Nowadays I don’t have my ear to the ground like I used to, in discovering new and exciting bands – which I blame entirely on the sterile music press – no Melody Maker, Sounds or other smaller independent magazines – smaller bands do not seem to get the coverage they once commanded.

Blur, Oasis, Radiohead & Coldplay all came from an independent background but their music was quite safe and user friendly, it’s no wonder they were embraced, but what about those bands that existed like Throbbing Gristle

Throbbing Gristle’s confrontational live performances and use of often disturbing imagery, including pornography and photographs of Nazi concentration camps, gave the group a notorious reputation. However the group always maintained that their mission was to challenge and explore the darker and obsessive sides of the human condition rather than to make attractive music. Throbbing Gristle made extensive use of pre-recorded tape-based ‘samples’ and special effects to produce a distinctive, highly distorted background, usually accompanied by lyrics or spoken-word performances by Cosey Fanni Tutti or Genesis P-Orridge. Though they asserted they wanted to provoke their audience into thinking for themselves rather than pushing any specific agenda, Throbbing Gristle also frequently associated with the anarchist punk scene. 

Would a band like this be allowed to form these days without abuse from sectors of the right wing press, can you imagine a band like this on Britains got talent – it would be fucking excellent. I remember when KLF performed with Extreme Noise Terror at the opening of the Brits – it was the best thing that ever happened in the British music industry for years. People couldn’t believe it – that safe band KLF with their catchy tunes that have entered the charts – Ha Ha Ha – didn’t do your homework and their music that gave them their original following.

I suppose you could say it’s all a type of jazz for people who don’t like jazz.