Cosey Fanni Tutti in conversation

Born 4 November 1951 in Hull, Yorkshire, England as Christine Carol Newby, in 1969 the redefined Cosey Fanni Tutti joined her then partner Genesis P-Orridge (Neil Megson) in the musical collective, COUM Transmissions, pushing them into a more performance art focus.  

In the video below Cosey talks about COUM's time in Hull.

COUM reached their peak in 1976 with the 'Prostitution' installation at the ICA in London in a show that included images from Cosey's work in the sex industry and which got the group denounced in parliament as "Wreckers of Western civilisation", which they really should have put on a business card.

The demise of COUM following the ICA show  meant a shift of focus back towards music in the company of Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson and Chris Carter as Throbbing Gristle.  Over the next six years TG's boundary and genre pushing music, imagery and performances instigated a new and ever expanding genre of music.  

On the collapse of TG in 1981 the various members split initially in two, Genesis and Sleazy forming Psychic TV before the latter left to join John Balance in Coil, whilst Cosey and Chris formed Chris & Cosey and, since the turn of the millennium, Carter Tutti.  In those guises the couple further developed the ideas they'd formulated as part of TG often incorporating pop and dance elements alongside the avant garde.

In 2017 Cosey, via Faber & Faber, published her autobiography, 'Art Sex Music', to significant acclaim and this was followed in 2022 by 'Re-Sisters: The Lives and Recordings of Delia Derbyshire, Margery Kempe and Cosey Fanni Tutti'.

The long interview below, dating from 2010, features Cosey in conversation about various aspects of her life, the tools she uses and about creativity in general.  Slightly frustratingly, the music has been removed but it makes for fascinating listening and is a genuine pleasure to be invited, however briefly, into Cosey's world.

http://www.coseyfannitutti.com/

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Psychedelic Britannia

Presented by Nigel Planer - who also did the Prog and Metal episodes of this series - Psychedelic Britannia tells the story of the years 1965 to 1970 as a group of bohemians led the charge to slowly psychedelicise Britain.  

Obviously, it's the musicians that are prioritised here and there's some great old footage of, and new and archive interviews with members of Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Small Faces, Procol Harum, Soft Machine, The Incredible String Band, Vashti Bunyan, Arthur Brown and a host of others.  The story tells of the move from R&B into more expansive territory, in part, due to the arrival of LSD and, in part due to a break from the rigid strictures of post-war Britain where the return to normality had begun to feel decidely restrictive and many were looking for new ways of life.

Beyond the musicians there's some fabulous old footage here of the likes of Granny Take a Trip, International Times, the UFO Club and the Alexandra Palace 14 Hour Technicolour Dream with commentary by those who were behind them and patronising them.  It makes for a rather lovely glimpse of a unique and brief moment in British life before the optimism tarnished and the colours faded.

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Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey

Over the course of 10 albums - 4 as Fad Gadget and 6 using his own name - Frank Tovey made music that helped define electronic and industrial music helping springboard bands such as Depeche Mode (who feature in the film below) and Einstürzende Neubauten and influence the likes of Skinny Puppy and Ministry.

Ever a cult performer Tovey never achieved mainstream success in his tragically short lifetime - he died of a heart attack aged just 45 - but left an entirely idiosyncratic legacy that still resonates today and is deservedly celebrated in this affectionate documentary.

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Berlin Sounds Decadent - From Cabaret to Krautrock

I'm possibly stretching my own rules for Wyrd Britain to the very edge of breaking point with this one but personally I'm fascinated by the times and the music covered in this BBC radio documentary and in Berlin of the cold war era in particular and thought there was just enough of a relevance to some of the things I feature on here to justify it's inclusion - click here if you disagree.  If you were to search through my music collection I  would hazard a guess that at least half, if not more, of the music in there was either made in Germany during the 60s, 70s and 80s or was profoundly influenced by it.

