Genesis P-Orridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Genesis P-Orridge
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P-Orridge performing with Throbbing Gristle in 2009
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| Born | 22 February 1950 Manchester, England
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| Died | 14 March 2020 (aged 70) New York City, US
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| Other names | Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, DJ Doktor Megatrip, Megs'on, P. Ornot, PT001, Vernon Castle |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, musician, poet, writer, performance artist |
| Years active | 1965–2020 |
| Spouse(s) |
Paula Brooking
(m. 1981; div. 1992)Jacqueline Breyer
(m. 1995–2007) |
| Children | 2 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Experimental, industrial, avant-garde, electronic, psychedelic |
| Instruments | Vocals, bass guitar |
| Labels | Industrial, Temple Records, Wax Trax! |
| Associated acts | COUM Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Thee Majesty, Splinter Test, Pigface |
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist and visual artist. P-Orridge was also a founding member of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth occult group, and fronted the experimental pop rock band Psychic TV. P-Orridge used gender-neutral pronouns.
Biography
Genesis P-Orridge was born Neil Andrew Megson on 22 February 1950 in Victoria Park, Manchester, to Ronald and Muriel Megson. Ronald was a travelling salesman who had worked in repertory theatre and who played the drums in local jazz and dance bands. Muriel was from Salford and had first met Ronald after he returned to England after being injured with the British Army at the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940. As a child, P-Orridge had a good relationship with their parents, who did not interfere with their artistic interests.
Due to Ronald's job, the family moved to Essex, where P-Orridge attended Staples Road Infant School in Loughton, and for a time lived in a caravan near to Epping Forest while the family house was being completed. The family then moved from Essex to Cheshire, where P-Orridge attended Gatley Primary School. Passing the 11-plus exam, P-Orridge won a scholarship to attend Stockport Grammar School, doing so between 1961 and 1964.
After their father became the Midlands area manager of a cleaning and maintenance business, P-Orridge was sent to the privately run Solihull School in Warwickshire between 1964 and 1968; a period when they developed an interest in art, occultism and the avant-garde.
Unpopular with other pupils, P-Orridge was bullied at the school, finding comfort in the art department at lunch-time and in the evenings. They befriended Ian "Spydeee" Evetts, Barry "Little Baz" Hermon and Paul Wolfson, three fellow pupils who shared their interest in art, literature, and poetry. They regularly discussed books and music, developing an interest in the writings of Aleister Crowley, William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg and the music of Frank Zappa, the Fugs and the Velvet Underground.
In 1967, P-Orridge founded their first collective, Worm, with school friends Pingle Wad (Peter Winstanley), Spydeee Gasmantell (Ian Evetts) and P-Orridge's girlfriend Jane Ray. In 1966, P-Orridge, Evetts, Hermon, Wolfson, and Winstanley began production of an underground magazine, entitled Conscience. Forbidden from selling it on school grounds, they sold copies outside the school gates.
After dropping out of studies at the University of Hull, P-Orridge moved into a counter-cultural commune in London and adopted Genesis P-Orridge as their pseudonym. On returning to Hull, P-Orridge founded COUM Transmissions with Cosey Fanni Tutti, and in 1973 they relocated to London. In 1981, P-Orridge co-founded Psychic TV, an experimental band that from 1988 onward came under the increasing influence of acid house. P-Orridge was credited on over 200 releases during their lifetime. They were cited as an icon within the avant-garde art scene.
At 45 years of age P-Orridge met Lady Jaye (née Jacqueline Breyer). Jaye worked as a nurse providing care for children with terminal illnesses and disabilities. In January 1993, P-Orridge and Jaye moved to Ridgewood, Queens, in New York City.
During this era, a book was published of P-Orridge's writings, poems, and observations, called Ooh, You Are Awful ... But I Like You!. In the mid-1990s, P-Orridge collaborated with different people in music, including Pigface, Skinny Puppy, and Download. P-Orridge also performed with Nik Turner and other former members of Hawkwind.
In January 2006, the new PTV album was announced on P-Orridge's website. Hell Is Invisible... Heaven Is Her/e was recorded in NYC and features Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Gibby Haynes (Butthole Surfers) guesting on some tracks.
On 9 October 2007, Lady Jaye Breyer died. The cause of death was heart arrhythmia, a heart condition that was possibly related to stomach cancer. Psychic TV cancelled its North American tour dates in the aftermath of Lady Jaye's death. From this point, P-Orridge began referring to themselves in the plural in order to keep Breyer's memory alive.
P-Orridge retired from music to focus on other artistic mediums in 2009.
Illness and death
P-Orridge was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia in October 2017, and died in New York City on 14 March 2020, aged 70. P-Orridge's memoir, Nonbinary, was published a year later, in June 2021, a project P-Orridge had been working on in collaboration with writer Tim Mohr for several years, according to the New York Times.
Personal life
P-Orridge had two daughters, Caresse and Genesse, with Paula P-Orridge (born Paula Brooking).
Images for kids
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Genesis P-Orridge posing in Japan
See also
In Spanish: Genesis P-Orridge para niños
