The Last Testament Updated - Fetish Records

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. 

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…

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.

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:

23 Skidoo - a British band playing a fusion of industrial, post-punk, alternative dance, rock, and world music.

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