Revolting Cocks

Revolting Cocks
Live on stage, 2006
Background information
Also known as	RevCo, The Cocks, Cocks Members
Origin	United States
Genres	Industrial, post-industrial, industrial metal, alternative rock
Years active	1985–1993, 2004–2010, 2011, 2013, 2016–present
Labels	Wax Trax, Sire, 13th Planet
Associated acts	Ministry, Front 242, The Blackouts, Finitribe, Murder, Inc., Stayte, Society 1, Tactics
Members	"The Cocks": Luc Van Acker Richard 23 Paul Barker Chris Connelly
Past members	Al Jourgensen Bill Rieflin Phildo Owen Duane Buford Mike Scaccia Josh Bradford Sin Quirin Clayton Worbeck

Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, are an American–Belgian industrial rock band and, sometimes, supergroup that began as a musical side-project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc Van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry.

History

The group was founded by Richard 23 and Luc Van Acker with Al Jourgensen as their producer.^[1] According to Van Acker, the band adopted their name after trying out "insulting French expressions" on a waiter in a Chicago bar, ordering something they said meant "revolting cock" which led the waiter to say, "You are revolting cocks!"^[2]

Their first release was "No Devotion" on Wax Trax records in 1985. The single was quickly followed by an album, Big Sexy Land (1986), featuring a mix of Wax Trax-industrial, hard rock, and EBM with dominating sampling and strong synthesized beats.

Richard 23 quit in 1986 due to creative differences. The group's remaining two members were augmented by a rapidly changing set of musicians centered on Chris Connelly (formerly of Finitribe), Paul Barker and Bill Rieflin (both formerly of The Blackouts and at the time in Ministry), with various others as irregular contributors or guests.

The following live album, You Goddamned Son of a Bitch (1988), marked the band's live debut, featuring more aggressive versions of the Big Sexy Land tracks along with some new material. This trend continued on Beers, Steers, and Queers (1990), layering sample over sample and pushing ever further into distortion. Linger Ficken' Good (1993) was released by Sire records, with most tracks returning to the less layered material. Included was a cover of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?," also released as a single. A tour was planned but cancelled, and the band quietly came to an end.

In 2004, Jourgensen, with former Cock Phildo Owens (Skatenigs, Snow Black), revived the group and previewed a new song, "Prune Tang", to disappointing responses from fans. An album titled Purple Head was due in 2004, but was delayed until 2006 with a change in title to Cocked and Loaded. "Caliente (Dark Entries)," a cover of sorts of "Dark Entries" by Bauhaus, with vocalist Gibby Haynes (Butthole Surfers), was featured on the soundtrack to Saw II in 2005.

After assembling a touring line up to open for Ministry on the MasterBaTour of 2006, Jourgensen chose vocalist Josh Bradford (Stayte, Simple Shelter, V.H.S.), keyboardist Clayton Worbeck (Stayte, Simple Shelter), and guitarist Sin Quirin (Society 1, later Ministry and ReVamp) as the new full-time members for the Revolting Cocks, now simply being called "RevCo". The group recorded Sex-O Olympic-O, which was originally set to be released in October 2008, but was delayed multiple times until it saw release on March 3, 2009. Following a tour, a second album with this lineup, Got Cock?, was released on April 13, 2010. The project fell apart once again with Bradford and Worbeck parting ways. Quirin continued to work with Jourgensen following Ministry's revival in 2011.

In celebration of Wax Trax! Records, the "Wax Trax! Records Retrospectacle:  33 ¹⁄₃ Year Anniversary" was held from April 15 to 17, 2011 at Metro Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. As a part of the lineup, Chris Connelly, Paul Barker and Luc Van Acker performed Revolting Cocks songs with Duane Buford, Dan Brill, Jamie Duffy and others. For their performance on the 17th, Richard 23 joined them on stage to sing "No Devotion".^[3]

In 2016, Richard 23, Acker, Barker and Connelly performed as "The Cocks" for a six date tour to mark the 30th anniversary of Big Sexy Land, accompanied by Dan Brill and Jason Novak.^[4]

Members

Discography

Studio albums

• Big Sexy Land (1986)
• Beers, Steers, and Queers (1990)
• Linger Ficken' Good (1993)
• Cocked and Loaded (2006)
• Sex-O Olympic-O (2009)
• ¿Got Cock? (2010)

Live albums

• Live! You Goddamned Son of a Bitch (1988)

Remix albums

• Cocktail Mixxx (2007)
• Sex-O MiXXX-O (2009)
• ¿Got Mixxx? (2011)

Singles

• No Devotion (1985)

1. "No Devotion"
2. "Attack Ships..."
3. "...On Fire"

• You Often Forget (1986) (UK Indie #13)^[5]

1. "You Often Forget (Benign Side)"
2. "You Often Forget (Malignant Side)"

• Stainless Steel Providers (1989)

1. "Stainless Steel Providers"
2. "At the Top"
3. "T.V. Mind [Remix]" (CD only)

• (Let's Get) Physical (1989)

1. "(Let's Get) Physical"
2. "(Let's Talk) Physical"

• Beers, Steers, and Queers (The Remixes) (1991)

1. "Beers, Steers & Queers [Drop Your Britches Mix]" / "Beers, Steers & Queers [Take 'Em Right Off Mix]"
2. "Stainless Steel Providers [Live]"
3. "Public Image [Live]"

• Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? (1993)

1. "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"
2. "Sergio Guitar"
3. "Wrong Sexy Mix"

• Crackin' Up (1994)

1. "Crackin' Up (Video Edit)"
2. "Crackin' Up (Amyl Nitrate Mix)"
3. "Gila Copter (Version 2)"

References