Pussy Galore were creating a new kind of Libertine rock by pissing on the corpse of whatever came before them – creaky ol’ blues, rattling garage punk., arena rawk, chug metal, droning industrial noise – all of it got chopped into unrecognizable bits by Spencer and fiends, and re-constructed later on, in a much more primitive and profane form. (Sleazegrinder website)
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Combining garage rock rhythms with bursts of noise, New York own Pussy Galore were taking no musical prisoners – from song titles to album titles to damaged song structures, they were all about attitude (even though same song/album titles also managed to stir considerable controversy, which, probably, only led to more popularity for them, in the end).
Jon Spencer formed the band in 1985, along with drummer Bob Bert (Sonic Youth) and guitarists Neil Hagerty (Royal Trux) and Julie Cafritz (Free Kitten / Action Swingers). Their debut was 1985 “Feel Good About Your Body” single which featured “7 or so minutes of tuneless, off-kilter noise”, according to Sleazegrinder website. A year later, they released “Groovy Hate Fuck” EP, which was also noisy, but contained songs which had a bit more of a formal structure.
1986 “Exile On Main Street” was, of course, an album of Rolling Stones covers, albeit done in Pussy Galore’s own way. Multi-record deal with Caroline led to 1988 “Sugarshit Sharp”, which featured covers of songs by Einsturzende Neubauten (Yu Gong) and Devo (Penetration In The Centerfold), as well as a sample from a song by Public Enemy.
They continued recording albums for the rest of 80s – 1989 “Dial M For Motherfucker” (originally titled “Make Them All Eat Shit Slowly” – a name that was vetoed by Caroline Records) and “Damaged 1 / Damaged 2” split with Tad, with both bands covering Black Flag’s Damaged 1/2.
Their final release was 1990 “Historia De La Musica Rock” and was recorded as a trio of Spencer/Hagerty/Bert. Julie Cafritz quit the band by the time that “Dial M…” was released and the album itself was a far cry from bands earlier material, instead featuring a more bluesy sound, which John Spencer would eventually turn into his signature sound with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
1992 “Corpse Love: The Year” came out on Caroline and featured four tracks from a rare cassette-only “Exile On Main Street”, while 1998 “Live: In The Red” (In The Red label) featured their last show recorded at CBGB’s.
Band Members:
Bob Bert (Bewitched, Chrome Cranks, Knoxville Girls, Sonic Youth)
Cristina Martinez (Boss Hog, Gibson Bros)
John Hammill
Jon Spencer (Boss Hog, Gibson Bros, Heavy Trash, Honeymoon Killers, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Shithaus)
Julie Cafritz (Free Kitten, Halo Of Kitten)
Kurt Wolf (Boss Hog, Foetus Symphony Orchestra)
Neil Hagerty (Howling Hex, Royal Trux, Weird War)
Tom Smith (Miss High Heel, Ohne, Peach Of Immortality, To Live And Shave In LA)
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Official Releases:
Feel Good About Your Body EP (Shove, 1985)
Exile On Main St LP (Shove, 1986)
Groovy Hate Fuck (Feel Good About Your Body) LP (Vinyl Drip International, 1987)
Pussy Gold 5000 EP 12″ (Buy Our Records + Shove, 1987)
Right Now! LP / Cass / CD (Caroline, 1987 / Product Inc., 1988 / Mute, 1998)
Maximum Penetration VHS (Jettisound, 1988)
Penetration Of The Centerfold / One Shot World 7″ (Supernatural Organization, 1988)
Sugarshit Sharp EP 12″ / CD (Product Inc., 1988 / Penguin, 1989 / Matador, 1998 / Mute, 1998)
Pussy Galore / Tad Split 7″ (Sub Pop, 1989)
Dial M For Motherfucker LP / CD (Product Inc., 1989 / Caroline, 1989)
Stoned To Death 7″ (Punk Vault, 1989)
Historia De La Musica Rock LP / CD (Rough Trade, 1990 / Caroline, 1990 / Danceteria, 1990 / Mute, 1998 / Matador, 1998)
Corpse Love CD (Caroline, 1992)
Live: In The Red LP / CD (In The Red, 1998)
Right Now / Pussy Gold 5000 CD (Mute, 1998)
Unofficial Releases:
Love You Live 7″ (Lo-Fi, 1988)
This Friday Night Only From Hate Fuck Capitol City Of The World LP (Supernatural Organization, 1988)
Seattle 7″ (Blow Pop, 1989)
Unauthorized Oven Bait CD (Adult Contemporary, unknown year)
Compilation Tracks:
“SM57” on Sounds Blast! EP3 (Sounds Magazine, 1989)
“Seattle” on Gigantic! 2 (Melody Maker Magazine, 1990)
“Alright” on Rough Trade Shops – Rock & Roll 1 (Mute, 2002)
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