Lydia Lunch
b. Lydia Koch, 1959, Rochester, New York, USA. The provocative Lydia Lunch was a pivotal figure in New York's ‘no wave’ scene of the late '70s and has worked with an array of talent since then. After spells with Teenage Jesus And The Jerks and Beirut Slump (the latter were restricted to one US single, Try Me), Lydia Lunch opted for the freedom of solo work with 1980's acclaimed QUEEN OF SIAM on the Ze label. Her next project, Eight-Eyed Spy, toyed with funk and R&B while retaining her uncompromising vocal style and violent, experimental musical approach. Then came 13 .13 on the Ruby label, which benefited from a harder, more co-ordinated feel. In 1982 she shared a 12-inch EP with the Birthday Party on 4AD, THE AGONY IS THE ECSTACY, revealing her increasing fascination with the baser instincts of human nature. Members of the Birthday Party also backed Lydia on Some Velvet Morning, while Einsturzende Neubauten joined her for Thirsty. This marriage of the New York and Berlin undergrounds was further demonstrated on Der Karibische Western, on Zensor with Die Haut. Lunch continued this collaborative stance in 1983, working with Danish band Sort Sol. 1984's IN LIMBO, a mini-album for Cabaret Voltaire's Doublevision label, re-introduced her to solo work, and she soon founded Widowspeak Productions in 1985 as an outlet to document her work, starting appropriately with the UNCENSORED LYDIA LUNCH cassette. After a project with Michael Gira, entitled HARD ROCK (a cassette on Ecstatic Peace), Lydia homed in on New York pranksters Sonic Youth for the ‘Death Valley 69, a grungy, menacing start for Blast First Records. A sinister solo offering, THE DROWNING OF LADY HAMILTON, was followed by a 10-inch EP with No Trend, entitled HEART OF DARKNESS (1985). The next release for Widowspeak was a limited edition box, THE INTIMATE DIARIES OF THE SEXUALLY INSANE, containing a cassette of chronic case histories, a booklet and a book, ADULTERERS ANONYMOUS, co-written by Lydia. 1987's remixed and remastered double album retrospective, HYSTERIE, summarized her work from 1976-86, before she paired with the man behind Foetus and Clint Ruin, Jim Thirlwell, for the awesome Stinkfist project, in 1989. That year also witnessed Harry Crews, an all-girl wall of guitar sound for which Lunch was joined by Sonic Youth bassist, Kim Gordon. Lunch, in conjunction with her soul-mate Thirlwell, has become known as an avid opponent of censorship. Her own work is uncomprisingly confrontational and base, and includes videos featuring her administering oral sex. The politics of outrage remain her gospel.