Art Sex Music

by Cosey Fanni Tutti

A SUNDAY TIMES, TELEGRAPH, ROUGH TRADE, PITCHFORK AND UNCUT MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZE

A new edition as part of the Faber Greatest Hits - books that have taken writing about music in new and exciting directions for the twenty-first century.

Musician and artist Cosey Fanni Tutti has continually challenged boundaries and conventions for four decades. As a founding member of the hugely influential avant-garde band Throbbing Gristle, as one half of electronic pioneers Chris and Cosey, and as an artist channelling her experience in pornographic modelling and striptease, her work on the margins has come to reshape the mainstream. Shocking, wise and life-affirming, Art Sex Music is the fascinating memoir of an inspirational woman.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Art, Biography, Memoir, Autobiography, Feminism

Paperback

First published April 4, 2017

About the author

Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Carol Newby) is an English performance artist, musician and writer, best known for her time in the avant-garde groups Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey.

Reviews

[julieta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed reading this book, I have to say I am happy to be done with it. It is exceptionally long, at 500 pages, I think I would have gotten the idea at half its pages, since it becomes repetitive, with things that really, I got before the first 100 pages. Cosey is a wonderful character, working into art and music for most of her life, but clearly her troubles with Genesis P-Orridge, with whom she had a relationship, and one of the members of Throbbing Gristle, one of her bands, seems a bad presence for her, and she speaks about him through the whole book. At one point she mentions that her reason for writing this book is to "set the record straight" which I would say is one of the worst reasons to write a book, since she basically talks about every single situation where Gen was a jerk.
I had never heard their music, and I loved Chris & Cosey much more than TG.
Anyway, she has had a fascinating life and I wish someone had done a bit more editing to get at her work, and what she seems most interesting to me for, which is her art and music, but she gets more into mundane experiences that end up making it feel like an eternal book.

[Rachelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lived it like a rebel, wrote it like a shopping list.

[Shannon L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

How wonderful it is to hear history in Cosey's voice. As a fan of Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey and having a fascination and respect for the ahead of its time performance art that Coum was doing, it was lovely to finally hear a complex history from Cosey.

For years and years Gen has been metaphorically pulling the mic away and telling the story of Coum and TG on everyone's behalf. I wanted to hear to hear the rest of the group's story. I've always known that Gen was a strong personality and confrontational, but it was disheartening to learn to what extent. I believe every word. I feel that it was necessary after years of having all of her hard work not always being attributed to her, that I was necessary to tell her story. And I thank her for it.

I most loved reading about Cosey's long and impressive career in art. I knew less about it and was so amazed and inspired by what she has accomplished and her approaches to everything. She sees the art and beauty in things that others tend to overlook. I was especially moved by the piece for her friend Xeni. Finding the poetic and giving a voice to the pain.

I enjoyed all 500 pages. Cosey has always been a huge inspiration and reading this during a time of great pain and artistic status personally has been further inspiring. It's the best memoir I've read in quite a long time.

[Karl]

It appears that the limited hardcover is sold out as of Sunday, February 19, 2017 please note:

http://www.coseyfannitutti.com/

The Limited edition went on sale Feb. 1 and was sold out on Feb 2. From the publisher,

[Mason Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd like to be able to give this a higher rating, but just can't. I'm a big fan of Throbbing Gristle and a long-time industrial/noise musician myself, and was fairly knowledgeable about the story of Coum and TG, but I was very curious to read Cosey's own perspective. Huge respect to her as an artist and just all-around person but the book is a pretty dry read, and while there are plenty of emotional moments they seem to drift by quickly amidst the day-to-day. At about 500 pages, the book would have been better-served by heavy editing to allow the more personal and significant moments to expand and provide more depth. Fans and those who are already invested in her work may still find this a worthwhile read, but it can't be recommended for anyone else I'm afraid. I won't get into the question of the relationship she and Chris had with Gen, and how badly Gen comes off in the book. Especially with Sleazy gone, we'll never know the full story and that's probably okay at this point.

