Throbbing Gristle

From 1975 to 1981, no band better exemplified creation through transgression than industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle. During an era of inflation and rising neoconservatism, the London quartet of Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson, and Chris Carter subverted mainstream English thought with a fusion of grinding cacophony and experimental electronics that probed sex, mind control, genocide, and other William Burroughs-approved taboos. Early TG documents, like The Second Annual Report, reflected the musicians’ origins in COUM Transmissions, a confrontational arts collective often harassed by police. Yet lurking inside their negation were seeds of possibility. Besides launching the global industrial movement, they introduced samplers and tape loops to underground rock, heavy metal, and, thanks to the disco-inspired set 20 Jazz Funk Greats, dance music. This innovative spirit carried over to their post-TG projects: P-Orridge’s Psychic TV presaged rave culture; Tutti and Carter pushed the boundaries of electro-pop as Chris & Cosey; and Christopherson cofounded noise pioneers Coil. TG would reform in the 2000s for a burst of activity, but Christopherson’s death in 2010 (P-Orridge would pass away in 2020) permanently closed the book on a truly defiant and original group.