Industrial Introduction: The Truth Behind Throbbing Gristle's "The Second Annual Report" on Fetish Records
When Throbbing Gristle released "The Second Annual Report" album on their own Industrial Records imprint in November of 1977, the reception was as mixed as the music was caustic. Coming from the seedy streets of Hackney, London, the aural butchery of the album was provocative and menacing—which is part of what made it so appealing.
After the initial pressing by Industrial Records, Fetish Records repressed it using the original plates. Here Steve Brown of Fetish Records explains the background of the Fetish label and how a chance phone call with Genesis P-Orridge led to the collaboration on what was then a nonexistent label.
The story that has been spread about Fetish seems to be incorrect. I've read elsewhere that Rod started Fetish to release "Second Annual Report".
Here's the true story.
Around May/June 1978 I was working for Miles Copeland's Faulty Products, running the distribution side. I'd been buying singles from him when I was at Charmdale Records, when he offered me the job at Faulty. One day I answered the phone to Genesis, asking for Mark Perry. I got talking to him and mentioned that if he didn't press more copies of "Second Annual Report," it would probably be bootlegged. He suggested that I re-release it, using the original plates, to ensure the quality didn't suffer.
Nanavesh fanzine issue 1, September 1980. Written by Dave Farmer in conjunction with Throbbing Gristle
I travelled over to Beck Rd to meet him and Cosey. I was quite apprehensive, I didn't really know that much about TG apart from what I'd read in Sounds. Quite heavily secured front door, Gen greeted me and took me upstairs where they lived, downstairs was for stock and working. So we chatted and they were agreeable to me releasing the album on the condition I gave them a box or two. Gen gave me dozens of TG flyers, postcards, posters and the like.
I had a little money in the bank, had the knowledge from Miles' operations as to where to get the records pressed, labels and sleeves printed, and obviously selling them was the easy part. Around this time The Grateful Dead announced their concerts in Egypt, in front of the pyramids. Now I was a big Deadhead, so that was something I couldn't miss, so I used my savings to buy flights and get my visas sorted. Now I had the 'rights' to release the album but not the money to get it done.
I'd known Rod for sometime, he was involved in the bootleg scene, his most recent releases (he gave me copies of both) were Devo – "Workforce to the World – Live on Site" and The Clash's "Capital Radio" 7".
He was a strange guy, bragged that he always carried his passport and drove a quite large motorbike, so he could be at the airport quickly should he get busted. When I met him he lived in Chiswick, a short drive from Heathrow. I told him my situation and he suggested we get together and release the album between us, I had the rights and he had (plenty of) cash.
So we did, I carried on with picking up the metalwork from TG's pressing plant, arranging the printing, etc. I pretty much 'designed' the sleeve. That's my old Dymo machine we used for some of the art. Between myself and Rod, we made up the collage that came inside. The name "Fetish" was his idea. To keep costs down a little, I had that collage printed, kept them at my flat and hand inserted every sheet into the albums, which were delivered to my flat in Balham, South London.
I still have the letter from Gen he gave me authorising Sound Manufacturing to release the metal plates to me and the letter that accompanied it, where he mentions me travelling to Egypt.
Incidentally, the story about them being destroyed is untrue, I had them until the early 1990s when I foolishly sold them to the guy who ran Resurrection Records in Camden (for about £25/30) who no doubt sold them to a lucky TG fan for £100++.
Another fallacy is that there were only 2,000 copies of the Fetish release pressed from the original plates. There were (at least) two pressings, the first was 2,000, of which I shipped 1,000 to a contact in Philadelphia (Richard Jordan of Bayer Records, who I'd met at MIDEM some years before while working for Charmdale). These have just "IR 0002 B EG △ 2149" in the runouts. There were more pressed from those plates that had "△ 2149 [IR 0002 A scratched] E.G. S-1 FR 2001 A."
Obviously it sounded better to say "Just 2,000 then plates destroyed," but you can see the runout details on Discogs.
So that's that bit……
Lead photo credit to Industrial Records Ltd. and used with the permission of long-time TG member Chris Carter, who states: "It was shot by us (on a remote timer) and was taken in Hackney, East London in 1980."
Photos of the Fetish Records pressing of TG "The Second Annual Report" LP from Hard Rock Piss Strunker Nick Turner of the excellent band Society Nurse on Iron Lung Records
Flyers for the Psychic Youth Rally at the Lyceum (8th February, 1981), which was co-promoted by Fetish Records. It comes from the collection of Sean Ragon who has a stunning stash of Throbbing Gristle related ephemera.