[Jay Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flaubert once advised novelists to “live like a bourgeois to write like a bohemian.” Casey Fanni Tutti appears to have done the opposite, living like a bohemian to write like a bourgeois. Who knew the avant-garde life could be so dull, uninspiring, drab, and unimpressive? This really is a book for the faithful, those already convinced of the importance of Throbbing Gristle’s various projects and the minutiae associated with them. Far be it from me to yuck their yum, but this book does nothing to encourage new acolytes. Suffice to say Genesis P-Orridge doesn’t come out of it well.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cosey could have written one of the truly great rock autobiographies. In fact, she did…then proceeded to write another 200-odd pages of minutia so chronologically, exactly detailed that the book takes on all the joys of reading Parliamentary minutes.

But I am not a big enough TG or Chris and Cosey fan, though I do cherish quite a bit, to need to know the banalities of her daily life—in order!—circa 2004. I can’t think of a musician I’d want that from. Or, in fact, any single individual I’m interested in enough to focus so retentive a sieve barring myself. The results of that process are inflicted here, on you, Goodreader, in real time as you read this sentence and realize I’ve just gone and made it all about me. Meanwhile, life absconds and my dark power grows greater from the life force I’ve just fed upon—

[eLwYcKe · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was 18 I did a painting of Ms. Fanni Tutti and sent it to her, she responded with a wonderful letter on special Cosey notepaper, I was thrilled! Years later when the internet had been invented I contacted her by email and mentioned the painting and she replied that she had the photograph of the painting on her desk.....so that's my Cosey connection.
This exceptional autobiography delivers on every front. It's completely fascinating and reveals the world behind the performances, the art and that astonishing, disruptive music.
Cosey Fanni Tutti is of a generation of artists who lives their art. It's not something one goes off to do like an office job, it's lived 24 hours a day. This is what I have found so enormously inspiring and influential from my formative years to this very day. Thank you.

[Laura Brower · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a time when artists didn't use irony as a defence mechanism. It makes me want to listen to lots of Throbbing Gristle even a lot of it sounds like gloriously mean sandpaper rubbed over my tiny mind. Cosey comes across as very funny and likeable.

[Kiran]

Best music memoir of the year, easily.

[Angie Dutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can understand some reviews saying that this should have been edited down substantially, but then I generally find with biographies then it's difficult to make it bitesized without it reading like a very long wiki. Like most autobiographies it does start to get less tumultuous and dramatic towards the end, emotions seem to settle and there's less stuff to fight for or gossip about. All in all found it very enjoyable and Cosey is a nice person to spend time reading, and as a fan of Throbbing Gristle and the whole post-punk genre found it essential, so five star ratings for that, if you're a fan of that period then definitely worth checking out.

[Samuel Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Throbbing Gristle for awhile. I haven't really listened to them much for a long time so this autobiography was a good way for me to reconnect with the band. Tutti's life has certainly not had a lot of dull moments. In piecing this together, you would assume that TG was the most important thing in her life and I felt like some things may have gotten brushed off in favor of detailing every single happening of the group. Maybe Cosey was letting the audience read what she thought they wanted to read. Two revelations came through in this book for me. One, what an inspiration Cosey is as a strong woman musician, artist, writer. She has succeeded in every thing she has ever tried against horrible odds and abusive relationships. And two, what an absolute maniac Genesis P-Orridge is. To be honest the draw for me in TG's music was always the music as the vocals always kept me from them being one of my favorite groups. I always thought their music was strong and experimental and the vocals were a little weak so I have never been the biggest fan of Genesis but that was just for artistic reasons. I have no reason to believe that Cosey's words are true and Genesis is rightly portrayed as a heinous, abusive, narcissistic maniac. It's amazing Cosey came out of all of this it appears for the better. A well written history and a great achievement.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

She certainly led an interesting life, worth finding out about. But! The book just wasn't great.

