Nonbinary: A Memoir

by Genesis P-Orridge

A revealing and beautifully open memoir from pioneering industrial music artist, visual artist, and transgender icon Genesis P-Orridge—now in paperback In this groundbreaking book spanning decades of artistic risk-taking, the inventor of “industrial music,” founder of Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, and world-renowned fine artist with COUM Transmissions, Genesis P-Orridge (1950–2020) takes us on a journey searching for identity and their true self. It is the story of a life of creation and destruction, where Genesis P-Orridge reveals their unwillingness to be stuck—stuck in one place, in one genre, or in one gender. Nonbinary is Genesis’s final work and is shared with hopes of being an inspiration to the newest generation of trailblazers and nonconformists.Nonbinary is the intimate story of Genesis’s life, weaving the narrative of their history in COUM Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle, and Psychic TV. It also covers growing up in World War II’s fallout in Britain, contributing to the explosion of new music and radical art in the 1960s, and destroying visual and artistic norms throughout their entire life. In addition to being a captivating memoir of a singular artist and musician, Nonbinary is also an inside look at one of our most remarkable cultural lives that will be an inspiration to fans of industrial music, performance art, the occult, and a life in the arts.               

Genres: Music, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, LGBT, Queer, Gender

445 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 15, 2021

About the author

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, writer and artist.

P-Orridge's early confrontational performance work in COUM Transmissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, which dealt with subjects such as prostitution, pornography, serial killers, occultism, and P-Orridge's own exploration of gender issues, generated controversy. Later musical work with Psychic TV received wider exposure.

After marrying Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge in 1993, Genesis and Lady Jaye began a project to become Breyer P-Orridge, a single pandrogynous entity. Genesis Breyer P-Orridge continued this project after the death of Lady Jaye in 2007.

Reviews

[Corvus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Friendly reminder that Genesis was a horrific abuser and attempted murderer of their former partner and bandmate among other problems. They have been caught telling endless lies. They have never been held accountable.

They never identified as NB until after death unless I'm missing something? So this also seems to be the publisher's fault, capitalizing on trans words and narratives. Genesis does not represent us. No trans person represents everyone, but Gen's grandiose narcissism means it must be said before their claims of inventing acid house and so on are believed. Please read Art Sex Music by Cosey Fanni Tutti instead.

Sometimes a 1 star review of a book I haven't read is necessary when it's something this gross and harmful to both the people Genesis abused and to trans people who will undoubtedly have this portrayal attached to us. Also, for industrial music lovers who have eaten up many of Genesis' lies over the years (self included.) Gen is dead, let the damage they continue to do end there

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: There are no words for Genesis P-Orridge. Trans, genderqueer, non-binary; artist, musician, creator...or Creator. Not one of them can hope to do more than capture a slice of this astonishing being's self.

William S. Burroughs met them when they were twenty...he immediately posed them a life-long quest in a question:
"How do we short-circuit control?"

When William S. Burroughs asks you to solve a problem the first day you meet him, all of 20 to his rising-60, you have to know you are Someone. And Someone Genesis was, and became, and remained until their death from leukemia at seventy.

The entire review is posted at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.

[Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did an in depth discussion on why this book falls so short of being a memoir and the truth
https://youtu.be/40lyUnYuwh4

[Mere · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love Gen, you'll love this book and roll your eyes. If you hate Gen, you'll hate this book and roll your eyes.

I'm not sure why reviews complain about the title. The ending of the book clearly explains the use of the word.

[Veronica]

This is an odd memoir, I went into this book with the intention of learning more about the origins of Throbbing Gristle and industrial, as well as more about Genesis and their gender identity. As the book is called 'Nonbinary' I expected the emphasis to be on gender and identity, but the majority of the book, as in ALL of the book save for the last fifty or so pages, is on Genesis's life, growing up, early days in the industrial music scene. Which, frankly is only interesting to people interested in their music. The final section, focusing on Genesis's relationship with Lady Jaye and the Pandrogeny project is a fascinating look at gender expression (though I think some exploration of gender identity vs gender expression would have been valuable here, as well as whether this project was really about connection and the human experience), and 'short-circuiting control' which appears to be the running thesis posited in the introduction, completely abandoned, and then brought up in the closing section.

