Big Black

Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun. In 1985 Pezzati was replaced by Dave Riley, who played on Big Black's two full-length studio albums, Atomizer (1986) and Songs About Fucking (1987).

Big Black's aggressive and abrasive music was characterized by distinctively clanky guitars and the use of a drum machine rather than a drum kit, elements that foreshadowed industrial rock. The band's lyrics flouted commonly held taboos and dealt frankly— and often explicitly— with politically and culturally loaded topics including murder, rape, child sexual abuse, arson, racism, and misogyny.

Following Big Black's breakup, Albini formed and fronted Rapeman from 1987 to 1989 and Shellac from 1992 onward.He also began work as a recording engineer, working with artists such as Slint, The Pixies, The Breeders, Pegboy, Urge Overkill, The Jesus Lizard, The Wedding Present, Superchunk, PJ Harvey and Nirvana.

Durango, meanwhile, continued to play music during his law school years, releasing two EPs on Touch and Go as Arsenal and recording with Boss Hog. He then became a practicing lawyer, with clients including Touch and Go Records and Cynthia Plaster Caster. Riley was briefly a member of Bull but was incapacitated by a stroke in 1995, which was initially erroneously reported as a suicide attempt. Having lost the ability to walk, he maintains a blog about his experiences titled "Worthless Goddamn Cripple". In 2004 he participated in a musical project called Miasma of Funk, releasing the album Groove on the Mania! He has also published a book titled Blurry and Disconnected: Tales of Sink-or-Swim Nihilism.

Links To Peel
Peel was a big fan of the group and nominated their 1987 album, Songs About Fucking, as one of his favourite albums of all time, which was published on Jocks Choice and The Guardian's Top 20 Albums, which Peel listed. The album track 'L Dopa' was added by Peel as a Peelenium 1987.

Peel regretted not seeing Big Black perform live and on mentioned this on Peeling Back The Years 5 (Transcript):


 * "I went to see the Butthole Surfers play in Hammersmith a few weeks ago, and it was the week after Big Black had played and everybody who saw Big Black said they were absolutely apocalyptic, but I missed them and they’ve now broken up and that is something I shall regret, genuinely regret, like not having seen the Smiths play live."

Steve Albini, known as a producer strips down his artists' sound to the bare minimum, eschewing studio effects in favour of revealing the band as they actually are. An aesthetic he shared with Peel, as he recalled in a 2005 interview:


 * "John Peel said something that I thought was really profound. He said when he gets a record from somebody and he doesn't like it, he assumes that it's his problem and that the band would not have made that record if there wasn't something valuable about it."

Festive Fifty Entries

 * 1987 Festive Fifty: Colombian Necktie #18
 * 1987 Festive Fifty: L Dopa #42

Peelenium

 * Peelenium 1987: L Dopa

Sessions
The session is available on Peel Session (1988, vinyl 7", King Dick)

1. Recorded: Unknown. Broadcast: 06 May 1987
 * Dead Billy / Ugly American / Newmangenerator / L Dopa

Other Shows Played
1987
 * 16 June 1987: Heartbeat (EP) Blast First
 * 17 June 1987: Grinder (Headache 12") Blast First


 * August 1987 (Rockradio): Deep Six - ("bootleg" album - You got it all, Dad! We're Gonna hit! (Sound Of Impact.)) Blast First (NOT 2 [BUT 1])

