Revolting Cocks

Revolting Cocks
Live on stage, 2006
Background information
Also known as	RevCo
Origin	United States
Genres	Industrial, post-industrial, industrial metal, alternative rock
Years active	1985–1993, 2004–2010
Labels	Wax Trax, Sire, 13th Planet
Associated acts	Ministry, Front 242, The Blackouts, Finitribe, Murder, Inc., Stayte, Society 1, Tactics
Past members	Al Jourgensen Luc Van Acker Richard 23 Bill Rieflin Paul Barker Chris Connelly Josh Bradford Sin Quirin Phildo Owen

Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, were an American–Belgian industrial rock band and, sometimes, supergroup that began as a musical side-project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc Van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry.

History

The group was founded by Richard 23 and Luc Van Acker with Al Jourgensen as their producer.^[1] According to Van Acker, the band adopted their name after trying out "insulting French expressions" on a waiter in a Chicago bar, ordering something they said meant "revolting cock" which led the waiter to say, "You are revolting cocks!"^[2]

Their first release was "No Devotion" on Wax Trax records in 1985. The single was quickly followed by an album, Big Sexy Land (1986), featuring a mix of Wax Trax-industrial, hard rock, and EBM with dominating sampling and strong synthesized beats.

Richard 23 quit in 1986 due to creative differences. The group's remaining two members were augmented by a rapidly changing set of musicians centered on Chris Connelly (Finitribe, Murder Inc., and The Damage Manual), Paul Barker (The Blackouts, Ministry, later Pink Anvil, U.S.S.A., and Flowering Blight), and Bill Rieflin (The Blackouts, Ministry, later playing with R.E.M. and Robyn Hitchcock), with around twenty others as irregular contributors or guest artists.

The following live album, You Goddamned Son of a Bitch (1988), featured a return to Ministry-like industrial rock - the Big Sexy Land tracks embedded in shouting and noise. This trend continued on Beers, Steers, and Queers (1990), layering sample over sample and pushing ever further into distortion. Linger Ficken' Good (1993) was released by Sire records and is a tamer affair, most tracks returning to the less layered material. Included was a cover of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?," also released as a single. A tour was planned but cancelled, and the band quietly came to an end.

In 2004, Jourgensen, with former Cock Phildo Owens (Skatenigs, Snow Black), revived the group and released iterations of Prune Tang to disappointing responses from fans. An album titled Purple Head was due in 2004, but was delayed until 2006 with a change in title, Cocked and Loaded. "Caliente (Dark Entries)," a cover of sorts of "Dark Entries" by Bauhaus, with vocalist Gibby Haynes (Butthole Surfers), was featured on the soundtrack to Saw II in 2005.

After assembling a touring line up to open for Ministry on the MasterBaTour of 2006, Jourgensen chose vocalist Josh Bradford (Stayte, Simple Shelter, V.H.S.), keyboardist Clayton Worbeck (Stayte, Simple Shelter), and guitarist Sin Quirin (Society 1, later Ministry and ReVamp) as the new full-time members for the Revolting Cocks, now simply being called "RevCo". The group recorded Sex-O Olympic-O, which was originally set to be released in October 2008, but was delayed until the following February, and was officially released on March 3, 2009. Sex-O Olympic-O was followed up by Got Cock?, released on April 13, 2010.

In celebration of Wax Trax! Records, the "Wax Trax! Records Retrospectacle:  33 ¹⁄₃ Year Anniversary" was held from April 15 to 17, 2011 at Metro Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. As a part of the lineup, Chris Connelly, Paul Barker and Luc Van Acker performed Revolting Cocks songs with various guests. For their performance on the 17th, Richard 23 joined them on stage to sing lead vocals on "No Devotion".^[3]

Members

• Al Jourgensen - production, programming, and various instruments (1985–1993, 2004–2010)
• Luc Van Acker - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards (1985–1991, 2006)
• Richard 23 - vocals, programming (1985–1986)
• Bill Rieflin - drums, keyboards, programming (1986–1993)
• Paul Barker - bass, keyboards, programming (1987–1993)
• Chris Connelly - vocals, programming (1987–1993)
• Phildo Owen - vocals, programming (1989–1991, 2004–2006)
• Duane Buford - keyboards (1993)
• Josh Bradford - vocals (2006–2010)
• Sin Quirin - guitars, bass, keyboards (2006–2010)
• Clayton Worbeck - keyboards, bass (2006–2010)

