The Tape Did Not Decay: Chris on “WHITE PHOSPHORUS”
On the release of WHITE PHOSPHORUS: CHRIS CONNELLY PLAYS THROBBING GRISTLE:
Maybe this is a “full circle” situation. I first heard THROBBING GRISTLE at the BEGINNING of my journey — this would have been very late 1978 or very early 1979 — I read about them in my bible (the ZIGZAG guide to independent labels). But it was hearing HAMBURGER LADY on John Peel, that was the equivalent of seeing “Starman” on Top of the Pops or seeing the Pistols at the Screen on the Green: for me it was being scared shitless in my dark bedroom with my little transistor radio, same as it had been when Peely had played FRANKIE TEARDROP a while prior. I was smitten, in love, you probably were too, you probably know EXACTLY what I am talking about.
I will digress a little from the matter in hand: I corresponded with TG, and formed a friendship that lasts to this day. I explored the music the way you did back then, although theirs was a slick and friendly operation, great postcards, great stickers, a NEWSLETTER!!! And an efficient mail order service, you didn’t have to endure the condescending bastards at the Virgin on Frederick Street to get your hands on the goodies.
And then, a year later, came the live cassettes. After spending every waking moment wondering what the rest of the live performances were like beyond the snippets and tracks we had on the two albums, I could buy the C60 cassettes one at a time and listen at home. I remember my first three: THE BEST OF VOLUME 2, INDUSTRIAL TRAINING COLLEGE WAKEFIELD, and AIR GALLERY/WINCHESTER. I would cycle around Edinburgh with my cassette player in my bike basket playing them, down by the canal, down by the abandoned factory, past the church, past the CO-OP (we didn’t have Tesco yet).
Okay, which brings me to now: I could not have made WHITE PHOSPHORUS any other time: it never occurred to me, and then one day it did, I wanted to make something that reminded me of… that reminded me of… these carefree days soaked in rain through the industrial netherworlds of Edinburgh, those sun-kissed mornings delivering newspapers and listening to “Live at the Rat Club” or “Live at Nuffield Theatre”.
This album is a “full circle” situation for me, but a very personal one, I suppose. I am COMFORTABLE within the abstract madness of THROBBING GRISTLE, much more so than I ever was in the Revolting Cocks, PLEEEAAASE!!!! If you know me, you know that to be true.
WHITE PHOSPHORUS is my fave, my go-to. THEY were the architects, the writers, the attackers, and the jokers. THEY let me in, and I love them for it.
In 1981, JON SAVAGE wrote a brilliant essay called “THE TAPE DECAYS” which came with the TG 5LP box set, released shortly after they split. I bought it, still nursing a very broken heart. The essay unsettled me, because, the tape COULD decay back then in ’81. We didn’t know how digital it would get soon enough, we didn’t know it would be digitized before oxide flaked off like black snow. We’re safe, it’s ok.
The title “WHITE PHOSPHORUS” is exclusively for the deepest TG diver; if you figure out where it’s from, you’re pretty fucking cool — cooler than me!
Chris Connelly
Winchester Hat Fair
1976
WHITE PHOSPHORUS: CHRIS CONNELLY PLAYS THROBBING GRISTLE is available on a limited-edition (300 copies) 180g black vinyl pressing only.
