a band, their early live shows -- each starting with a punch clock and running exactly 60 minutes before the power to the stage was cut -- threatened obscenity laws; during their notorious premiere gig, P-orridge even mounted an art exhibit consisting entirely of used tampons and soiled diapers.

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