(sumarized from Mute Liberation Technologies website):
First discovered in 1991 busking on Portobello Road by
Barry Adamson. He invited the 20 year old
Jocelyn West,
Kelly McCuster and
Katharine Blake to contribute vocals on
Il Solitario from his
Delusion soundtrack. Daniel Miller, in his turn, was equally impressed by these three graduates of the Purcell music school, and asked them to record for his label,
Mute.
Their first single,
Gush Forth My Tears was released in March 1991. They then decamped to Henry Wood Hall in Southwark with classical producer
Tony Faulkner to record their debut album of madrigals
Madra. It took them only two days and was released in May. The trio performed their songs to a hostile audience of Blur fans at London's Astoria in April 1991. Refusing to flinch despite catcalls of "Get yer tits out" won them the respect of audience and press alike.
Following the vocals-only simplicity of
Madra, MSG expanded their sound to incorporate violins, and then took on
Ben Golomstock and
Trevor Sharpe to bring organ, bass and drums into the equation. In 1992,
Jocelyn West was replaced by
Donna McKevitt, and in May that year, the mini-album
Iris was released. The band went on to play more startling live shows with the likes of Curve, Nick Cave and The Balanescu Quartet.
By the time
Play was released in January 1993 they had all but renounced their original sound. After touring with Levitation and Spiritualized, the band began working, in collaboration with
Simon Fisher Turner and various other artists, on the soundtrack for Derek Jarman's
Blue.
More line-up changes were to come at the turn of '93/'94, when Donna left to be replaced by singer and keyboards player
Hepzibah Sessa.
Following their work on
Blue, MSG began making a name for themselves at various multi-media events; playing as their alter egos Waltzing Maggots at London's fetish emporium The Torture Garden, and hosting The Lunatic Fringe nights at Holborn's Leisure Lounge. The next LP reflected more of their interest in fetishism.
Fairytales Of Slavery, produced by Einstürzende Neubauten's
Alexander Hacke, was preceded by the single
Peepshow, launched with a performance by the band in the window of Tower Records, Piccadilly Circus. The Lunatic Fringe was expanded to nights at the Waikiki Lounge, performing with artists such as
Minty, transvestite rocker
Sexton Ming and body artist Alex Binnie. This genre-bending fusion of artistry was welcomed by all kinds of voyeurs, trendsetters and genuine bizzarros.
Hepzibah lives with
Alan Wilder (ex-Depeche Mode) and their child, and plays Violin for his project
Recoil.