A few weeks ago I had a serious hankerin’ for some Psychic TV. I first heard them in 1987 or so on college radio. This was during their acid house phase.
The ringleader, Genesis P. Orridge has a long history in British music that goes back to the early ’70s. His most well-known band is probably the pre-Psychic TV avant industrial Throbbing Gristle. In PTV, he writes the lyrics and sings the songs, but he doesn’t write the music. This means that each time he reincarnates the band, he is often reinventing the band as well. Their records have ranged from industrial-dance to Beach Boys-esque pop to avant-garde electro to the origins of acid house to psychedelia.
P. Orridge and his family have been the victims of investigations based on empty accusation. This is because he started a cult-like organization called the Temple ov Psychick Youth (yes, that’s how they spelled it). It was a quasi-religious group rooted in art and philosophy, but P. Orridge has since distanced himself from it. These days, he and his second wife spend much of their time distributing food and clothing to those in need in Tibet. This is from a longstanding Psychic TV tradition of ‘giving-back’ some of their royalty money. Interestingly, P. Orridge now goes by the name Genesis Breyer P-Orridge. The name Breyer is his wife’s surname. In the ’90s, he got breast implants, and now refers to himself as s/he. This is all related to his theories of pandrogeny, which you can read all about here.
Anyhow, I recommend these albums from their various periods:
Experimental: Any of the eight live albums released between 1986 and 1987
Acid house: “Jack the Tab: Tekno Acid Beat” (note, this appears like a compilation, but it’s all Psychic TV under various names in an effort to make people believe that acid house was much more popular and well known than it truly was at the time)
Industrial: “Toward thee Infinite Beat”
Psychedelic pop: “Godstar: Thee Director’s Cut” (this was meant to be a soundtrack to a biopic about Brian Jones that was never made)
