Peter Christopherson
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| Peter Christopherson | |
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 Sleazy in Thailand, self-portrait (2005)
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Peter Martin Christopherson |
| Also known as | Sleazy |
| Born | February 27, 1955 |
| Genres | Industrial music Electronic music |
| Occupations | Musician Songwriter Music video director |
| Instruments | Macintosh Computer Synthesizers Electronics |
| Years active | 1975 – present |
| Labels | Threshold House, Eskaton, Chalice, Industrial Records |
| Associated acts | Soisong The Threshold HouseBoys Choir Coil Throbbing Gristle Psychic TV |
Peter Martin Christopherson, a.k.a. Sleazy (born February 27, 1955) is a musician, video director and designer, and former member of the influential British design agency Hipgnosis.
He was one of the original members of the infamous Industrial Records band, Throbbing Gristle. After Throbbing Gristle he participated in the foundation of Psychic TV along with Geoffrey Rushton, aka John Balance. After his short time in Psychic TV, Christopherson formed Coil along with Balance, which lasted just under 23 years, until Balance died of a fall in their Weston-Super-Mare home. Christopherson has participated in the reuniting of Throbbing Gristle as well as composed an album for his current solo endeavour The Threshold HouseBoys Choir.
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[edit] Biography
Prior to his musical career, Peter Christopherson was a commercial artist, designer, and photographer. Notably, he was one of the three partners of the album cover design group Hipgnosis, which was responsible for many notable album covers of the 1970s. Christopherson remained involved with commercial art through his later musical career as a director of music videos and television commercials.
Born in Leeds, Christopherson was a founding member of Throbbing Gristle who are credited with creating the industrial music genre before disbanding in 1981. Throbbing Gristle members Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti formed their own group while Peter Christopherson and TG's other member Genesis P-Orridge formed Psychic TV along with other musicians. John Balance met Christopherson as a Throbbing Gristle fan and the two became partners. Christopherson worked on the first two Psychic TV albums, Force The Hand Of Chance and Dreams Less Sweet, joined by Balance on the second one. The two performed live several times with Psychic TV then formed their own project, Coil. Along with Chris Carter, Christopherson has personally documented on his MySpace blog (with photographic evidence) of having played a custom-made (for him) keyboard-triggered sampler before the first sampler (Fairlight) was available in UK. While not the first sampler, this was a major step towards the use of samplers in live performance, as noted by Christopherson himself.
Despite Christopherson's long and extensive history as a musical artist, he has only released a single track under the name Peter Christopherson. The song, "In My Head A Crystal Sphere Of Heavy Fluid", appeared on the compilation Foxtrot, a benefit album for former partner John Balance's rehabilitation from alcohol addiction.
In 2005, Christopherson relocated from England to Krung Thep, Thailand and undertook the project The Threshold HouseBoy's Choir. Since Christopherson's relocation he has released the final Coil CDs; The Ape Of Naples, The Remote Viewer, Black Antlers, New Backwards, and reissued Musick To Play In The Dark Vol. 1 and Musick To Play In The Dark Vol. 2, which were formerly being manufactured in England.
2005 also marked the reuniting of Throbbing Gristle for a few concerts. Throbbing Gristle announced a new album Part Two. The group has announced several additional concerts in 2007 to promote the album.
In 2007 Christopherson released the debut album of his solo effort The Threshold HouseBoys Choir. The album, Form Grows Rampant, is broken down into five "parts" or songs, and includes a DVD of the album set to video of Thai rituals in Krabi. He is guest and jury head of the 2007 Melbourne Underground Film Festival.[1]
In 2008 Christopherson and Ivan Pavlov (aka COH) started a new project called Soisong. The band officially premiered in Tokyo on March 9, 2008 and later toured Europe with several shows, having self-released their debut EP.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Solo as Peter Christopherson
- "In My Head A Crystal Sphere Of Heavy Fluid" on Foxtrot (1998)
[edit] Solo as The Threshold HouseBoys Choir
- ...It Just Is compilation contains the track "Mahil Athal Nadrach". (CD) (2005)
- X-Rated: The Dark Files compilation contains the track "So Young It Knows No Maturing". (CD) (2006)
- Form Grows Rampant debut album. (CD+DVD) (2007)
- Brainwaves 2008 compilation contains "Cap Rot Taxi" (CD) (2008)
- Amulet Edition limited release (200 pcs) 4 mini-cds in Amulet package (CD) (2008)
[edit] With SoiSong
- Soijin-No-Hi Octagonal CDEP / free download EP from www.soisong.com from March (2008)
