''Scatology'' is the debut studio album by English

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

group Coil. It was recorded at various studios in London during 1984 and produced by the band along with

JG Thirlwell James George Thirlwell (born 29 January 1960), styled as JG Thirlwell and also known as Clint Ruin, Frank Want, and Foetus, among other pseudonyms, is an Australian musician, composer, and record producer known for Juxtaposition, juxtaposing a ...

; the album features a prominent appearance of

Stephen Thrower Stephen Thrower (born 9 December 1963) is an English musician and author. Musical career Early career In 1980, Thrower formed the group Possession with Victor Watkins and Anna Virginia War and they released the album ''The Thin White Arms, Obt ...

, who subsequently became an official member of Coil starting with the group's following album, ''

Horse Rotorvator ''Horse Rotorvator'' is the second studio album by English experimental music group Coil (band), Coil, released in 1986. The album was ranked No. 73 in the ''Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork'' list "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s". Background The ...

''. Despite its title, the album focuses on alchemy, mainly an idea of turning base matter into gold. The record contains a wide array of cultural references, including to people such as

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade ( ; ; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814) was a French writer, libertine, political activist and nobleman best known for his libertine novels and imprisonment for sex crimes, blasphemy and pornography ...

Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; ; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French Artistic symbol, symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896)'','' often cited as a forerunner of the Dada, Surrealism, Surrealist, and Futurism, Futurist ...

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some cult members committed a Manson ...

, and others. ''Scatology'' was first released in 1985 (with a 1984 copyright date) on LP, by Force & Form and K.422 (

Some Bizzare Records Some Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of '' Some Bizzare Album'', a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrik ...

sublabel). It was reissued by Force & Form in 1988 on CD and later by

Threshold House Threshold House is one of several record labels created by Coil to release their own work and that of affiliated projects. Associated labels include Eskaton and Chalice. It is also the name for the official Coil website. The label was initi ...

in 2001. ''Scatology''’s sole single featured the extended remix of "Panic" with a cover version of "

Tainted Love "Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964. In 1981, the song attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by British synth-pop du ...

" on its B-side. Mainly positively received by critics, ''Scatology'' is considered to be one of Coil's essential releases, and moreover of the 1980s industrial scene.

Background and recording

Work on ''Scatology'' began in May 1984, soon after the release of Coil's debut EP '' How to Destroy Angels''. Early on, a track entitled "The Sewage Worker's Birthday Party" was recorded during sessions of the abovementioned EP. Recording sessions were held at Wave Studios, Aosis Studios and Bar Maldoror (all situated in London). Several tracks during these sessions were recorded, but were not released or metamorphosed into other tracks. The core duo of the band, including Peter Christopherson and John Balance, was extended with an appearance of

J. G. Thirlwell James George Thirlwell (born 29 January 1960), styled as JG Thirlwell and also known as Clint Ruin, Frank Want, and Foetus, among other pseudonyms, is an Australian musician, composer, and record producer known for juxtaposing a variety of dif ...

of Foetus and Stephen Thrower, the latter of whom met Coil for the first time in August 1984.

Packaging

Different editions of the album featured a variety of packaging designs. For the original LP release, the initial black sun design was covered by a postcard with a motif of a swirling staircase known as the "Anal Staircase". The second edition had the "Sexual Architecture" postcard pasted on a random selection of copies with uncovered ones revealing the original black sun design. The 1988 CD edition featured artwork depicting a naked pair of

buttocks The buttocks (: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed of a lay ...

enclosed by an upside-down cross, with the original black sun underneath, seemingly inspired by

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

's ''Monument to Sade'' photography; the 2001 reissue features a revised artwork from the 1988 edition, with a slogan, "Stevo, Pay Us What You Owe Us!", referencing the band's dispute with

Stevo Pearce Stephen John Pearce, commonly known as Stevo (born 26 December 1962), is a British record producer and music industry executive, best known as the owner of indie record label Some Bizzare Records. Biography He was born in Haverhill, Suffolk. He ...

.; .

Track listing

Original LP release (1984)

CD releases

Personnel

All information adapted from 1984 release sleeve except where noted.

Coil

John Balance Geoffrey Nigel Laurence Rushton (16 February 1962 – 13 November 2004), better known under the pseudonyms John Balance or the later variation Jhonn Balance, was an English musician, occultist, artist and poet. He was best known as a co-founder ...

– lead

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

and lyrics ,

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s ,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Peter Christopherson Peter Martin Christopherson (also known as Sleazy; 27 February 1955 – 25 November 2010) was an English musician, video director, commercial artist, designer and photographer, who was at one time a member of design agency Hipgnosis. He also ...

– programming and sampling,

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, backing vocals

Additional musicians

– programming and sampling *

–

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

Gavin Friday Gavin Friday (born Fionán Martin Hanvey, 8 October 1959) is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter, best known as a founding member of the post-punk group The Virgin Prunes. Early life Fionan Hanvey was born in Dublin an ...

– lead vocals and lyrics * Alex Fergusson –

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...

– guitar

Technical personnel

* Coil – co-production, mixing * JG Thirlwell – co-production, mixing *

Warne Livesey Warne Livesey (born 12 February 1959) is a British/Canadian music producer, mixing engineer, songwriter and musician. He has produced Midnight Oil, The The, Matthew Good Band and Deacon Blue. Life and career Warne Livesey started his career in L ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Christian Fouquet and Lawrence Watson – photography *

Thighpaulsandra Timothy Lewis – best known by the stage name Thighpaulsandra – is a Welsh experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist, known mostly for performing on synthesizers and keyboards. He began his career working with Julian Cope in the late ...

– remastering

Charts

References

Notes

Sources

Bibliography

;''Scatology'''s liner notes * * * ;Books * * * * * * * ;Articles (including reviews) * * * *

External links

* *
''Scatology''
at

Brainwashed Brainwashed may refer to: *Brainwashing, to affect a person's mind by using extreme mental pressure or other methods Film and television * ''Brainwashed'' (film), a 1960 German film * '' Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power'', a 2022 American documenta ...

{{Authority control 1984 debut albums Coil (band) albums Threshold House albums Albums produced by JG Thirlwell