Chris Connelly (born 11 November 1964) is a Scottish musician and author who became famous for his

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initial ...

work of the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly his involvement with the Revolting Cocks and Ministry. He has since established himself as an

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

singer-songwriter, and continues to release solo albums, as well as perform on collaborations.

Early years

Connelly was born in

Bruntsfield Bruntsfield is a largely residential area around Bruntsfield Place in Southern Edinburgh, Scotland. In feudal times, it fell within the barony of Colinton. Location Bruntsfield Place is less than south on the A702 main road from the West e ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to Michael and Sadie (née King) Connelly near the city centre of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Connelly's father died in a swimming accident early in his life, causing Chris to focus on artistic interests outside the home to help fill the void. Connelly's Scottish ancestry includes Irish descent through the Connellys and

Murphy Murphy () ( ga, Ua Murchadha) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland. Origins and variants The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac ...

s, who originally came from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

to Scotland. His mother's side, the Kings and the McCullochs, were from the Highlands and migrated to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

in search of work.

Music career

Connelly began his music career in 1980 with the formation of

Finitribe Finitribe were a Scottish electronic music group. The group was originally referred to as Fini Tribe. The name was taken from ''finny tribe'', a term used by the Rosicrucians to describe the fishes. History The band formed in Edinburgh, Scotlan ...

. Through subsequent years he fronted or was heavily involved with numerous notable industrial, dance, and new wave acts. In 2008, Connelly published a memoir of his early years in the music industry, ''Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible, and Fried: My Life As A Revolting Cock'' (). It describes his professional debut in Finitribe, meeting

Al Jourgensen Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is b ...

in London, his involvement with the Revolting Cocks, Ministry, PTP, Acid Horse, Murder, Inc., and Pigface, and the development of his solo career. In contrast to his industrial roots, Connelly explores various genres in his solo works. In 2013, he started two more industrial projects: Cocksure, with Jason C. Novak (Czar, Acumen Nation, and DJ? Acucrack), and Bells into Machines, with Paul Barker (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, and Lard), as well as the resurrection of the Cocks sans Al Jourgensen and with Richard 23 of

Front 242 Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they are a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres. History Formation ...

in 2016.

Personal life

Connelly is now based in Chicago and manages Reckless Records, a record store in Wicker Park. He also is a vocal instructor at Oak Park School of Rock.

Band affiliations

* Acid Horse * Bells Into Machines * Chris Connelly and The Bells (not to be confused with the 1970s Canadian band The Bells) * Catherine * Chainsuck * Cocksure *

The Damage Manual The Damage Manual was an industrial supergroup formed in 2000. It featured Martin Atkins on drums and loops, Chris Connelly on vocals, Geordie Walker on guitar and Jah Wobble on bass. A second lineup saw Steven Seibold of the band Hate Dept ...

* Die Warzau *

Everyoned Everyoned is a supergroup side project of Chicago-area musicians. Everyoned consists of Chris Connelly ( Revolting Cocks, Pigface), Tim Kinsella Tim Kinsella is an American musician, author, and film director from Chicago, Illinois. Know ...

* The Final Cut *

* The High Confessions *

The Joy Thieves The Joy Thieves is a musical supergroup, consisting of current, former, and touring members of bands such as Ministry, Stabbing Westward, The Rollins Band, Killing Joke, Pigface, Revolting Cocks, , David Bowie, Machines of Loving Grace, Mari ...

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art project. ...

The Love Interest The Love Interest was a short-lived collaborative musical project between musicians Martin Atkins and Chris Connelly (Mary Lynn Bowling and David Wm. Sims were also featured). The group released only one recording: (1993's "Bedazzled" EP on Atki ...

* Ministry * Murder, Inc. * Pigface * PTP * Revolting Cocks * Sons of the Silent Age (David Bowie tribute band) * Thanatos * NUKES

Solo discography

* '' Whiplash Boychild'' (1991) * '' Phenobarb Bambalam'' (1992) * ''

Shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

'' (1994) * ''Songs for Swinging Junkies'' with William Tucker (1994) * ''The Ultimate Seaside Companion'' with The Bells (1997) * ''Blonde Exodus'' with The Bells (2001) * ''Largo'' with Bill Rieflin (2000) * ''Private Education'' (2002) * ''Initials C.C.'', a collection of rarities and Connelly's personal favorites (2002) * ''Night of Your Life'' (2004) * ''The Episodes'' (2007) * ''Forgiveness & Exile'' (2008) * ''Pentland Firth Howl'' (2009) * ''How This Ends'' (2010) * ''Artificial Madness'' (2011) * ''Day of Knowledge'' (2012) * ''Decibels From Heart'' (2015) * ''Art + Gender'' (2017) * ''The Tide stripped Bare'' (limited release-2018) * ''Bloodhounds'' (limited release-2018) * ''Sleeping Partner'' (2019) * ''Graveyard Sex'' (2020) * ''The Birthday Poems'' (2021)

Guest appearances

Front Line Assembly Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music and electro-industrial. The band's membersh ...

- ''

Wake Up the Coma ''Wake Up the Coma'' is the sixteenth full-length studio album by Vancouver industrial band Front Line Assembly. It was released on February 8, 2019 on CD, vinyl and digitally through Metropolis. Release and promotion A digital only single ti ...

'' (2019) * Paul Barker - ''Fix This!!!'' (2012) *

Jarboe Jarboe Devereaux, known mononymously as Jarboe (), is an American singer and musician who came to prominence as a member of the New York City experimental rock band Swans in 1985. Jarboe and Michael Gira, the founder of Swans, were the two const ...

- '' The Men Album'' (2005) * Catherine - '' Hot Saki & Bedtime Stories'' (1996)

Music compilation appearances

*"Desperado" on ''Welcome to Our Nightmare: a Tribute to Alice Cooper'' (1993) *"A Mutual Friend" on ''Whore: Various Artists Play Wire'' (1996) *"Hard Hearted Alice" on ''Mutations – A Tribute To Alice Cooper'' (2002) *"What's Left But Solid Gold?" on '' ...It Just Is'' (2005) *"Don't Make Me Go" on ''Cash From Chaos – A Tribute to the Man in Black, Johnny Cash'' (2005) *"Looking for a River" on ''Whispers From the Offing (A Tribute to Kevin Coyne)'' (2007)

Bibliography

*''Confessions of the Highest Bidder: Poems and Songwords, 1982-1996'' (1999) KB Publishing *''Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible and Fried'' (2007) SAF Publishing *''Ed Royal'' (2010) Shipwrecked Industries

Spoken word

*''New Town Nocturnes'' (2016) a collaboration with Michael Begg

References

External links

The official Chris Connelly home pageInterview on Deviant Nation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connelly, Chris British industrial musicians Living people Scottish rock singers 20th-century Scottish male singers Pigface members Ministry (band) members 1964 births Revolting Cocks members Murder, Inc. (band) members The Damage Manual members 21st-century Scottish male singers Underground, Inc. artists Scottish expatriates in the United States