I think in short, rating this memoir is impossible because it is a memoir of someone's life up until about 1990, then abandoned, and then a miniscule section on was conceived and possibly outlined on the Pandrogeny project but not realized because of Genesis's death, and finished by the co-author. The book should be titled something relating to Genesis's life and not something to do with the Pandrogeny project when frankly that's not the focus of the book.

[tomasz goss · Rating 5 out of 5]

despite knowing GP-O to be an unscrupulous (or worse) person, i chose to take Nonbinary at face value and it was a good read. i say "face value" but i suppose that makes it sound like i'm taking the book as historical. Genesis P-Orridge is about as real to me as Bugs Bunny or Don Juan Matus. i am not trying to figure out "what really happened." even among famous people who are basically cartoons, we all know Gen's reputation, right? so, by "take at face value" i mean i am accepting each detail as part of the story being told and the story is separate from reality. why am i clarifying this? basically, because i saw some very negative reviews and i am really Really REALLY scared of people having a problem with me and my five star rating!

while reading, it felt like there were a lot of gaps, which i thought were probably omissions to save face but then learned after finishing the book that Gen passed away before it could be completed. so, i had the sense that there was some kind of obfuscation going on despite trying to take things at face value, and thinking back i do wonder how much of this was fabricated. the uncertainty of its truthfulness is interesting i think. the fact that it was written in Gen's dying days adds interest to the ambiguity. why lie about this, why NOT lie about that? why lie about anything or why ever tell the truth? this fact/fiction thing is really dominating my review, huh? i wasn't thinking about veracity THAT much while reading. [EDIT: re-reading this review, and i feel less sheepish and i'm going to say explicitly something which i did not make clear in the first draft: you know what? i REALLY LIKE (the) genesis p-orridge (persona, to the extent which i have encountered it). ok, i said it.]

i felt like a lot of what was said re: personal philosophy was actually pretty good, sort of dissonant with my current "common sense" and that's good. gotta shake out the cobwebs, y'know? a little more gossipy than it needed to be, but that's fine, really. a really interesting life trajectory and that's not really up for debate even if details and character are (well, seems like character isn't really up for debate either, blind admiration vs total condemnation is an automatic stalemate)
i wish there was more about TOPY but i have a dusty-ass copy of Thee Psychick Bible back in america that i bought (and never read) during my (total non-starter) chaos magic phase (concurrent with my "haven't read a fucking book since high school phase"... don't waste your early 20s like i did!)
well, i feel like this review couldn't possibly get more stupid and/or i couldn't possibly feel more self conscious. i'm trying to force myself to write reviews for personal growth and i don't enjoy it…
...but i really enjoyed the book!
bye!

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

For good and ill, this gives a good sense of who Genesis was and what conceptual through-lines exist through the arc of their creative life. Some of the influences they cite are both surprising and illuminating (e.g. Sinatra; hippy culture, etc.). Still, the whole thing is driven by haphazard and dubious anecdotes, and while perhaps counter to the spirit of the author, I'd be curious how much content stands up to fact checking (where possible).

[yardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

No me atrevo a opinar de la vida de Génesis en si, o de como era elle como persona, ni de lo q hizo o no hizo, pero si diré que las reflexiones acerca del género son super interesantes. He echado mucho en falta que tratase más estos temas, sobre todo por el título de las memorias.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent portrait of one of the most interesting, boundary-smashing lives ever lived.

[Jaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as a fan of both TG and Psychic TV, if not of Gen themself; there are too many other accounts of their misdeeds (including, but not limited to, those contained in Cosey's book) to be rebutted by anything they wrote herein. It's worth stating here that if your interest is musical, then this book probably isn't worth the effort; there is little of interest written on TG and almost nothing - aside from an interesting anecdote about the "hit single" (according to Gen anyway) 'Godstar' - on Psychic TV. If the book appears to end rather abruptly it's because P-Orridge died before the work was completed.

