Art Sex Music by Cosey Fanni Tutti

As much as I love books about music, I can sometimes approach them with trepidation since the fact that the authors are successful musicians, doesn’t necessarily mean that they can write a book.

However, Cosey Fanni Tutti has an excellent, engrossing way with words that surprised and delighted me. And of course, Cosey is much more than just a musician.

Art Sex Music tells the story of her life – from her difficult childhood (and eventually complete separation from her parents) to meeting Genesis P-Orridge at a young age and how her life changed; her becoming a part of the artist collective COUM Transmissions, and a founding member of industrial band, Throbbing Gristle.

I came to this book as a huge fan of TG, and having read Simon Ford’s Wreckers of Civilisation: The Story of COUM Transmissions and TG which gets a heavy critical drubbing as warping the story of both projects in favour of one person; Genesis (and interestingly, is being reprinted this year – I wonder if it will be revised in light of this?).

And it is the tales of Genesis and Cosey that are the meat of this book.

You know when you know someone’s public persona, and are afraid that behind it all they are not a very nice person, but you’ve never had any proof. That’s how I felt deep down about Genesis – and Art Sex Music gives that proof in abundance (and I can feel the truth ringing out from the page, as well as that other people, in fact all TG by the end can’t stand Gen). He was hugely emotional manipulative, he was physically abusive, he was an all-round not-nice guy, and while I’m not surprised, I am disappointed. It’s clear in his ego. From what Cosey says, Gen has to be the star, the leader, the founder, the visionary. Never mind that there were others in COUM and TG and Gen’s subsequent projects, the world revolved around Gen, and it was that attitude that killed COUM and Throbbing Gristle (both in its original and more recent incarnations). At every turn, he screwed over his bandmates, was barely there in the studio, or onstage, and it seems, purely concerned with money.

But enough about Gen. This is a fascinating book about Cosey’s life as a musician, as an artist (which I didn’t realise was so expansive, and interesting, until I read this book) and her sex work (she was an adult model, in both print and movies) which she viewed from a feminist perspective, and incorporated heavily into her art work (non-music fans might have heard of her primarily through the furore that accompanied COUM’s 1976 ‘Prostitution’ exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, which led to them being called the aforementioned ‘Wreckers of Civilisation’ by a Conservative MP) but also about her decades-long partnership, both personal and professional, with Chris Carter. And I must say, the two of them are very clearly made for each other, and I was SO happy when Cosey finally left Gen for Chris. I was shocked to read about her unfortunate luck with medical issues, which have plagued her throughout her life, and was always delighted when they receded and she was joyous about being able to get back to work.

A fascinating memoir by an utterly fascinating individual in which she tells her own story, clearly, truly, and once and for all. Recommended.

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You can reserve a copy online at South Dublin Libraries’ catalogue here.

England’s Hidden Reserve: A Secret History of the Esoteric Underground by David Keenan

This book is almost as legendary as the bands it describes. First published in 2003 by SAF publishing, it went out of print and started to fetch HUGE prices among booksellers. This revised, updated, indexed and absolutely gorgeously put together is a welcome new edition.

Written by experimental record shop (Volcanic Tongue) owner, David Keenan, this is a hugely in-depth and fascinating history of three very interrelated bands: Coil, Current 93 and Nurse With Wound. I have been a huge Coil fan for many years (one of my big regrets was not ordering the DVD boxset Colour Sound Oblivion- which now goes for RIDICULOUS MONEY – when it was first advertised) and much like the book, their records can be very hard to come by, and expensive when they are found – but I was always fascinated with Jhonn Balance and Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson. These were men who made explicitly queer experimental music – an idea that fascinated me when I was younger.

The book tells the history of these three bands from their early days, up until about 2003. The book is hugely detailed and you can tell is written by a man who knows the bands, the musicians, the scene and the history inside out. And it’s been carefully researched; Keenan quotes from his own interviews with the bands, the other major players, and even bit-players or influences. And this book is an exploration of not just the bands, but their influences; from David Tibet (Current 93)’s religious obsessions, and his other stranger obsessions such as his Noddy obsession, to Coil’s mystical, ritualistic ideal of Austin Osman Spare and the like, and Stephen Stapleton’s (Nurse With Wound) more music-based fascination with Krautrock, the book catalogues, expounds and places these influences within the canon.

More than anything, this book is wonderfully well-written in detailed, easy prose that skilfully darts between the three bands. Despite knowing NWW and C93, I’ve never really listened to them, so I was surprised to be just as engrossed in their story, as much as Coil’s. This book reminds of two other fascinating music books that I would also recommend:  John Higgs’ book, The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds, which much like England’s Hidden Reverse, uses the framework of a band biography to elucidate the band’s influences, and the larger scene; and Simon Ford’s book Wreckers of Civilisation: The Story of COUM Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle which, dealing as it does with TG, is the perfect counterpart to this book (and much like this book’s first edition, is now woefully out of print – perhaps if EHR is a success, Strange Attractor Press might consider reprinting Wreckers?)

A rollicking ride through England’s esoteric underground that had me keep coming back to it, over and over. I must also point out before I go that it is FILLED with loads and loads of fantastic and rare pictures of the bands; mostly of Coil and C93 (there is a little bit more of a focus on Coil and C93 over NWW – just a little – but I feel that’s because NWW have shied away from having a frontman somewhat, and also because their music is less based on literature or esoterica than the other bands – NWW is heavily discussed, dissected and chroniclized though and NWW fans will find plenty here).

Highly recommended, and this beautiful new edition is only £20 sterling!

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You can reserve a copy online at South Dublin Libraries’ catalogue here.