William S. Burroughs

b. William Seward Burroughs II, 5 February 1914, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, d. 2 August 1997. Novelist Burroughs initially drew acclaim as a "member" of the 50s Beat movement, alongside friends and peers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. His acclaimed publications, notably The Naked Lunch, The Soft Machine and The Ticket That Exploded, exhibited the "cut-up" technique first espoused by fellow-writer Bryon Gysin, in which passages and texts were cut and reassembled to create unconscious writing. The pair subsequently brought the same method to recording during their stay at the "Beat Hotel' in Paris. Burroughs' experimental nature and his espousal of drug use made him an attractive figure of the 60s" counter-culture. His phrase "heavy metal' became the term for a musical genre, while several acts - notably the Soft Machine and Steely Dan - took their names from his works. His first album, Call Me Burroughs, was comprised of readings from The Naked Lunch and Nova Express. It was initially issued in France prior to appearing on the US avant garde label, ESP. Ali's Smile, a one-side 12-inch released via Brighton's Unicorn Bookshop, was Burrough's only other 60s release, although it can be heard on the film soundtrack Chappaqua, and his distinctive voice was sampled in 1971 for Dashiell Hedayat's Obselete. In 1982 Throbbing Gristle's Genesis P. Orridge issued Nothing Here But The Recordings, a fascinating cross-section of 50s and 60s archive recordings. Ten Years later Sub-Rosa issued a similarly structured set, Break Through In The Grey Room. The avant garde maintained its links with Burroughs during the 80s; he surfaced on several releases by poet John Giorno, notably You're The Guy I Want To Share My Money With (1981) and Like A Girl I Want To Keep Coming (1989) and he enjoyed a cameo appearance on Laurie Anderson's Mr. Heartbreak (1984). Dead City Radio, Burroughs' first full-length album in over two decades, paired the writer with producer Hal Willner. John Cale, Donald Fagen and Sonic Youth were among the cast assembled on what was arguably his most accessible release. Spare Ass Annie And Other Tales, a collaboration with the Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, was much less satisfying, compromising the contributors" individual strengths. Despite advancing years, Burroughs contributed to Tom Waits' The Black Rider and appeared on singles by Gus Van Sant ("The Elvis Of Letters") and Ministry ("Just One Fix"). In 1993 he recorded a version of "The 'Priest' They Called Him" with Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. When he died in 1997 his passing was mourned with the Internet message: "William Burroughs has finally figured out how to leave the flesh behind and assimilate with it all".