Re-Sisters: The Lives and Recordings of Delia Derbyshire, Margery Kempe and Cosey Fanni Tutti

by Cosey Fanni Tutti

From the acclaimed author of Art Sex Music comes a vital meditation on womanhood, creativity and self-expression, and a revelatory exploration into the lives of three visionary artists.

In 2018, boundary-breaking visual and sonic artist Cosey Fanni Tutti received a commission to write the soundtrack to a film about Delia Derbyshire, the pioneering electronic composer who influenced the likes of Aphex Twin and the Chemical Brothers. While researching Delia’s life, Cosey became immersed in her story and uncovered some fascinating parallels with her own life. At the same time Cosey began reading about Margery Kempe, the 15th century mystic visionary who wrote the first English language autobiography.

Re-sisters is the story of three women consumed by their passion for life, a passion they expressed through music, art and lifestyle; they were undaunted by the consequences they faced in pursuit of expanding and enriching their lives, and unwilling to conform to the societal and cultural norms of their time.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Art

372 pages, Hardcover

Published October 25, 2022

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

[Stenka-Razin · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I really wanted to like this more than I did. Weaving the lives of three figures together, especially when one predates the others by 500ish years was always going to be a tall order and I don't think Cosey Fanni Tutti really succeeds. It's a bit of a mess and I definitely struggled with more than a few bits of this despite much of the subject matter being highly interesting. And if you aren't already interested in Cosey Fanni Tutti, I don't see you enjoying this, since it really just throws you in to her observations on these women.

The book is definitely most effective when CFT is talking in depth about Delia Derbyshire. The extensiveness of the research, both into her life and her work is admirable and without a doubt the most revelatory. And considering Cosey Fanni Tutti's background as a female electronic musician who in fact studied Derbyshire's work as part of a score for a film about her, she is uniquely qualified to talk about her life. If the book was framed as Cosey on Delia or something, I think it would work a lot better. There are odd parallels and technical insights. You learn a lot about the processes and motivations of two of the most influential artists of the 20th century (and I don't think that's hyperbole). Even here though, I had issues. Often CFT's anecdotes come off akin to someone taking over the conversation, relaying everything back to themselves. I think reframing the core approach of the work could have made these read better, because often they are interesting (I think the episode where Tutti reflects on both her and Derbyshire's brushing with the dark side of the "Free" Love movement is particularly effective). But so frequently she'll be describing an episode of Delia's life and jump in with "I can relate because it happened to me, too." There's also the issue that a lot of the insights into Delia's personal life aren't really much more than assumptions, the downside of such a private subject.

The Margery Kempe stuff is really out of step. The common thread is that these are all three women who had to constantly fight against a misogynist system, which is definitely true. But when you have two subjects so closely linked, it really makes Margery feel like a third wheel. Tutti links her by also establishing her as a "Recording" artist, but that feels like a weak association. Cosey and Delia made their living creating recordings, Margery made one recording near the end of her life; it was hardly her defining feature. Likewise, in contrast to the others, Margery is very well documented. Most of the this books sections on her involve just summation of her life story. There isn't a lot of novel conclusions made from her life. I agree she was extremely clever in how she exercised her faith and used it to navigate an extremely patriarchal society, but also it's not a thesis unique to this work. It's also somewhat telling to me that there are far less personal anecdotes related to Kempe, and fewer where all three are linked. I dunno, on the whole it just felt like her inclusion here took away more than it added.

Just a final note, I'm kind of mixed on Tutti's voice as a writer. It often does work for me. Is it dry? Definitely, but because of that when she then throws in a particularly crass metaphor it hits hard. Less effective for me is the way she interjects her conjecture ("I wondered if..." is a phrase that comes up A LOT). Also if you're interested in a full biography of Tutti, this really isn't the book you're looking for. Most of the uninterrupted biographying here focuses on the four years since Tutti's proper biography Art Sex Magic was released, again, just kind of highlighting my issues with the general structure of the work.

I think I would ultimately still recommend this as a source on Delia Derbyshire since I did find all of that very insightful. If you are familiar with Cosey Fanni Tutti to some extent, I think you will get stuff out of her parts (I don't find them entirely disruptive!) but if you are unfamiliar with her or her work I can only imagine that it will make the book all the more maddening. As for Margery Kempe, yeah there are plenty of resources on her. Again, if you are already interested in Tutti, and curious her thoughts on Kempe, check it out. She's clear extremely passionate about Kempe's life (it is cool hearing her account of actually handling the Kempe manuscript). But there are lots of works for a general Kempe introduction. Don't put too much stock into my star rating since it wavered a fair amount even writing this, but yeah, I can't say I wholly loved this.

Oh and check out the Chris and Cosey album Heartbeat.

Oh also, yell at the BBC to license the Derbyshire archives. They wanted like 500 pounds a track and considering some of these are like 30 seconds long, that's an astronomical sum. BOOOO! We want the tapes!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t actually finish this book - it was my monthly book club read. I ended up knowing I was not going to be able to attend the meeting so…..

In truth I was really excited about it as a read and it felt like it was right up my alley. Until I started to read it. Personally I didn’t enjoy Fanni Tutti’s narrative style, it felt so very “look at me” and her introduction to the two other characters seemed like more of the look at me and my actions. This meant I didn’t feel inspired by either of them. I had thought there would be more interest and intersections, however the further I read the more self aggrandising it felt so I simply stopped (having no accountability meant I could).

At the next bookclub meeting there was a return to it and further discussion. Two loved it and others had been lukewarm. I throughly enjoyed the conversation and was able to concede that Fanni Tuttis rebellion and feminism counted even if I felt uninspired by her work.