Too long, too much name dropping, too many mundane details.

The editor should have cut this in half by removing information about types of grants and specifics of equipment and what nots.

Maybe if you're a die hard fan, then the details are relevant, but for me they were just paragraphs to skip...

[Rachel Helm · Rating 2 out of 5]

For all the interesting things in this book it was surprisingly boring. Kind of like reading 40 years of someone's day planners.

[Aurelija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ilgoka skaltymo patirtis… vienos iš legendinės avangardo muzikos/meno projekto Throbbing Gristle įkūrėjų Cosey Fanni Tutti autobiografija.

Visada buvau fanė, tai džiaugiuos perskaičius, nes medijose dažniausiai matydavau kito jų nario, Genesis P-Orridge, balsą, kuris čia joks herojus, o baisus narcizas, gerokai apkartinęs Cosey gyvenimą, sakyčiau, kad net ir knygą (šaukštas deguto košės, jei norit kalambūro).

Link pabaigos ji rašo, kad autobiografijos ėmėsi “to set the record straight”, tai ta premisa kartais persismelkia tokiu smulkmenišku šūdeliavimu, ypač pabaigoje. Nors puikiai suprantu, jei tavo gyvenime toks žmogus… bet ei, redaktoriai, supurtykite!

Žodžiu, nepaisant to, jos menas seksas gyvenimas labai įdomus, faina, kad ji pamini ir atiduoda pagarbą labai daug su ja dirbusių žmonių, (nors tai irgi kartais atrodo kaip reakcija į poridžą, kuris prisiimdavo sau visus laurus) ir šiaip labai jaučias, kad meninė išraiška šiam žmogui yra gyvenimo būdas. Ir su nuotraukom! Tik per ilgaaaa. Na, bet tas jau aišku.

3.5

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book about the artist written by herself. This book really reframed my thoughts on Throbbing Gristle and Genesis P Orridge. Cosey is a true artist who blazed a trail using a variety of media to do so.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long slow settling of scores. I had hoped for a lengthy TG section, but as with most bands it degenerates into animosity and lengthy grudge bearing.

[Crippled_ships · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very sad that this book had to end; it was so wonderful to listen to her tell stories from her life ...

[elin | winterrainreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

〝that’s what ‘industrial’ meant; it was about adopting a work and life ethic – to be independent, active, productive, thorough and committed〞

★★★.5

I often go into memoirs knowing nothing about the author and this was one of those times. I do think this is one book where you need some background info though because it got very confusing at times. I loved all the drama and interesting conversations and perspectives on art but it was a bit too long and it got a bit too repetitive at times. I think you'd like it if you're a fan previously because it truly felt like a tell all but I just didn't have enough background info to really get into it.

cawpile: 6.93
ig: @winterrainreads

[Adam Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional book of an intriguing, boundary-breaking artist, who dealt with appalling sexism and prejudice as an artist and musician. The life lived that she describes is utterly fascinating at all points, and if you only know her from her music, there is a whole lot more to learn. It is also fair to say that other people described in her story don't come out well, either, and my view of Genesis P-Orridge in particular is now rather different.

If you have any interest in the origins of industrial music, in particular, this is an essential read, from one of the originators of it.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Interesting but maybe a little too exhaustive--I would have appreciated more editing.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very drawn out & repetitive, which was a bummer bc Cosey and the other members of TG are such weird and interesting people and so much of their story is about the music/art scene of the 70s/80s and weird people and music scenes are like two of my favorite things to read about! Unfortch the writing style was just not that exciting :/ Honestly very ready to move on from this one, but I'm happy to have read it.

[Lisastrawberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic. She sets the record straight and is just such an all around bad ass you have to love her. And I do, and have, since the early 80's when I first became aware of her. If you're not a fan, you're probably not picking up the book anyway, so she goes on the premise that you are quite interested in every art show and gig she's done and that's as it should be, given that this is her damn book! :)
I have to say that I now see Gen from TG totally differently. Ugh.
I have always thought of Chris and Cosey as what my husband and I would do if we were to form a musical group. I love her love story with Chris. It's beautiful and such a partnership. Really glad they found each other.
My husband and I saw Chris and Cosey perform at PS 1 in New York in 2014 and it blew us away. Inside a geodesic dome, no less. They performed Desertshore and I introduced myself to Cosey after the show. She was so sweet and gave me a hug.
I just found out she has done the soundtrack to the new Delia Derbeyshire documentary and I must find a way to see it! The trailer looks incredible. Love and freaky love to Cosey always.

[Niklas Pivic · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s been a lot of times when you’ve not been able to judge a book by its cover, but this one says a lot, and only in good ways.

‘No. No, it was an accident,’ I explained. ‘The car is automatic and I’d left it in drive.’

He didn’t believe me.

‘Right!’ he shouted, and rushed into the house.

Fizzy was stood in the doorway with tears in his eyes. ‘Go quick,’ he said. ‘Good luck.’

All I could say was, ‘Sorry, I have to do this. I have to go.’

Then Fizzy was pushed aside as Gen came flying through the door wielding a nine-inch knife with ‘KILL’ burned into the wooden handle, blazing, staring eyes, screaming and heading for me. Fizzy grabbed hold of him, took the knife and dropped it on the floor of the car so Gen couldn’t snatch it back.

‘Go! Go!’ he shouted. I drove off at breakneck speed down Beck Road, turning on to Mare Street so fast I lost two hubcaps as I scraped the kerb. I wasn’t going to stop.

This is mainly a memoir from Cosey Fanni Tutti’s days in Throbbing Gristle, a band that is considered one of the pioneers of industrial music. With their punk attitude to all they did, they hammered the music scene in the mid-1970s when very few others were up to what they did.

Cosey was together with Genesis P-Orridge, a wayward man who wanted to practice free sex, communal living, creating beyond barriers, and severely abusing her.

This book often reads like that of a diary by a person who’s mistreated to the extreme levels where she cannot fathom leaving their beloved, even when very little has to do with love.

Gen introduced me to the life and works of Aleister Crowley, and his mantras became ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law’ and ‘Love is the law, love under will’. I bought into that; I believed we all had our own spiritual core self, that everyone should have the freedom to find and be themselves, and to live their lives accordingly.

I came to realise, though, that the freedom this implied applied to Gen but not to me and other close friends – their actions to discover their True Will were more often than not ‘guided’ by Gen and subject to his approval and judgement. It was an unexpected twist on my father’s house rule of ‘Do as I say, not do as I do’.

As is mostly the case, the breakdown of a psyche happens gradually. Cosey was subject to an insanely stringent and abusive father. She was thrown out of her house at a young age and briskly excommunicated from her family. I cannot fathom the throes that a young person must find itself in under those circumstances.

31 March 1970
Well I go in hospital tomorrow, I had to go and ring the hospital and see how long I’d be in. They said about 4 or 5 days because I’m … The sentence should have finished ‘16 weeks pregnant’. I had conceived within two months of meeting Gen.

The book is naturally not strewn only with abuse and trauma. This book is more than that: Cosey does a fantastic job at painting a very broad picture of what she and her cohorts in art-collective COUM came up with.

We were happily ensconced in our own building and Gen began putting COUM philosophy into practice. I’ve often been asked what COUM meant – to explain it. The definition of COUM was intentionally elusive. That allowed for total freedom of expression and interpretation (including by the ‘audience’), which was a core value of COUM and created a forum for debate and sometimes brought new members. COUM was not just a ‘group’ but also more of a movement, a collective family of diverse people from all walks of life, each of us exploring and living out our fantasies or obsessions with the aim of achieving creative and self-awareness, and confidence as artists regardless of, and in opposition to, the conventional skill sets and criteria by which ‘artists’ are defined.