Live line-ups

1987	Al Jourgensen - keyboards, vocals, guitar Paul Barker - bass, keyboards Luc Van Acker - guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards Chris Connelly - vocals, keyboards Bill Rieflin - drums
1988	Al Jourgensen - keyboards, vocals, guitar Paul Barker - bass, keyboards Luc Van Acker - guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards Chris Connelly - vocals, keyboards (May)[4] Bill Rieflin - drums Nivek Ogre - vocals (January)[4]
1990	Al Jourgensen - guitar, backing vocals Paul Barker - bass Chris Connelly - vocals Phildo Owen - vocals Jeff Ward - drums Mark Durante - guitar, backing vocals Michael Balch - keyboards Trent Reznor - vocals
1991	Al Jourgensen - guitar, backing vocals Paul Barker - bass Chris Connelly - vocals Phildo Owen - vocals Bill Rieflin - drums Mark Durante - guitar, backing vocals Michael Balch - keyboards Luc Van Acker - vocals
2006 (MasterBaTour)	Al Jourgensen - guitar, backing vocals Phildo Owen - vocals Luc Van Acker - vocals Josh Bradford - vocals Sin Quirin - guitar Clayton Worbeck - keyboards Anna K - bass Seven Antonopoulos - drums
2009 (LubricaTour)	Josh Bradford - vocals Sin Quirin - guitar Clayton Worbeck - keyboards, guitar Murv Douglas - bass Aaron Rossi - drums Mike Scaccia - guitar (selected dates) Al Jourgensen - guitar, backing vocals (select dates)
Wax Trax! Retrospectacle (April 15-17, 2011)	Luc Van Acker - vocals Paul Barker - bass Chris Connelly - vocals, keyboards Duane Buford - keyboards Jamie Duffy - guitar Dan Brill - drums Richard 23 - vocals (April 17 only)+

Discography

Albums

• Big Sexy Land (1985)
• Live! You Goddamned Son of a Bitch (1988)
• Beers, Steers, and Queers (1990)
• Linger Ficken' Good (1993)
• Cocked and Loaded (2006)
• Cocktail Mixxx (2007)
• Sex-O Olympic-O (2009)
• Sex-O MiXXX-O (2009)
• ¿Got Cock? (2010)
• ¿Got Mixxx? (2011)

Singles

• No Devotion (1985)

1. "No Devotion"
2. "Attack Ships..."
3. "...On Fire"

• You Often Forget (1986) (UK Indie #13)^[5]

1. "You Often Forget (Benign Side)"
2. "You Often Forget (Malignant Side)"

• Stainless Steel Providers (1989)

1. "Stainless Steel Providers"
2. "At the Top"
3. "T.V. Mind [Remix]" (CD only)

• (Let's Get) Physical (1989)

1. "(Let's Get) Physical"
2. "(Let's Talk) Physical"

• Beers, Steers, and Queers (The Remixes) (1991)

1. "Beers, Steers & Queers [Drop Your Britches Mix]" / "Beers, Steers & Queers [Take 'Em Right Off Mix]"
2. "Stainless Steel Providers [Live]"
3. "Public Image [Live]"

• Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? (1993)

1. "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"
2. "Sergio Guitar"
3. "Wrong Sexy Mix"

• Crackin' Up (1994)

1. "Crackin' Up (Video Edit)"
2. "Crackin' Up (Amyl Nitrate Mix)"
3. "Gila Copter (Version 2)"

References

1. "Wax Trax! Not Sub Pop: Catalogs, Press Releases". Wax Trax! Not Sub Pop. Archived from the original on 2013-03-09.
2. Jourgensen, Al (2014). Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen. Da Capo. p. 76. ISBN 9780306822902.
3. prongs.org/ministry "Wax Trax! Records Retrospectacle". April 20, 2011. Accessed April 20, 2011.
4. "Ministry - Revolting Cocks Tour 1988". Prongs.org. 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
5. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.