Genesis P-Orridge Looking For The OTO

Mission of Dead Souls documents Throbbing Gristle‘s last live performance before splinting into Coil, Psychic TV, and Chris & Cosey. The album was originally released as part of the Fetish box set, consisting of four old albums and this album that was exclusive to the box, but when Mute Records picked up the Throbbing Gristle catalogue, this was put out as a separate release.

The concert took place at the Kezar Pavillion, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California on May 29, 1981. One of the songs performed was “Looking For the OTO,” (http://www.last.fm/music/Throbbing+Gristle/_/Looking+for+the+OTO) sung by vocalist Genesis P-Orridge. Not finding it at the time, P-Orridge went on to help found Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth, a fellowship “dedicated to the manifestation of magical concepts lacking mysticism or the worship of gods.”

In 1986-87 e.v., OTO’s OHO Hymenaeus Beta noted a reference to this song in tthe RE/Search “Industrial Culture” issue and sent a copy of the newly printed Equinox III(10) signed to Genesis with the note “I heard that you were looking for us.” Genesis then struck up a friendship with Hymenaeus Beta that led to Temple Press publishing Aleister Crowley’s “The Stratagem and Other Stories” (1990) and then musical collaborations.