COUM was about giving free rein to ideas, about not being limited by rules or self-doubt – which lead to some confrontational situations as we challenged and broke established rules and cultural and social conventions.

Many of the tidbits from the book paint a picture of how society viewed Cosey and those near to her.

Much to my mum’s (and the dole office’s) delight, I decided to get a job. The notes on my unemployment records make for interesting reading:

18 February 1970 Not very enthusiastic about work. Very modern dress – wearing long boots, old fur coat and black velvet & lace creation. Not at all suitable for office work in view of appearance …

6 May 1970 Usually attends employment section with boyfriend who dresses most peculiarly. Still seeking clerical work but appearance has deteriorated. Untidy and extremely mod. clothing. Not fit for submission. Would reclassify except for good G.C.E. ‘O’ levels and it would be a waste of a good education if this girl did factory work.

3 June 1970 Miss Newby is so changeable in appearance, can look extremely attractive or dirty and shabby. Nice girl to talk to and I think she is under the bad influence of her boyfriend who is a freelance artist. He always attends with her and they both live in a derelict house shared by several hippy type characters.

Together with not only P-Orridge, Cosey set off to explore inner and outer worlds in different ways. She created art, pornography, and music.

I’d been ‘guided’ into group sex by Gen and also by my interest in Aleister Crowley and the subtext that our relationship was ‘open’. Although I was initially reluctant to indulge (I was happy with Gen as my lover), my interest in Crowley and enjoyment of sex with other guys awakened a curiosity and triggered a desire to explore my sexuality. Whether Gen realised that it would have this effect on me, I don’t know, but inevitably I tended to compare one lover to another. Some were, let’s say, more skilled at certain things than others. A person’s touch, skin and body evoke their own distinct sexual responses and enjoyment … or not. Consequently, when future chances were presented to me for repeat indulgences with someone I felt good with, or fancied, I didn’t need Gen’s persuasive tactics. But it was best all round to let him think he was in charge.

The sex aspects of the book are definitely not there to shock. It’s sobering and delightful to read a book where its author is not out to shock nor to use sexuality as a weapon – except in art.

It’s obvious that Cosey has worked very hard throughout her life. Gigs, sorting out massive art exhibitions, managing a record label, etc. And all of this while living under the thumb of Genesis P-Orridge, who currently denies accusations of violence against Cosey.

Our routine changed. I’d wake him each morning and make him breakfast before starting my day. Him working nine till five doubled my workload, as he wasn’t around to do anything. In addition to the everyday chores and sewing damn boxer shorts, I took on more of the grant and bookings correspondence and travel arrangements, phone calls and meetings, repairing and maintaining Doris, as well as organising any modelling jobs that came through. I was constantly knackered and ill but more worried about Gen getting tired and overdoing things, as he’d go to the studio in the evenings to catch up on stuff.

As the letter-writing to artists for the book increased, I was called on to relieve some of the strain. I squeezed it in between everything else. I’d thought St James would do Gen good but Collette’s constant cigarette-smoking in the small office space was bad for Gen’s asthma, but more than that Gen resented the job taking time away from his own work. When the book was published in 1977, Gen had an entry under his own name, with a half-page photograph of me and him doing our 1976 COUM action in Milan. Neither COUM nor myself were listed in the book.

The book goes from a fervent pace to a waddle cum half-of-the-book; that is where Throbbing Gristle disbands for the first time. Incredibly, they reunite, with all the mad and different types of roller-coaster drama that come with having to do with somebody who seems to be like P-Orridge is portrayed as.

There are a lot of things to be said for P-Orridge, which, thankfully, others have done for us, here and here.

