Martin AtkinsGlobe trotting drummer, instigator and master-mixer Martin Atkins is probably as well traveled and prolific as any rock musician of the last twenty years. He started playing the drums at nine in his native England, and was a full time professional by the time he was sixteen, performing seven nights a week. He started the band Brian Brain in 1978 and continued to play with them for many years, although it was his next band that really put him in the spotlight for the first time. Martin joined John Lydon, Keith Levine and (future Damage Manual member) Jah Wobble in Public Image Ltd. (PIL) in 1979, and spent the next five years playing, recording and touring with that revolutionary and highly influential outfit. Martin played on PIL's second release, the famous "Metal Box," as well as 1981's "Flowers of Romance," the live import "Paris au Printemps" and the "This Is What You Want, This Is What You Get" LP from 1983. In 1985 he started Plaid Records and released their only recording , a Brian Brain EP, before their distributor went belly up, leaving the label broke and basically nowhere. 1985 also found him briefly leaving music and moving to the US, where he started a construction company in New Jersey.
1987 was a major turning point for Martin. That year Invisible Records was founded in--originally in New Jersey, but then moved to Chicago--as a collective by a group of like-minded musicians, artists and fellow sonic pranksters. In 1988 Invisible released it's first title, the compilation "What You Can't See Won't Hurt You." Invisible would eventually grow to include a studio/warehouse/living quarters/screen printing shop, and become as much a state of mind as an actual place. In addition to booking shows and doing spoken word performances around the Chicago area, Martin also joined the hugely influential band Killing Joke, who he toured and recorded with for the next 3 years. Martin had first met Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker in 1979, during the downslide off the peak of Great Britain's punk rock explosion. Unbeknownst to them, the seed for The Damage Manual had been sown.
1989 was a watershed year for both Martin and what was labeled industrial music in general. Although he was asked to join the hugely successful band Blondie, he opted to join his friend Al Jourgensen in the fledgling Ministry. The rest is (sordid) history. Along with Jourgensen, Ogre, William Tucker and Chris Connelly (the final player in the still ten years distant The Damage Manual), Martin and Ministry toured and released "In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up" LP and video. While still finding the time to play with Killing Joke and consorting with such underground demi-legends as KMFDM, Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and David Yow (Jesus Lizard), Martin's next major endeavor came screaming to life: Pigface.
Pigface: a roving, anarchistic, loose knit aggregation of musicians, tekkies, artists and agitators. More or less still ongoing eleven years and five albums later, Pigface has taken it's constantly changing cast of characters around the world and flown directly in the face of all conventional wisdom about what a "band" is and can do. Notorious live, bracing on record, Pigface has left an indelible mark music in the latter years of the century.
1991 was another important year. Martin left Killing Joke, continued to tour and record with Pigface, and played with Nine Inch Nails for the "Broken" EP and "Head Like A Hole" video. 1991 also saw the birth of Murder Inc. Murder Inc. included several members of Killing Joke (including Geordie), as well as vocalist Chris Connelly. Murder Inc. toured and recorded one self titled record and the "Corpuscle" remix EP before disbanding. Nine Inch Nails went on to become one of the most successful bands of the 1990s.
Although Martin had been recording demos and tweaking around in studios since the early days of PIL, a major leap forward came in 1994 when he bought an 8 Track machine from notorious producer/musician Steve Albini in Chicago. This is when Martin started to seriously go to work behind the boards, developing his skills as a producer and remixer. Although still playing heavily, the studio (and running a fully independent record label) has started to take up more and more of Martin's creative time. With production and remix credits that include Skinny Puppy, Pigface, Evil Mothers, Psychic TV, Meg Lee Chin, Test Dept., and others, Martin has left a large impression on the face (and speaker cabinets) of music around the world. In 1997 he moved his studio back to the U.K.
As the ringleader for Pigface, key member of several important bands and the head of Invisible Records, Martin has always stayed true to the revolutionary ideals first spelled out over 20 years ago by PIL. Now a well-seasoned musician and producer, with The Damage Manual he and his compadres can kick music headfirst into the 21st century.