There's no doubt they were an interesting person; an agent provocateur pushing at the boundaries, and that their innate need to confound expectations led PTV off in all sorts of (usually) interesting musical directions. Once the account of Gen's childhood is out of the way, however, I would not trust much of what is written here in terms of factual veracity. The section about Ian Curtis stands out in this respect, the only sources cited - Rob Gretton, Annik Honore, Tony Wilson - are conveniently all dead. It seems odd too, that Gen can't put a name to the person he rang in Manchester over his concerns about Curtis' well being.

Perhaps tellingly, Gen refers to Aleister Crowley as "a dick" but goes on to admit that some of what he wrote was useful, going on to emphasise the necessity sometimes to separate the work from the person... I do feel that this advice applies as equally to Genesis P-Orridge themself.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating but skewed read on a very complex figure. If you know GPO lore outside of this book, it's clear that much is skipped or glossed over in a I Can Do No Wrong They Hate Me cus I'm a Rebel kind of way. Ill have to read Cosey's memoirs next. I would recommend if you're interested, just as the other comments say, take the stories with a grain of salt as this comes from one of the most legendary weirdos of all time, for the good and bad that brings

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Undoubtedly interesting and unashamedly artistic. Having a mild interest in TG and Pyshcic TV prior to reading this, didn't prepare me for the unrelenting amount of self agrandisation regarding their impact on a variety of 'important' artistic moments.

[Lilian Buckthought · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true cultural engineer!

[Craig White · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Evening With Genesis Breyer P-Orridge - The Coffee Table Version.
i loved (and still love) throbbing gristle, the biggest ever v-sgn to trad rock! even buying their records, at the time, was akin to buying porn in a brown paper bag - all my punk mates hated them, no. virtually everybody hated them.......it was great! indeed it was cutting edge stuff, which held me rapt up until after psychic tv's first couple of albums, when they kinda descended into what they were first fighting against....interest dwindled, and even the 2004 t.g. reformation passed me by without much notice (in retrospect, the material recorded then is top notch!), so here we are, autobiography time! to be fair, unfinished autobiography time!
did i enjoy reading this book? yes i did.
did i think it's an accurate record of events? no.
did the events in the book happen? for the most part, yes.
did he omit a lot of questionable actions that they're known to have taken? yes.
is there any way the events in this book unfolded as seamlessly as described? no.
was throbbing gristle all them? no (the 4 individuals were essential to the essence of t.g.)
does the book FEEL unfinished, certain issues (such as pandrogeny) glossed over. yes.
am i glad i read it. yes, yes i am.
it's either been sanitised for the masses, or maybe they were experiencing 'revenge of memory'!

[Zac · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unfinished memoir from an unreliable narrator. The book is at its best as Genesis recalls motivations and interest from childhood. By the time Throbbing Gristle starts to be covered, the text feels full of redactions, time skips, edits, shadows.

[heartshapedroomofangelscrying · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished after an insanely long reading hiatus. A bit long and meandering but I guess that’s what makes it a comprehensive memoir. Some good bits for sure

[Carolyn Polley-Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was much younger I read Gen's words and was inspired and felt the freedom. Likewise this antibiography is evidence of their quest to live in art! An inspiring and uncomfortable life, I am so glad they created!

[Maisie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun a really enjoyable read

[kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

[review written by someone who had never heard a single
piece of music by Genesis and still has not. smh.]

This is a pretty tough and dry read at times. I found myself racing thru some chapters to get to the more “entertaining” parts. There’s a lot to get through but it’s written in some of the most intimate and thoughtful ways I’ve read in any memoirs. The Ian Curtis chapter is absolutely devastating and harrowing. Regardless of my tough time, by the end of it I learned that the life that Gen lived was astonishing.

RIP Genesis.

[Ross Whelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite having to constantly remind my self to take what is said throughout this book with endless pinches of salt, I still found Genesis’ experiences and takes on a variety of topics to be a good read.

