Genesis P-Orridge British musician and performance artist Date of Birth: 22.02.1950 Country: Great Britain

1. Genesis P-Orridge: Biography
2. Early Years and Anti-Social Struggles
3. C.O.U.M. Transmission and Throbbing Gristle
4. Influence of William Burroughs and Psychic TV
5. Throbbing Gristle and Musical Experiments

Genesis P-Orridge: Biography

Genesis P-Orridge is a British musician, poet, performance artist, and occultist. Born Neil Andrew Megson in Manchester, he grew up in the city and attended Hull University, where he studied economics, philosophy, and various social sciences. It was during his time at university that Megson adopted his new, more well-known name. After a student party, his peers began calling him Genesis, and he later created the surname P-Orridge.

Early Years and Anti-Social Struggles

During his university years, Genesis P-Orridge began to express himself as a rebel, fighting against societal values and boundaries. In fact, the magazine "Worm," which he started publishing within the university, focused on his anti-social aspirations. However, the magazine was banned after its fourth issue.

In 1969, as part of his collaboration with the performance group "Transmedia Exploration," P-Orridge participated in the formation of a commune. The goal of the commune was to free its members from any societal conventions typically imposed by society. This concept emphasized introducing elements of randomness into life, never engaging in one single pursuit, and avoiding using the same problem-solving methods. One of the commune members was Derek Jarman, who later became a renowned director.

C.O.U.M. Transmission and Throbbing Gristle

In the same year, P-Orridge and his partner, Cosey Fanni Tutti, formed the performance group C.O.U.M. Transmission. From the beginning, the group focused on provocative and radical actions, often involving violence, sex, and occult rituals. Their performances took the form of gallery exhibits and street shows. Despite causing outrage among moral guardians, C.O.U.M. Transmission existed for quite a while.

In 1973, musician Chris Carter composed music for a performance titled "Throbbing Gristle." Following this, P-Orridge invited Carter to join C.O.U.M. Transmission. Carter remained in the group until its dissolution in 1976. Peter Christopherson also joined the group in 1975. C.O.U.M. Transmission gained popularity, with over two thousand people attending their show in Amsterdam, and representing England at the Paris Biennale in 1975. The group also received scholarships and grants from prestigious educational institutions, including the Art Council of Great Britain. Their most famous and scandalous performance took place in 1976 at the London Centre for Contemporary Art, titled "Prostitution," with Cosey Fanni Tutti presenting herself as a woman, artist, model, and prostitute.

Influence of William Burroughs and Psychic TV

As a fan of the Beat Generation, P-Orridge had the opportunity to meet William Burroughs in 1973. Later, P-Orridge curated Burroughs' festivals, which took place in London in October 1982. P-Orridge also participated in the release of "Nothing Here Now but the Recordings," an album containing Burroughs' early texts, which was released on Industrial Records in 1980. Burroughs' work significantly influenced P-Orridge, who began using the "cut-up" technique in his music. This technique involved cutting out written words from pages and rearranging them randomly to create prose. Its application reached its peak in Psychic TV's series of albums titled "Electric Newspaper: Issue 1, 2, 3."

Throbbing Gristle and Musical Experiments

In 1976, at P-Orridge's initiative, C.O.U.M. Transmission reformed as the musical collective Throbbing Gristle. Within this new formation, the artists were able to continue their experiments, mainly in musical form. The lineup remained the same, with Genesis P-Orridge on vocals and bass guitar, Chris Carter on keyboards, Peter Christopherson on electronics and programming, and Cosey Fanni Tutti on guitar.