- xAj3z Octagonal CD housed in fold out custom sleeve with colour inlay (2009)
[edit] With Psychic TV
- Force The Hand Of Chance
- Just Drifting
- Dreams Less Sweet
- Berlin Atonal Vol. 1
- Berlin Atonal Vol. 2
- N.Y. Scum
- Thee City Ov Tokyo/Thee City Ov New York
- Mein-Goett-In-Gen
[edit] Other contributions
| Date of release | Song title | Released on | Group name released under | Musical Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | "First/Last" | Something For Nobody | Monte Cazazza | featuring (technical supervision) |
| 1982 | Seven Songs | 23 Skidoo | featuring (production) | |
| 1992 | "First/Last" | The Worst Of Monte Cazazza | Monte Cazazza | featuring (technical supervision) |
| 1993 | "The Apocalyptic Folk In The Nodding God Unveiled" | The Nodding Folk | performer | |
| 1996 | "Videodrones; Questions" | Lost Highway soundtrack | Trent Reznor | production |
| 1996 | "Driver Down" | Lost Highway Soundtrack | Trent Reznor | production |
| 2000 | "Silence Is Golden" | Vox Tinnitus | CoH | vocals |
| 2001 | "My Angel (Director's Cut)" | Love Uncut | CoH | vocals |
| August 6, 2001 | The Michel Publicity Window E.P. | Thighpaulsandra | album artwork design | |
| 2002 | "Autumn" | Seasons | CoH | uses field recordings by Christopherson |
| 2005 | "Unhealthy Red" | A Nature Of Nonsense | Aural Rage | written by |
| 2008 | "Im in Black Out" | The Zsigmondy Experience | Sion Orgon | uses field recordings and vocals by Christopherson |
[edit] Album artwork credits
This from Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson himself: "I worked as a free-lance photographer and contributor, then promoted to an assistant to Hipgnosis before becoming a partner, and continued to act also after I officially left the organization. So my contributions range from attempted but rejected artwork or design work, to partial contribution in either/both as an assistant, to being fully responsible for all design and artwork, such as the Peter Gabriel LPs. What you wish to document is up to you."[citation needed]
- Pink Floyd - A Nice Pair - "contributed photos as an assistant to Hipgnosis but did not do the design" – PC[citation needed]
- Pink Floyd - Animals (credited on LP and CD cover to Hipgnosis)
- Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (credited on LP and CD cover to Hipgnosis)
- Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel, aka "Peter Gabriel I" or "Car" (credited on LP and CD cover to Hipgnosis)
- Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel, aka "Peter Gabriel II" or "Scratch" (credited on LP and CD cover to Hipgnosis)
- Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel, aka "Peter Gabriel III" or "Melt" (credited on LP and CD cover to Hipgnosis)
[edit] Filmography
- Music video as director
- Marc Almond - "Waifs and Strays", "Tainted Love '91", and "Say Hello Wave Goodbye '91"
- Bjorn Again - "A Little Respect"
- Jerry Cantrell - "Cut You In"
- Coil - "The Wheel", "Tainted Love", "Windowpane", "The Snow (Answers Come In Dreams II)", "Love's Secret Domain"
- The Crystal Method - "Comin' Back"
- Erasure - "Chains of Love", "A Little Respect", "Stop"
- The Firm - "Radioactive", "All The King's Horses", "Satisfaction Guaranteed"
- Gavin Friday - "Falling off the Edge of the World"
- Front 242 - "Rhythm of Time"
- Diamanda Galás - "Double Barrel Prayer"
- Gemini - "Another You Another Me"
- Barry Gibb - "Now Voyager" (long form made-for-television music film)
- Hanson - "I Will Come to You"
- Nona Hendryx - (track unknown)
- K's Choice - "Not an Addict" (live version), "Everything for Free"
- The Law - "We Are the Law"
- Magnum - (track unknown)
- Paul McCartney - "Going Home (From Rio to Liverpool)"
- Ministry - "N.W.O.", "Just One Fix", "Over the Shoulder"
- Nine Inch Nails - The Broken Movie ("Pinion", "Wish", "Help Me I Am in Hell", "Gave Up"), "March of the Pigs" (two versions: one officially released, with clips of the scrapped version available on the Closure DVD)
- Robert Plant - "Tall Cool One"
- Rage Against the Machine - "Freedom", "Killing in the Name", "Bombtrack", "Bulls on Parade", "People of the Sun"
- Rollins Band - "Illumination"
- Senser - "Age of Panic"
- Sepultura - "Refuse/Resist"
- Silverchair - "Pure Massacre"
- Stabbing Westward - "Lies"
- 10cc - (track unknown)
- The The - "Infected", "The Mercy Beat", "Heartland"
- The Threshold HouseBoy's Choir - "Mahil Athal Nadrach", "So Young It Known No Maturing", and other videos from the album Form Goes Rampant.
- 3 lb. Thrill - "Something Will Come"
- The Wildhearts - "Suckerpunch"
- Van Halen - "Don't Tell Me", "Can't Stop Lovin' You"
- Jah Wobble - "Becoming More Like God"
- Yes - "Owner of a Lonely Heart" [2]
[edit] References
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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2009) (Find sources: Peter Christopherson – news, books, scholar) |
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peter Christopherson |
- Coil
- Coil at Brainwashed
- Left Hand Path
- Myspace
- Throbbing Gristle
- SoiSong
- PeterChristopherson.com archive and forum
- Coil: The Million Dollar Altar (August 29, 2006)
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