There are lovely words from Cosey in the book about meeting Chris Carter, who not only became the love of her life but also member of Throbbing Gristle and the man with whom she later formed musical duo Chris & Cosey:

We’d set up a regular TG get-together for every weekend (all other commitments allowing) … with Sleazy not turning up as often as we all would’ve liked. Chris’s rekindled enthusiasm for music didn’t sit well with Simone, and things gradually started to get awkward. As usual, Gen began moves to have group sex. Simone wasn’t interested. Chris was happy to come with us for TG sessions and to sleep over, assuming (rightly) there’d be sex. Both Gen’s sex-game play and Simone’s indifference to Chris backfired.

Me and Chris both fancied each other: he was beautiful in body, mind and spirit, and wasn’t at all shy. Our making love for the first time ignited such passion and lust between us that neither of us could go back – or wanted to accept anything less than what we felt for each other. It far exceeded anything either of us had experienced before. We were faced with a dilemma as we were both in relationships and committed to TG. Was it love or lust? It was both, and we decided to keep TG on track and our emotions in check. Well, we tried, but Gen’s partiality for watching us have sex just fed our desire for each other and our resistance waned, especially when opportunities arose, usually when Gen went to sleep with other women.

There are plenty of musical interludes here, jabs at some members from The Slits, reminisces of big shows, plans for reissues, more drama, having kids, more drama, etc.

If I have to compare this book to another of the same ilk, it would have to be Viv Albertine’s glowing 'Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys'. I just wish that the contents of this book and its rhythm, for the lack of a better word, were just there more. Everyone’s a critic, right?

It’s an interesting book and a highly eventful life to dip into. A film is being made from it and Cosey will release her second autobiographical book in Spring of 2022.

[Jordan Phizacklea-Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the first official biography of industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle was published in 1999, founder Cosey Fanni Tutti wrote in her diary 'I'm determined to get a book out that puts the record straight'. By her own admission, this is the result, a charmingly written account of her extraordinary life starting out in late-1960s Hull with the iconoclastic collective COUM Transmissions in romantic and artistic partnership with countercultural icon Genesis P-Orridge, to her work as a striptease artist and adult film star, to going on to invent industrial music with P-Orridge as part of TG and their turbulent career, producing some of the most confrontational and innovative music committed to vinyl, their breakup and beginning a new life with her bandmate Chris Carter, their collaborations, life changes, Throbbing Gristle's ill-fated reunion in the mid-2000s and the aftermath. It's a fascinating story and an important record of changing times and attitudes in Britain, but its main aim comes across as (quite rightly) exposing the abuse Tutti suffered from P-Orridge throughout their relationship, and whilst this is understandable - they did put her through hell at times - the character excoriation comes across as vindictive towards the end rather than vindicating. An index would also have been helpful, but a fascinating story nonetheless.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, as other reviews have noted, it's almost a bit TOO thorough, but Cosey's determination to acknowledge every supportive person she & Chris collaborated with is hardly a fault. I've not listened much to TG in my life (odd as I'm so synth-obsessed), so I wasn't coming at this from a "fan" point of view, rather she just seemed like an interesting character and YES she is. A true innovator & brave spirit, I've felt more inspired & fearless in my own life since I started reading. I'm really glad I read this book!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be the best autobiography by a musician I've read, which arguably hasn't been very many. As a fan of Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey, and Carter Tutti this had a lot of promise for me right at the start, but I was quite surprised at just how much else CFT had been up to for so long. Her story is incredible, and sometimes difficult to stomach, but told with lots of introspection and personality.

Listening to Time to Tell will never be the same again, and that's a good thing.

[Ben Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cosey's long-awaited autobiography is a delight. Art Sex Music is written in a breezy conversational style that fairly rattles by, and the extraordinary situations described herein make for a story that's frequently funny as hell and also endlessly inspiring.

[Bethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I aspire to one day be as diplomatic and majestic as Cosey. Art Sex Music is a funny, moving and addictive read.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew! 500 pages later... finally finished reading the Encyclopedia of Cosey Fanni Tutti. Thoroughly enjoyed this very detailed memoir.