1988 1989
 * 1987 (Rockradio): Black 'N' White (LP - Sound Of Impact) (Not - NOT 2 BUT 1)
 * 01 September 1987: He's A Whore (announced but not on recording)
 * 07 September 1987: 'Black And White' ('Official Bootleg')
 * 08 September 1987: L Dopa (LP – Songs About Fucking) Blast First
 * 24 September 1987 (BBC World Service): The Power Of Independent Trucking (album "Songs About F...ing" ) Blast First
 * September 1987 (BBC World Service): Ergot (album - Songs About F...ing)
 * Peel 069 (BFBS): 'L Dopa (LP-Songs About Fucking)' (Blast First) (JP: "I shall always regret that I never saw any of their final gigs: really stupid of me not to go. They were on in Leeds, my name was on the door, and I was sitting at home about five o'clock in the evening, and I thought, no, I'll just stay in and get an Indian takeaway and watch the television instead. And I should not have done that.")
 * Peel 068 (BFBS): 'The Model (7"-He's A Whore)' (Blast First)
 * Peel 068 (BFBS): 'He's A Whore (7")' (Blast First)
 * Peel 069 (BFBS): 'Bad Penny (LP-Songs About Fucking)' (Blast First)
 * The Peel Tapes Vol.5: Racer X from a 1984 12" EP
 * 22 December 1987: 'L Dopa (LP-Songs About Fucking)' (Touch & Go) (JP: 'From the LP with the perfectly shocking title.') FF #42
 * 29 December 1987: 'Colombian Necktie (LP-Songs About Fucking)' (Touch And Go) FF #18
 * Peel 078 (BFBS): 'Kerosene (LP-Atomizer)' (Blast First)
 * 18 October 1988: Sleep! (12” EP – Racer-X) Homestead
 * 15 February 1989: Precious Thing (album - Songs About Fucking) Blast First
 * 20 February 1989: Colombian Necktie (album - Songs About Fucking) Blast First


 * 10 April 1989: Every Man For Himself (v/a album - Gods Favorite Dog) Touch And Go

1990 1991 1992
 * 10 July 1989: The Power Of Independent Trucking (album - Songs About Fucking) Blast First
 * 11 July 1989: 'Ergot' (LP-Songs About Fucking) (Blast First)
 * 14 August 1989: Kerosene (album - Atomizer) Blast First
 * Peel 113 (BFBS): Unknown Track (edited out)
 * Peel 115 (BFBS): 'Stinking Drunk (LP-Atomizer)' (Blast First)
 * 16 August 1990: 'Kerosene (LP-Atomizer)' (Blast First)
 * 10 February 1991: The Strong (Album: Sound Of Impact) ('The Strong' is a live version of 'Ready Men')
 * 06 July 1991: The Model (7" - He's A Whore / The Model) Blast First
 * 26 October 1991: Columbian Necktie (album - Songs About Fucking) Blast First
 * 08 February 1992: L Dopa (album - Songs About Fucking) Blast First


 * 14 March 1992: Il Duce (single) Homestead


 * 24 April 1992: The Power Of Independent Trucking (LP – Songs About Fucking) Blast First

1993
 * 08 November 1992 (BFBS): Crack Up (LP - Gods Favorite Dog) Touch and Go
 * 14 November 1992: Pavement Saw (LP - Pigpile) Touch And Go
 * 27 November 1992: Live In A Hole (12" EP - Lungs) Ruthless
 * 02 January 1993: 'Things To Do Today (CD-It's Toasted)' (Touch And Go)

1996 1997 1999 2000 2001
 * 15 January 1993: 'My Disco' (LP 'It's Toasted' (promo only sampler)) Touch And Go
 * 08 December 1996: ‘L Dopa (LP - Songs About Fucking )’ Blast First
 * 28 December 1996: 'The Power Of Independent Trucking (LP-Songs About Fucking)' (Blast First) (JP: 'I've just realised what's happened. Somebody's done something in the studio, and I've had to set it back to where it was supposed to be before, which is why that was going so slowly, but I do know how to counteract that, and we'll do so immediately. So that was Big Black, playing far too slowly.')
 * 15 February 1997: ‘Kitty Empire (LP – Songs About Fucking)’ Blast First
 * 21 December 1999: 'L Dopa (LP-Songs About Fucking)' (Blast First) Peelenium 1987
 * 08 August 2000: 'Shotgun' (EP 'Racer-X') Homestead
 * 07 August 2001: Steelworker (LP - It's Toasted) Touch and Go