While his contributions to
Ministry,
the Revolting Cocks, and
Pigface have earned him a reputation as a ferocious industrial rocker, singer/songwriter
Chris Connelly's solo career has explored softer music that's more in line with
Nick Cave,
David Bowie,
Leonard Cohen, and the later work of
Scott Walker. Born and raised in Edinbourough, Scotland,
Connelly listened to the glam sounds of
David Bowie,
Roxy Music, and
T. Rex up to the point
punk exploded on the scene. When he was only 14 he joined Rigor Mortis, a punky outfit that would morph into the experimental
industrial band
Fini Tribe.
As
Fini Tribe evolved, their use of
spoken word samples and raw-sounding synthesizers brought them in line with the output of the Chicago-based Wax Trax! records, original home to
Front 242,
Meat Beat Manifesto, and
Ministry. Hoping they would be interested in releasing a single,
Connelly brought
Fini Tribe's music to Wax Trax!'s London office. It was there he ran into Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker, and Bill Rieflin -- all
Ministry members or friends who were now working on the over-the-top side project
the Revolting Cocks. By the end of the day he'd recorded a demo with the three, and it wasn't long before he was leaving
Fini Tribe to join
the Revolting Cocks and make contributions to
Ministry along with other Wax Trax! projects like the
Cabaret Voltaire/Jourgensen project Acid Horse.
In 1991, the label released his solo debut, Whiplash Boychild. The ambitious effort was unlike anything
Connelly or Wax Trax! had issued before, recalling
Bowie and
Bolan at times and experimenting with
avant-garde song structures here and there. Also that year he hooked up with another Chicago-based
industrial label, Invisible, and became involved in their
Pigface, Murder Inc., and Damage Manual projects, which meant he was now rubbing shoulders with Geordie Walker of
Killing Joke and former
Public Image Ltd. drummer Martin Atkins. Atkins would then become involved in 1992's Phenobarb Bambalam,
Connelly's dark and introspective sophomore solo effort.
Shipwreck from 1994 was much more uplifting and referenced the singer's early love of
glam rock with sharp guitars and
Bowie-esque vocals. As the Wax Trax! label began to implode,
Connelly spent 1996 working with
industrial giants
KMFDM for their album
XTORT and recorded an a cappella version of the
Wire song "A Mutual Friend" for Whore: Tribute to Wire. With Wax Trax! out of the picture, 1997's The Ultimate Seaside Companion (Revisited) appeared on Invisible. The album was more acoustic, more
folk, and featured multi-instrumentalists Chris Bruce and
Jim O'Rourke as members of the loosely knit backing band the Bells. Bruce would return for a second effort with the Bells, Blonde Exodus, which landed in 2001 with a much more muscular sound. Also appearing in 2001 was Largo, an album with Bill Rieflin that the two first imagined in 1990.
In 2002,
Connelly was back on his own with Private Education, an album released by the Invisible-related label Underground Inc. That same year the label also released the two-CD Initials C.C., which collected "out-takes, rarities & personal favourites" from all the various projects
Connelly had been involved with, save
Ministry. He was back on Invisible proper for the 2004 release Night of Your Life, which received rave reviews across the board. In 2006 the six-CD set simply titled Box Set appeared on Invisible. The box collected all of
Connelly's work for Invisible and Underground Inc. along with the new live disc "Lounge Ax, Bottle, and Elsewhere." Members of
Joan of Arc, U.S. Maple, and Town and Country appeared on his improv-minded 2007 effort
The Episodes. The album was released by Durtro/Jnana -- home to eccentrics like
Current 93,
Nurse with Wound, and
Antony and the Johnsons -- and was recorded partially outdoors. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
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