The Immaculate Consumptive
Encyclopedia
The Immaculate Consumptive was a collaborative group featuring four stars of the No Wave
scene, that existed for three shows in 1983. Its members were Marc Almond
, Nick Cave
, Lydia Lunch
and Clint Ruin
(aka J. G. Thirlwell).
The group existed for three days, October 30–November 1, in 1983. It toured New York City
and Washington, D.C.
, performing solo pieces and collaborations. According to Cave, the group was Lunch's idea. Lunch and Cave had met on The Birthday Party
's first US tour in 1981, while Cave knew Thirlwell from their days in Australia. Almond and Thirlwell had been working together for a year prior to the shows on a project that would eventually become Flesh Volcano
. The shows featured songs from each of the four members, joined together by a backing tape recorded by Blixa Bargeld
, Barry Adamson
, and Mick Harvey
of the Bad Seeds, and Annie Hogan from Marc and the Mambas
. the shows culminated in a a group performance of "Body Unknown", with Almond singing, Cave screaming, Thirlwell drumming, and Lunch playing guitar. The shows were not recorded other than by bootleggers. The performances were hindered by Thirlwell breaking the piano on the first night, and on the second, Cave halted his performance, bored with events, telling the audience "then it goes on like that for another five minutes".
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
scene, that existed for three shows in 1983. Its members were Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
, Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
, Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
and Clint Ruin
J. G. Thirlwell
James George Thirlwell , aka Clint Ruin, aka Frank Want, aka Foetus, is an Australian vocalist, composer and record producer...
(aka J. G. Thirlwell).
The group existed for three days, October 30–November 1, in 1983. It toured New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, performing solo pieces and collaborations. According to Cave, the group was Lunch's idea. Lunch and Cave had met on The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (band)
The Birthday Party were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983.Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career...
's first US tour in 1981, while Cave knew Thirlwell from their days in Australia. Almond and Thirlwell had been working together for a year prior to the shows on a project that would eventually become Flesh Volcano
Flesh Volcano
The Flesh Volcano was a side project of singer Marc Almond and industrial musician Clint Ruin, aka Foetus. Its sole release was the Slut EP, which was expanded to album length in a number of reissues...
. The shows featured songs from each of the four members, joined together by a backing tape recorded by Blixa Bargeld
Blixa Bargeld
Blixa Bargeld is a composer, author, actor, singer, musician, performer and lecturer in a number of artistic fields...
, Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson is a British rock musician who has worked with rock bands such as Magazine, Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electronic musicians Pan sonic and Depeche Mode. Adamson created the seven-minute opus "Useless " remix for the latter band in 1997...
, and Mick Harvey
Mick Harvey
Michael John Harvey , is an Australian rock musician, composer, arranger and record producer. He is best known for his long-time collaboration with the singer and songwriter Nick Cave...
of the Bad Seeds, and Annie Hogan from Marc and the Mambas
Marc and the Mambas
Marc and the Mambas was a new wave group, formed by Marc Almond, in 1982 as an off-shoot project from Soft Cell. The band's line-up changed frequently, and included Matt Johnson from The The and Annie Hogan, with whom Almond worked later in his solo career....
. the shows culminated in a a group performance of "Body Unknown", with Almond singing, Cave screaming, Thirlwell drumming, and Lunch playing guitar. The shows were not recorded other than by bootleggers. The performances were hindered by Thirlwell breaking the piano on the first night, and on the second, Cave halted his performance, bored with events, telling the audience "then it goes on like that for another five minutes".
External links
- Immaculate Consumptive interview (1983)
- The Immaculate Consumptive interview (1983) archieved at angelindevilsboots.com