[james !! · Rating 4 out of 5]

i had no real idea just what to expect when starting this book, with its premise being incredibly intriguing yet feeling like an overwhelming task to pull off! however very happy to say i thoroughly enjoyed my time with it!!

Cosey is such an incredibly interesting & thought-provoking person so i had no doubts (especially after reading ASM & just being a fan of her works) that any section focussing on her life would be good to read. what i was incredibly happy to find however is even in sections focussing on Delia or Margery, it all still felt incredibly personal & was honestly quite touching at times to see how Cosey had related things back to her life/perspective (whilst still being thorough & respectful to both D and M.) this really is what made this book really shine for me. yes it’s a lot of info & history but it all is shown to have considerable emotional impact, it’s such a genuine care for these other 2 trailblazers of individuality that makes for such a compelling narrative!!

Delia & Margery’s stories were very interesting to take a deep dive into & see how they all intwined with a sense of radical individuality. it was really interesting to see how Cosey handled the dramatic timescale difference between Margery and them. what could of come across as ‘clutching at straws’ instead was well integrated & interpreted! what this book left me with is really just an urge to dive into some further reading of both D & M!

‘re-sisters’ is a really great work that highlights three inspiring women that stood stern in the face of misogyny to pursue their collective freedoms & their creative abilities. really well researched & handled with great care from Cosey! maybe at times sections of the book felt a bit jolting or disjointed from subject changes etc but i somewhat expected that due to a 500yr+ gap between Margery’s life compared to C & D’s!! really good though, a lot to take in & take away from it! some great insight into the early experimenting of electric music too!!

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because I admire CFT but wasn't ready for her memoir Art Sex Music. This was good! Cosey Fanni Tutti writes about 3 women (see subtitle). Delia Derbyshire was an eccentric composer and sound pioneer instrumental in creating the theme for Dr Who (as part of her tenure at BBC Radiophonic Workshop). Margery Kempe was a 15th century mystic and weirdo who also paved her own way and was seen as uppity and intolerable by many she met (she wept loudly, had visions of Christ, insisted on long pilgrimages, and was often abandoned or even imprisoned by those she annoyed). BUT she also wr0te it down, a pioneering act of selfhood and sharing across the ages. Cosey Fanni Tutti writes a bit of her own experiences, including being sexually assaulted while her then-partner Genesis P-orridge watched (it was his request). She makes the point that the 60s sexual revolution wasn't that great for women--there is a price to be paid for "free" love (p. 112). This book was well-researched and very honest and interesting.

[fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm like... the model reader for this book, so glad to say i loved it. i love the tape era of electronic music so it was a joy to finally read about Delia Derbyshire, who influenced most of us lets be honest, whether we know it or not.

[Artemis Eclectica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to plough through parts of this. I don't rate Cosey as a good writer. The Delia Derbyshire sections were quite interesting; Margery Kempe was quite an effort. And I did think Cosey's interruptions with anecdotes of her own life were somewhat superfluous as she's already written an autobiography (Art Sex Music) which is available to read if one is interested. (somewhat put me off from reading it really) And her deductions about Delia, her behaviour and motivations are subject to conjecture and questionable at times.
Margery ... deluded ... was she epileptic - all that thrashing about? Or was she a nymphomaniac who had to fantasize she was married to Jesus/God to justify her libido? All that moaning and gasping sounds like orgasmic thrusting to me. And the crying: her own guilt for her sexuality.
The practices and superstitions of the church at the time are an eye-opener. Weird/warped.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cosey Fanni Tutti interweaves stories of the lives of herself, of Delia Derbyshire, and of Margery Kempe - a 14th century Christian mystic credited with writing one of the first autobiographies in English. Though it may be hard to see the connections her researches picks up overlapping and recurring threads, tenuous at times but a hook on which to hang ruminations on creation, rebelling, facing structures set up for the benefit of men, and resistance. On a personal note I enjoyed reading about events in Coventry, Kings Lynn, Preston and Norwich - a random selection of English towns that I happen to have visited in the past year.

[Domenica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than other folks on Goodreads. I think the inclusion of Margery Kempe bundled with Delia and Cosey was indeed a bit of a stretch BUT I took her inclusion as more of an artistic liberty to write about women expressing themselves throughout history. She certainly wasn't claiming to be a historian. I really enjoyed the parts about Delia especially and Cosey's creative process a musician. That was compelling stuff!

[Stu Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

kind of struggled to finish it/wanted to like it more than I did. Slightly unsuccessful in weaving threads of lives together (what a cliché, can't believe I actually wrote that) particularly Margery Kemp in relation to CFT and DD. It was great learning stuff about Delia Derbyshire that was previously unknown, i.e., almost everything. Great having my opinions on Genesis Post Office pretty much confirmed.

[Chris Corpora · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 -- a great topic! Reminded me of a Vic Vale RE/Search hardback. An interesting rolling reflection on the enduring challenges of gender in society. A bit redundant in places, read a bit like a serial - but in all, interesting and worth reading, if you have an interest in the topic or an affection for Cosey and her art.

[L]

this was clearly a fun personal project for her but her writing is so dry that i couldn't get into it :/

[Andi Chorley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent exploration of the life and work of three women.

[CHAD HADEN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cosey Fanni Tutti is a brilliant talent who writes here about the lives of two foremothers, one an accomplished and legendary artist in her own right and the other a medieval "holy woman"

[Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Dean Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. It wandered around a bit more and was more anecdotal than I had expected, but well-researched an an engaging, weaving each of the three stories together.