The documentary takes David Bowie's relocation to Berlin as it's focus discussing what drew him to the city and from there looks at some of the astonishing music being made in Germany by the likes of Can, Cluster, Neu!, Kraftwerk and Faust and later Einsturzende Neubauten and others but all the time keeping the history in the context of how these musical mavericks influenced musicians in the UK (and beyond) amongst them Brian Eno, John Foxx and Katharine Blake (who all feature here in some form) that would in many ways define music through the end of the 20th century and well into the 21st. 

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There is No Authority But Yourself

"You must learn to live with your own conscience, your own morality, your own decision, your own self. You alone can do it. There is no authority but yourself."

Made by Dutch film-maker Alexander Oey this documentary charts the history of the anarchist punk band, Crass.  

Visiting with founding members, drummer Penny Rimbaud and artist Gee Vaucher at the band's Dial House home and singer Steve Ignorant at his local pub (and in his garden) this fascinating documentary explores the history of one of the most important and yet under-appreciated groups to come out of the punk scene and one that fully embraced the counterculture ethos of earlier generations and tied a generally experimental ethos to both life and music.  

Released in 2006 the documentary predates much of the renewed activity by various band members and the critical and popular reappraisal that has followed and the band members seem at ease and content with their lives and their legacy.  I was too young to experience Crass during their existence but they came to mean a tremendous amount to young me when I first heard them at the tail end of the 80s, a few years after they called it a day, and the artistic and social ethos they championed is still very much part of my life to this day.

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Christmas with the Sex Pistols

Happy Christmas everybody I hope this finds you well.

Here we have the story of the two gigs the Pistols played on Christmas Day 1977 in Huddersfield at the height of their infamy, the last gigs they were to play in the UK and less than a month before they were to implode on the US tour.

John, Paul and Steve tell their stories of Christmas in the 1970s and particularly of the gigs they played that day for the locals that evening but especially the one at the party in the afternoon for the children of striking firemen complete with a Rotten instigated cake fight that looks like the most fun gig ever.

It's a genuinely lovely documentary with the 4 members (and others) reminiscing over some great footage about the gig and the times and offering some interesting observations which makes for a fascinating and really very welcome addition to their story.

I hope you enjoy and merry Christmas to you all.

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Psychic TV / Current 93 / Coil - Christian Documentary Expose

This is a small clip from a US Christian documentary from 1989 that took issue with the prevalence of 'rock' music in US culture. It's called 'Hell's Bells - The Dangers Of Rock & Roll' and if you're interested you can watch it here, but be warned at three and half hours it's very long and often both very dull and very dumb but enjoyable for all manner of unintended reasons.  

This small 6 minute extract focuses primarily on Genesis P-Orridge formerly of Throbbing Gristle and, at that time, of Psychic TV, talking about his belief in music as a transcendent medium, but also gives passing mention to both Coil and Current 93. The longer doc features all the usual suspects that were enraging the so-called moral majority of the time along with the likes of Diamanda Galas, Patti Smith, Crass, Lydia Lunch and The Birthday Party and apparently it did manage to unintentionally introduce many kids in Christian households, youth groups and schools across the US to musicians they'd otherwise have missed so we'll call it a success although not in the same way the makers would probably claim it to be.

 

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The Alchemists of Sound

Established in 1958 by Desmond Briscoe and Daphne Oram the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's purpose was to create innovative sounds to be used in radio and television shows. Now most widely remembered for it's groundbreaking work on Doctor Who  the Workshop provided startlingly innovative sounds and music for countless shows.

This documentary, first shown in 2003, gives a fascinating overview of this treasured institution and provided a timely celebration of the various talents that found a home there giving many of us a first glimpse of the people who had quickened our pulses and fueled our imaginations.

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Peter Zinovieff (26 January 1933 – 23 June 2021)

Today we mark the sad passing last week of electronic music pioneer Peter Zinovieff following a fall at his home the week before.  

In the 1960s he was a member of Unit Delta Plus along with Brian Hodgson and Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and formed the company EMS with David Cockerell and Tristram Carey which developed the VCS3 and Synthi A synthesizers so beloved of purveyors and connoisseurs of early electronic music.