[Esteban Galarza · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Qué viaje tremendo fue este libro! Lo leí de a poco y fue el que dejé en mi mesita de luz como lectura para antes de dormir, así que me tomé varios meses para terminarlo. Eso me permitió procesar y reflexionar en sueños y en ciertos momentos de vigilia sobre pasajes que aparecían.

Leí al pasar muchos comentarios furiosos contra Genesis Breyer P-Orridge y de seguro todos tienen partes de verdad. El personaje en sí es fascinante y contradictorio, y lo que presentó en esta autobiografía en forma de cut-up (inspirado en las técnicas de su amigo William Burroughs) es su versión de ciertos hechos. Fue bastante cuidadoso de hacer recortes en los que salía airoso de anécdotas y situaciones en las que él también tuvo responsabilidad, pero bueno, ahí queda en quien lea si cree o no esa versión.

Lo que sí es fructífero es la evolución de mente y cuerpo de una persona que conscientemente no eligió modos de vivir sencillos, a pesar de haber tenido la oportunidad de acceder a ciertos lugares de privilegio que, en la Inglaterra de hoy, es impensable que ocurra a alguien de sus orígenes. Conscientemente, elegir la peor de las opciones posibles y hacer algo significativo desde allí.

Para quien no conozca quién fue Genesis Breyer P-Orridge aquí van algunos hitos: fundó Trobbing Gristle junto con lo que quedaba de su grupo performativo COUM Transmissions. TG fue el grupo que creó el magma de lo que luego se conoció como música industrial. Terminada esa etapa fundó Psych TV, una banda de música, en principio, más amena que TG, pero con un mensaje aún más profundo, oscuro y dirigido al cultimo TOPY que él fundó. Los escritos de ese culto fueron compilados en La Biblia Psiquika y en ellos se ve su lucha por terminar con la línea divisoria en binomios con la que se organiza la realidad, la sexualidad y los seres. Estos documentos y prácticas ocultistas le valieron la expulsión de por vida de Inglaterra. En los 90 conoció a Lady Jaye, alma gemela con quien inició un proceso doloroso de transformación física mediante cirugías para dejar de ser un ser masculino y ella dejar de ser alguien femenino y configurar un pandromo dividido en dos cuerpos.

Sí, es un libro que ante todo plantea muchas extrañezas, pero está escrito de una forma amable y confesional. Genesis lo comenzó a escribir luego de que le declararan leucemia y como una forma para afrontar los enromes gastos del tratamiento. Su carácter inconcluso (murió mucho antes de poder configurar una versión más acabada de los textos) es, al mismo tiempo, un manifiesto de que todo es un paisaje en ruinas y hay muy poco alrededor de nuestra vida que pueda tener una perspectiva acabada, determinada, fija. De hecho, son solo los primeros episodios en los que nosotros como lectores podemos entender una versión terminada. Todo lo demás es un continuo sin fecha de caducidad hasta que llegue la última hora.

Bueno, este libro habla un poco de la vida, la mente, las esperanzas y la falta de esperanzas de uno de los seres más interesantes que dio el fin de siglo en occidente.

[- Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Britain has always been the hoster of modern gothic subculture, from the early 1400s due to the Anglo saxonic invasion from the gothic or German tribes to West coast Britain, to the rise of romanticism and gothisesim during the late 1700s, and even to the progressive post-punk, new dark wave Era during the 1960s. 

What can be proved for sure, that the art sence has always been influenced by the circumstances it found itself growing into it, and that's similar to the set of space and time in which such rhythmical way of expiration, like musical bands such as The Beatles,
The doors, Joy division, and Roxy Music, and other artists as well whom they find themselves influenced by the broading horizons of the east, such as India.

