Genesis B. P-Orridge of Throbbing Gristle Dead At 70

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, the avant-garde performance artist best known as the leading member of seminal industrial act Throbbing Gristle, has lost h/er battle with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. S/he was 70 years old.

The news of Genesis' passing was announced by h/er children Caresse and Genesee P-Orridge via the Facebook page of Genesis' label Dais Records. The P-Orridges released the following statement:

"Dear friends, family and loving supporters,

"It is with very heavy hearts that we announce thee passing of our beloved father, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge.

"S/he had been battling leukemia for two and a half years and dropped he/r body early this morning, Saturday March 14th, 2020.

"S/he will be laid to rest with h/er other half, Jaqueline 'Lady Jaye' Breyer who left us in 2007, where they will be re-united. Thank you for your love and support and for respecting our privacy as we are grieving.

"Caresse & Genesse P-Orridge

"#s/heisher/eforever"

READ THIS: How different rock genres deal with sex and sexuality

In 2017 Genesis revealed h/er leukemia diagnosis via the following Facebook post explaining that some of h/er future projects would have to be postponed:

To view this content, view the full mobile website.

For a huge body of music fans, avant-garde artists, and rockers experimenting with their sexual identity, P-Orridge was not only a much-loved sonic artist but a cultural figurehead who they could get behind. Throbbing Gristle were considered by many to be the foreparents of industrial music, exploring not only dark and mechanized sounds but also themes of sex, pornography, violence, and spirituality in ways that other artists were not doing.

Meanwhile, Genesis' transition from Neil Andrew Megson to the person s/he became stood as an example to counterculture artists everywhere as to exactly how far art could, and perhaps should, be taken. Identifying as a third gender, Genesis began an extended body modification project alongside h/er spouse Jacqueline Mary Breyer, better known as Lady Jaye. The project led both Genesis and Jay toward a 'pandrogyne', or single entity, via extreme body modification, essentially turning themselves into the same being over a period of time. Even after Lady Jaye's unfortunate death in 2007, P-Orridge carried on with the project.

Everyone at Kerrang! sends their heart out to Genesis' family, friends, fans and collaborators during this difficult time.

READ THIS: 12 celebrities you didn't know were punks