I thought we'd take this opportunity to celebrate his life and work with these two videos.  The first is the slightly more irreverent made using footage from the documentaries "What the Future Sounded Like" and "The New Sound of Music" whilst the second was produced by Sound on Sound magazine in 2016.

If you would ike to hear more of his music then I heartily recommend tracking down a copy of 'Electronic Calendar/The EMS Tapes', a fabulous retrospective of his early work at the EMS studio.

Peter Zinovieff (26 January 1933 – 23 June 2021)

Thank you for all the wonderful sounds.

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She's a Punk Rocker

Made by Zillah Minx of the band Rubella Ballet 'She's a Punk Rocker' is a fun and timely oral history of punk from some of the under-reported but key female figures of the scene.  

With contributions from musicians, artists and writers such as Eve Libertine & Gee Vaucher (Crass), Vi Subversa (Poison Girls), Gaye Black (The Adverts), Poly Styrene (X-Ray Spex), journalist Caroline Coon, Ruth Elias & Janet Nassim (Hagar the Womb), poet Nettie Baker amongst others Minx's film is a vibrant and gloriously garish, day-glo celebration of her friends and contemporaries.

There's a follow up in the works too which you can learn more about here.

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Here and Now: Floating Anarchy

Here and Now were a band formed in the early 1970s that embraced the psychedelic, space rock and punk sounds and lifestyle and blazed an idiosyncratic path through that decade and beyond.  Armed with instruments and a bus the band toured extensively playing for free both as part of the nascent free festival scene and on their own count.  They toured and recorded with Daevid Allen as Planet Gong, provided bands such as The Fall and Alternative TV with early tours all the while occupying that truly interesting area between genres and way outside the mainstream.

Still active today and with a discography that is a diverse as it is elusive the band have recently been the subjects of this lovely little documentary made by Hayley Allardyce in memory of her father, synth player Gavin da Blitz, that offers a fascinating glimpse back to a time and a scene now sadly long gone. 



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Nick Drake

Despite only releasing 3 albums during his life time to very little acclaim English singer-songwriter Nick Drake has posthumously become one of the most revered of his peers.  

Drake was born in Burma in 1948 but grew up in Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England.  His musical career was undistinguished and all 3 of his records - Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter and Pink Moon - sold poorly due in no small part to his reticence to play live or to engage with promotional opportunities.  After releasing his third album in 1972 Drake's mental health had deteriorated to a point that necessitated a return to the family home where, on 25th November 1974, he took a suspected overdose of antidepressants and died.

Since his death his music has been championed by musicians such as REM, Beck, Swans, Mars Volta & Norah Jones.  His three albums have become cornerstones of modern British folk and indie.

Buy them here...
Five Leaves Left
Bryter Layter
Pink Moon

Included below are two documentaries about Drake's life and music.  They cover much the same ground and are both very watchable but the first, produced by the BBC, has attained some notoriety amongst Drake fans for the slightly unflattering picture it paints whilst the second, a Dutch production, pays deeper attention to the music. I've included both to give you a choice.





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New Radiophonic Workshop mini-documentary

Made by the good people at Resident Advisor this is a 2018 short documentary on the sonic wizards of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

For long time fans there's not really anything new here but featuring brief soundbites from the various members of the current touring band - Paddy Kingsland, Roger Limb, Peter Howell, Dick Mills, Mark Ayres and Kieron Pepper - as they prep for a performance alongside archive footage of Delia Derbyshire and Daphne Oram it makes for an interesting snapshot of the continuing legacy of these unique musicians.



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The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band formed in the early 60's and via The Magical Mystery Tour, a residency on the children's television show 'Do Not Adjust Your Set', a series of wilfull and wonderful albums and the one hit single they cemented their place at the heart of all that was eccentric and British at the time.

For those of you only familiar with the pop majesty of Urban Spaceman then the sea side postcard, vaudevillian, dada, pranksterism of the rest of The Bonzo's music may come as a bit of a shock but it's a shock well worth experiencing and this documentary is as good a place as any to start.

Vivian Stanshall: The Canyons Of His Mind



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If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much appreciate a donation towards keeping the blog going - paypal.me/wyrdbritain