Such influence had found its reflection on the music of these Era, where we find such themes likd psychic spirituality, cut-ups experiences, magic tricks, and gender fluidity, where all introduced to the musical theme, that's the limit of its expansion is no longer standing on the border of Jazz and classic music. 

during the late 1960s, there where the story of Neil Andrew Megson, or as how s/he like to be named over the 1st book of the Bible; Genesis, when s/he first pressed to change their birth name at 197

[Stéfani Tedros · Rating 5 out of 5]

"-La identidad es tu única propiedad, así que reaprópiate de tu yo, que te posea tuyo, todos los Yoes, cualquier yo que alguna vez hayas querido ser- solía decirle a Jaye".
No binarix, Memorias, Genesis P-Orridge.

Este libro es una biografía antibiográfica. Es una obra que desafía y se rebela frente a lo establecido y a lo hegemónico.
Las memorias de Genesis relatan fragmentos de su vida y sobre todo de los vínculos que fue tejiendo, partiendo de lo colectivo para cambiar el mundo. Entendiendo el arte como transformador y como agente de cambio constante. La experiencia artística como cortar y pegar, como performance, como movimiento... Al igual que el cuerpo, que es carne y hueso, pero es consciencia y es posibilidad de cambio. El binarismo debe evolucionar.
Une artista multifacético, rebelde, desafiante, que rompió las estructuras y cambió el arte, su cuerpo, su mente, su realidad y su mundo.
Recomiendo muchísimo este libro.
Lo leen y me cuentan 💜

No binarix, Genesis P-Orridge.
Editorial: Caja negra @cajanegraeditora
Páginas: 470

#ReseñaLiteraria #Reseña2025 #TefaRecomendaciones #Literatura #NoFicción #Narrativa #Memorias #NoBinarix #P-Orridge

[Jaina Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are moments of grace and brilliant social insight, compassionate family histories, creative aha! moments and jaw-dropping anecdotes about many of the notable and notorious characters Genesis encountered throughout some fascinating cultural eras— especially the formation of COUM Transmissions. Those are my favorite swatches in this grab bag of memories. It all seems to skim lightly over a vast expanse of intensities, which makes sense considering the dropping-the-body context in which Genesis composed this. The dysfunctional relationship squabbles are tedious and annoying. One binary Gen was unable to smash was one of self-aggrandization/martyrdom. Or maybe they did eventually blend together after 1981, however I started rapidly skimming the skim at the line, "I was going to make the occult trendy again" on p. 253, so I may have missed something.

[Alex Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story. A Very special story.

Nonbinary was not my introduction to Genesis P-Orridge. I had heard of them for quite sometime and was always intrigued by their art. This story is incredible. A detailed history of a truly inspiring individual. Leaving a life many people dare not live, Genesis did so great things for culture. Highly recommend for any and every person to read.

[Martini · Rating 1 out of 5]

very misleading title. many of the stories just felt monotonous and didn’t feel like they belonged in the story. towards the end of my read my partner watched a documentary on Genesis and some reading only to find out Gen was a serial abuser. many accounts have said Gen never identified as non binary while alive and it appears the title was to do just as it did to me. catch the eye of potential audiences and drawl them in this cluttered web

[Blane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the sections on the formation of Throbbing Gristle and their later Pandrogeny Project to be the most interesting. The Psychic TV/Thee Temple Ov Psychic Youth cultish period was not so interesting. Plus, there is still that nagging abusive side of their life, which is sort of obliquely referred to, but not explicitly addressed; this is a major flaw of the book. 2.5 stars rounded up.

[Luis Omar · Rating 4 out of 5]

La biografía del artista Avant Garde y pionero del rock industrial. Cómo cualquier texto de este tipo a veces hay ciertos relatos que desvían un poco el punto del libro en general. Pero es un excelente manual para quienes desean romper las reglas del arte.

[Cyano · Rating 5 out of 5]

No se cansa de tirar postas. A todxs lxs giles que leyeron Mil Mesetas y no entendieron la posta sobre el universo acá explicado corto y sencillo. A nivel narrativo es tremendamente entretenido, como cualquier charla con una persona grande que vivió muchas cosas.

[Lala kcsho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elle es un personaje sin igual que estuvo en casi todos lados haciendo todo antes que todes. Cómo obra literaria son memorias de corrido pero como siempre si te gusta leer de música génesis fue un enlazador de mundos.