about throbbing gristle
throbbing gristle was a band and visual arts collective that went beyond the scope of ackerman's concerns with schizophrenia. over the course of 1975–81 and 2004–10, they used music, spoken word, performance art, and machinery that band member chris carter invented to discuss evil in all the forms it takes. their focus on real life atrocity from sexual assault to the holocaust led to controversy that followed the band throughout its multiple runs, with one conservative member of parilament going as far as to call them "wreckers of civilization." the members included genesis p. orridge cosey fanni tutti, chris carter, and peter christopherson.
from left to right: peter "sleazy" christopherson, genesis p. orridge, cosey fanni tutti, chris carrter
p. orridge and fanni tutti met while doing performance art with coum transmissions, and after a performance nearly got the organization shut down, decided to form a band of their own. they quickly enlisted carter and christopherson, and upon forming the label industrial records, coined the term "industrial" as a depictor of a certain sound. however, this notoriety also lent the group a fair amount of infamy.
in an interview with drew daniels, front wo/man genesis p. orridge stated that "in 1975… i was prosecuted for sending "queen" postcards… i was warned that if they found anything else that was offensive that i did in my art, i would automatically go to jail for a year" (84). p. orridge continued to send letters with disturbing content to people including ackerman, though
s/he never described these as mail art. their correspondence spurred the creation of one of their most discussed songs...