Chris Connelly
Like fellow Damage Manual cohort Martin Atkins, Chris Connelly is also an exceptionally well traveled musician who has sang and composed material with and for some of the most notorious and influential bands of the last two decades. Check just some of the names: Pigface, Ministry, Revolting Cocks, KMFDM, Fini Tribe, Murder Inc., and now The Damage Manual.
Chris first took the stage with Fini Tribe, hailing from his hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. He played with the band through four EPs and several singles over eight years, before leaving in 1987. Towards the end of Fini Tribe Chris hooked up with the outrageous Revolting Cocks, who he toured and recorded with from 1987 till 1993. He recorded several singles with the band, as well as three full length releases: "Live! You God Dammed Son of a Bitch! " (1988); "Beers, Steers & Queers" (1990); and "Linger Ficken' Good" (1993). Overlapping this was a couple of tours and recording with industrial pioneers Ministry, including several singles and the classic albums "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" (1989) and "Psalm 69" (1992). Overlapping even more, in 1991 Chris also toured and sang with Murder Inc. on their two releases, the self titled full length and the "Corpuscle" EP. Murder Inc. included two other future members of The Damage Manual, drummer Martin Atkins and guitar player Geordie Walker of Killing Joke.
Chris and Martin were on more than familiar terms. Not only had they played together in Ministry, but Chris also was a member of the traveling sonic circus/freak show Pigface that Martin had fathered back in 1989. Chris was an active member of the Pigface collective from 1990 till 1993, doing two tours of duty and recording "Gub" (1991) and "Welcome to Mexico...Asshole," as well as a couple of live albums. This incredibly prolific time of multiple band memberships and collaborations--including numerous short term ones not mentioned here (see Chris' web site!)--more or less started to ebb after his work with industrial legends KMFDM on the "Xtort" album in 1996.
Amongst all this other activity, Chris has found the time to record a series of solo albums. The first three--all for Wax Trax--were recorded during the boom days of the early to mid 90s. "Whiplash Boychild" was released in 1990; "Phenobarb Bam-ba-lam" came out in 1991, followed by "Shipwreck" 1n 1993. The next two --1997's "Ultimate Seaside Companion" (HitIt Records) and the soon-to-be-released "Blonde Exodus" (Invisible Records)--were and will be released as Chris Connelly and The Bells. The solo recordings show another side of Chris' music, and owe much more to folk and other acoustic-based musics than the high volume, confrontational stance of Pigface, Ministry or Revolting Cocks.
A collection of Chris' poetry and lyrics has recently been put in print by KB Publishing. Titled "Confessions Of The Highest Bidder," it lets the reader amble through many years of his writing without the electric or acoustic current of music to enhance or distract.
Chris has made his home in Chicago for the last twelve years.
Also see www.chrisconnelly.com for further information or to get in touch with Chris directly.
Geordie Walker
"Wanted: bass and guitar to tell the Killing Joke. Total anonymity and total exploitation."
Such was the seed of greatness. When Geordie Walker answered this ad in Melody Maker in 1979, he (of course) had no way of knowing, but he was about to jump into a musical vehicle that was going to carry him for the next seventeen years. Geordie had just arrived in London from north of the city, hungry to tap into the British musical explosion of punk (quickly becoming post-punk) rock. He got more than he bargained for: a hugely influential and prolific band with true longevity.
The band Killing Joke quickly evolved out of the add in Melody Maker. Geordie's guitar was one of the four pillars, joined by vocalist Jaz Coleman, bass player Youth and drummer Big Paul Ferguson. They quickly recorded their first 3 song single for Malicious Damage, "Turn To Red," pressing up 500 copies. Hugely popular trend-setting British radio personality John Peel freaked. Two more singles followed in short order: "War Dance" for Rough Trade, and "Requiem Change" on E.G./Polydor. E.G. Management also scooped up the young band, adding them to a roster that included the likes of Roxy Music and King Crimson.
Killing Joke's self-titled debut full length album was released by Polydor Records in 1980. "What's This For" followed in 1981, and the Conny Plank produced "Revelations" came in 1982. Paul Raven replaced Youth on bass in 1983, in time for the "Ha!" live EP, followed by "Fire Dancer," the bands fourth full length in four years. Their fifth album (the last for Polydor), "Night Time," featured the hit single "Love Like Blood."
