Besides Barney Bubbles, Neville Brody is another one of my favorite designers/artists, therefore it isn’t very surprising that I starting taking a closer look at Fetish Records.
According to Discogs, Fetish was an industrial and electro label started by Steve Brown and the late Rod Pearce in 1978 with the rerelease of Throbbing Gristle - The Second Annual Report.
According to Discogs, Fetish was an industrial and electro label started by Steve Brown and the late Rod Pearce in 1978 with the rerelease of Throbbing Gristle - The Second Annual Report.
Steve and Rod split in 1979 but Rod continued with acts like 23 Skidoo, Bush Tetras and Stephen Mallinder from Cabaret Voltaire.
It was known as much for the music as for the highly stylized and eye-catching Neville Brody sleeves….jpg)
As for the music it’s probably best described as a fusion of industrial, post-punk, no wave, alternative dance, rock, and dub.
Most acts had a short lifespan with the exception of Mallinder’s Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle…
Besides a bunch of 7 and 12 inch singles Fetish released only 1 (one!) compilation album; 1983s excellent The Last Testament which shockingly enough has never been released on CD or any other format!
However there were enough tracks for a companion compilation which became The Last Testament Updated.
It was known as much for the music as for the highly stylized and eye-catching Neville Brody sleeves…
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Most acts had a short lifespan with the exception of Mallinder’s Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle…
Besides a bunch of 7 and 12 inch singles Fetish released only 1 (one!) compilation album; 1983s excellent The Last Testament which shockingly enough has never been released on CD or any other format!
However there were enough tracks for a companion compilation which became The Last Testament Updated.
32 years later these tracks are still very listenable, occasionally still challenging perhaps, but definitely not boring/dated. Although for me personally there’s an exception, a good friend told me many years ago that if you ever want to end a party, play Throbbing Gristle…
With that in mind I added TG as the final track!
The Updated Testament includes the following bands and artists:
Bush Tetras - All-woman group who were a mainstay of New York's club scene in the 1980s, playing a brutal blend of Minimalist, No Wave, Funk-influenced Punk.
The Bongos - American new wave / power pop group from Hoboken, New Jersey. They broke up in the mid-1980s but reformed in the 2010s.
Snatch - Legendary Punk girl duo (Patti Palladin, Judy Nylon) from New York, associated with the Art-Rock scene, they recorded only 1 album. The 2 tracks here were produced by John Cale.
WKGB - Consisted of David Goessling and Dennis Kelley, they recorded only 1 single.
L.O.K. - Consisted of A.A. Pritchard (Poet and street artist from Greenwich Village, New York) and Eliot Michaels (American musician, songwriter and record producer), they recorded only 1 single.
8 Eyed Spy - American no wave band from New York City, consisting of Lydia Lunch and Jim Sclavunos, Michael Paumgardhen, Pat Irwin and George Scott III.
Stephen Mallinder - British singer/musician born 1 January 1955 in Sheffield, England. Founding member of Cabaret Voltaire.
Clock DVA - Adi Newton formed the first line up of Clock DVA in 1978, together with Judd Turner but soon expanded the group. They focused on experimental music inspired by SF and the occult, but later became more industrial and electronic in their recordings.
Perry Haines - Early 80's co-founder of UK style-bible "ID Magazine" who released only 1 single.
Throbbing Gristle - Industrial group, growing out of the extreme performance art group COUM Transmissions. Members included: C.C. Newby, Chris Carter, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, & Peter Christopherson
Link: https://mega.nz/file/GIUgAToI#jkZfs9LCnGUpizi48zcpNBkbi5_0ops0oV16dCUJQAw
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Are any of the above artists/groups among your favorites? 23 Skidoo is definitely one of mine.
Z'ev has been one for me
ReplyDeleteZ'ev had also only 1 single on Fetish, the A side (Wipe Out) was on that 1983 compilation.
DeleteThe B side I haven't been able to find, otherwise I'd included it on my new one...
Throbbing Gristle and Bush Tetras. I like 23 Skidoo, as well. I'm still not sure if Lydia Lunch is a musician or a performance artist (on and off the stage).
ReplyDeleteJames, it puzzles me a bit. LL maybe not a musician but a performance artist, and you put TG up front who were more than many others performance first. Music came in after the noise.
DeleteI used to love the Bongos, still do actually. Great power pop. Their best LP by far was the Drums Along the Hudson comp consisting of their early singles including In the Congo, the Bulrushes and Zebra Club not to mention a good take on T Rex's Mambo Sun. Some of Richard Barone's solo LP's are pretty good too. Other Fetish acts may be a bit too experimental for my taste.
ReplyDeleteJ from Europe.
Yes, the Bongos....but only if it's not one of someone else's favorites! [LOL] Those funny kid gloves get put on around me due to my introducing things they never heard.
ReplyDeleteThis looks great, Koen! Clock DVA's album Thirst is one of my all time favorites (and has a great Neville Brody sleeve). I believe Adi Newton is still performing under the Clock DVA name. I always liked the first Snatch single (IRT) as well as Judy Nylon's solo album. 23 Skidoo and The Bongos were great too. I remember Z'ev from the Subterranean Records label. Also liked 8 Eyed Spy better than some of Lydia's other stuff (Queen of Siam is a great album, with Quine and Pat Irwin). George Scott III played bass on the John Cale live album Sabotage.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure the Bush Tetras were ever an all female band. Their drummer Dee Pop was a guy (he died a few years ago). Bush Tetras released a great new album in 2023 (with Steve Shelley on drums).
C.C. Newby adopted the alias Cosey Fanny Tutti as a member of Throbbing Gristle. Cosey released a new record this year on Conspiracy International (her label with Chris Carter).
Here's an article on Neville Brody's art for Fetish, which includes the Jon Savage liner notes from The Last Testament:
https://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2006/04/23/neville-brody-and-fetish-records/
Brody did some great work for other record labels as well. One of my favorites is his sleeve for Cabaret Voltaire's "Red Mecca". According to Wikipedia, his main focus lately is designing typefaces.
https://www.discogs.com/artist/524303-Neville-Brody?superFilter=Credits
Thanks Jonder. Perhaps the Bush Tetras were all female at the beginning of their career?
DeleteJohn Coulthart has lots of interesting art posts on his blog, definitely worth checking out!
Some other links that might be of interest:
https://destroypunkpodcast.com/s1e10-neville-brody/
http://www.tangents.co.uk/tangents/main/2006/june/reason23.html
https://www.dezeen.com/2014/11/21/neville-brody-dezeen-book-of-interviews/
http://keithsneuroblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/rhythm-of-cruelty-rod-pearce-fetish.html
https://www.mylifeinthemoshofghosts.com/2017/07/22/throbbing-gristle-cabaret-voltaire-zev-the-lyceum-ballroom-london-sunday-8th-february-1981/
Bongos. Bought the Fetish Time And The River off a market stall in Soho and never looked back. Richard Barone's solo stuff is very much worth a listen.
ReplyDeleteThe Bongos is also one of those bands which never have seen a compilation... Perhaps an idea? Let me know!
DeleteI too adore 23 Skidoo, Clock DVA are great as well both in their early post-punk days and later electronic focused industrial style.
ReplyDeleteJohn Hartman (Hawkster) -- Only 7 songs in....nutzes ,go go go
ReplyDeleteBONGOS! BONGOS! BONGOS!
ReplyDeleteViacomCMD just posted a bushel of Bongos, plus some Richard Barone solo stuff:
https://downunderground.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-bongos-demo-tape-81-w-drums-along.html