Special Affect (originally called Special Affects) was an American new wave band active from the late 1970s until 1981. They were notable for comprising the earliest-known recordings of future Ministry founder

Al Jourgensen Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is b ...

, future

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (often shortened to Thrill Kill Kult or TKK) is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based in Chicago and founded by Groovie Mann (born Frankie Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (born Marston Daley) ...

vocalist Frank Nardiello, future

Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...

drummer

Harry Rushakoff Harry Rushakoff (born November 16, 1958) is a former drummer for the band Concrete Blonde. He started his career in Chicago, playing with The Nodes and then with Special Affect (which featured Ministry's Al Jourgensen and My Life with the T ...

, and bassist

Martin Sorenson ''With Sympathy'' is the debut studio album by American industrial band Ministry, released on May 10, 1983 by Arista Records. The group was formed in 1981 by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Al Jourgensen, with drummer Stephen George bei ...

. The band released a 7" EP called ''Mood Music'' in 1979. This release features original guitarist Tom Hoffman, who left the band in 1979 and was replaced by Jourgensen. "Vertigo Feeling", from this EP, would eventually be widely released on the

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

CD ''Industrial Family Platter!'', a compilation of songs by Ministry and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. Special Affect's only album, ''Too Much Soft Living'', which was released in 1981, was advertised as the original soundtrack to a film of the same name; however, no such film exists. Special Affect moved to San Francisco for a brief period with support from a financier, however during a gig Rushakoff and Jourgensen had an altercation on stage, which resulted in the group disbanding. Jourgensen misremembered this gig as taking place at the

DNA Lounge DNA Lounge is an all-ages nightclub and restaurant/cafe in the SoMa district of San Francisco owned by Jamie Zawinski, a former Netscape programmer and open-source software hacker. The club features DJ dancing, live music, burlesque performanc ...

, but the DNA Lounge did not open until 1985, years after Special Affect had ceased being a band. Two songs on Ministry's ''

Early Trax ''Early Trax'' is a compilation album by an American rock band Ministry, released on October 12, 2004, by Rykodisc. The album contains either released or previously unreleased songs from 1981 through to 1984, as well as some remixes of those s ...

'' compilation, "I'm Falling" and "Overkill", date back to the time of Special Affect, and feature Special Affect's bassist Martin Sorenson.

References

American new wave musical groups Musical groups from Chicago Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 {{US-punk-band-stub