In 1986 Killing Joke signed to Virgin Records and released "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns." Their 2nd and last release for Virgin was 1987's "Outside the Gate." Keyboard player John Bechdel and future Damage Manual drummer Martin Atkins also joined the band in 1987, recording the "Extremities" LP and playing on the bands third US tour. Geordie had known Martin since the late 70s scene in London.
In 1989 Killing Jokers Geordie, Martin, Big Paul, Paul Raven and John Bechdel were joined by future Damage Manual vocalist Chris Connelly in a new band, Murder Inc. Murder Inc. toured and recorded one self-titled full length and one EP, "Corpuscle," before moving on to others things in 1990. In 1993 original bass player Youth returned for the "Pandemonium" record from Zoo Records. The last Killing Joke CD was "Democracy" (Zoo also) in 1996. But is that the "last" or merely "latest" record from Killing Joke? Geordie calls it an on-going project; time will tell whether we have seen the last of the Killing Joke or not.
Geordie is currently building a recording studio in Brooklyn, and looking forward to touring and shaking foundations around the world with The Damage Manual.
Jah Wobble
Jah Wobble: Thee purveyor of all devouring hypnotic low-end, dub.
From Wobble's first recorded note it was obvious that a new animal was loose in the jungle. That colossal note came at the beginning of Public Image Ltd.'s (PIL) opening track on their debut CD in 1978, and has continued unabated since then. Although the players around him have constantly changed, Wobble and his towering bass have always been consistent, insistent and impossible to miss.
When Wobble joined with John Lydon, guitarist Keith Levine and drummer Jim Walker for the original line-up of PIL, musical history was fashioned. Although the antics and media manipulation of Lydon's (then Johnny Rotten) previous band the Sex Pistols had turned the UK on it's ear, harvested reams of press and helped ignite a brief explosion known as punk rock, they were basically still a rock band in the classic mold. And even thought PIL used the same basic line-up--vocals, guitar, bass and drums--PIL were anything but a standard rock band. They were, in fact, the front guard in the next great leap forward in rock music.
And it was Wobble who led the charge. Put simply, no one had heard anything like his massive bass lines in rock before. While some listeners ran for cover and others figured it was all a huge engineering mistake, others immediately fell under the hypnotic spell. Drawing heavily from the bass tones and low-end explorations of Jamaican dub music, Wobble upped the volume and set it loose against the rest of the band. He's been doing it ever since.
Wobble's musical history and discography is varied and complex (see his web site!). Here's a truncated version for easy digestion.
Wobble played with PIL from 1978 to 1980, and recorded three albums: "Public Image Ltd," "Metal Box" ("Second Edition" in the US) and the live import "Paris au Printemps." Wobble first met future Damage Manual cohort Martin Atkins when Martin joined PIL in 1979, during the recording for "Metal Box." They recorded one album together outside of PIL, "Betrayal," then went their separate musical ways in 1980 for twenty years until coming back together in The Damage Manual.
When Wobble left PIL he quickly fell in with two members of the legendary Can, Holgar Czukay and Jaki Lebitzit. He has played off and on with these two and with various combinations of them and other players for many years afterwards. Early recording with them include the "How Much Are They" EP and "Full Circle" LP, both released on Island Records in 1981. In 1982 Wobble started Invaders of the Heart, a group that would go on to record six full records over eleven years and be at the forefront of the intersection of rock, dub and world musics.
Since the early/mid 1980's, Wobble has released a string of solo releases with a different combinations of musicians. "Snake Charmer" (featuring the early U2's guitar player The Edge) was released in 1983 followed by "Psalms" in 1986. He recorded the "Rising Above Bedlam" LP with Sinead O'Connor in 1991, and the solo releases "Take Me To God" in 1993 and "Heaven & Earth" in 1995, both on Island Records. Also in 1995 Wobble produced "Spinner" for Brian Eno on All Saints Records. In 1996 he recorded a spoken word tribute to the writer William Blake for All Saints. During this time (and since) Wobble appeared on numerous recordings generated by fellow bass pioneer, producer and dubmaster, Bill Laswell, including recordings on the deliciously progressive Axiom, Meta and Subharmonic labels. Perhaps coming full circle (or to the edge of the circle), in 1999 he performed "Requiem" with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Also in 1997 he formed his own record label, 30 Hertz, who have ten releases to date.
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