Ahead of the release of Throbbing Gristle’s Live at the Volksbühne Berlin, New Year’s Eve 2005 as a stand-alone vinyl, CD and digital release on Mute on May 16, 2025, you can watch the disquieting encore of that evening, one of their best-known tracks, “Hamburger Lady”. Recorded at the Volksbühne in Berlin as part of a series of live events curated by the band, this rendition of “Hamburger Lady”, originally recorded for their 1978 album, DOA: The Third & Final Report, is accompanied by footage from the show. Watch “Hamburger Lady (Live)’ HERE.
Recorded 20 years ago at the New Year’s Eve show at the Volksbühne, the 11-track live album was originally available on the recently sold out box set, TG Berlin. The live show featured five songs from Part Two: The Endless Not, the band’s first album in 27 years, several years before its release. The set, described by Uncut as “magisterial”, also included “Convincing People”, “Slug Bait”, and, of course, “Hamburger Lady”, tracks that had lost none of their potency in the intervening years. In 2004, Throbbing Gristle, Chris Carter, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (1950-2020) and Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson (1955-2010), regrouped and the following six years became a period of renewed creativity for the band. Back in the studio after 20 years, they found group intuition when performing was intact and their ability to break down barriers and forge connections with an audience was more powerful than ever. TG Berlin and Live at the Volksbühne Berlin, New Year’s Eve 2005 are the latest releases in an ongoing collaboration with Mute, compelling documents of Throbbing Gristle performing and recording as a four-piece with a renewed vigour. From the opening beats and serrated electronics of one of their final tracks recorded together, “Scabs & Saws”, it’s clear that TG are not revisiting ground already tread, but bringing two decades of individual experience back into the studio to create a new exploration of sound. The vocals have a different depth, the groove is deeper, and the atmosphere has lost none of its potency. Throbbing Gristle formed in 1975, and for the next six years they fully delivered on punk’s failed promise to explore extreme culture as a way of sabotaging systems of control. During that time, they released crucial records such as The Second Annual Report Of Throbbing Gristle (1977), D.O.A The Third And Final Report Of Throbbing Gristle (1978), and 20 Jazz Funk Greats (1979) and were infamously named “wreckers of civilisation” by the Conservative MP Nicholas Fairbairn in 1976. From 2004, they embarked on a series of live performances, including Coachella and Primavera festivals, Tate Modern, and Heaven, and returned to the studio to produce several albums including TG Now (2004), and Part Two: The Endless Not (2007), as well as a 3-day “studio installation” at the ICA before disbanding in 2010. Their impact on music, culture and the arts has been immeasurable, and is still felt today across music, film, theatre, and fine art. Throbbing Gristle:
Chris Carter: Rhythms, Loops, Synth
Cosey Fanni Tutti: Guitar, Cornet, Melodica, Sampler
Genesis P-Orridge: Vocals, Violin, Bass
Peter Christopherson: Sampler, Persephone keyboard Live at the Volksbühne Berlin, New Year’s Eve 2005 will be released on Mute on May 16, 2025. Pre-order HERE. | 
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