| John Balance | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Geoffrey Laurence Burton |
| Alias: | John Balance, Jhonn Balance, Jhon Balance |
| Birth Date: | 16 February 1962 |
| Birth Place: | Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Death Place: | Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England |
| Occupation: | Musician poet |
| Years Active: | 1979–2004 |
| Label: | Chalice Threshold House Eskaton |
| Associated Acts: | Coil Psychic TV |
Geoffrey Nigel Laurence Rushton[1] (16 February 1962 – 13 November 2004), better known under the pseudonyms John Balance or the later variation Jhonn Balance, was an English[2] musician, occultist, artist and poet.
He was best known as a co-founder of the experimental music group Coil, in collaboration with his partner Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson.[3] [4] Coil was active from 1982 to Balance's death in 2004. He was responsible for the majority of Coil's vocals, lyrics and chants, along with synthesizers and various other instruments both commonplace and esoteric.
Outside Coil he collaborated with Cultural Amnesia (at the beginning of the 1980s), Nurse with Wound, Death in June, Psychic TV, Current 93, Chris & Cosey,[5] Thighpaulsandra, and produced several Nine Inch Nails remixes.[6]
Balance was born Geoffrey Laurence Burton.[7] He took the surname 'Rushton' from his stepfather.[8] During his teens, Balance became acquainted with Christopherson as a fan of the latter's group Throbbing Gristle. The duo were both members of Psychic TV, Christopherson's next project after Throbbing Gristle. They eventually quit Psychic TV to form Coil.
Balance was extremely active as a youth and in his early twenties. Apart from his early musical releases and involvement in bands before Coil, he published seven issues of a fanzine, Stabmental,[9] and was a tireless correspondent with members of the alternative musical and cultural scene in the UK and also abroad. He also released three compilation albums of music by bands and artists about which he was enthusiastic: Endzeit, Bethel and The Men with the Deadly Dreams. The compilations are today collector's items and fetch high prices. Also from his youth, Balance was an avid occultist, maintaining a lifelong interest in the likes of Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare.
On 13 November 2004, during a period of heavy drinking, Balance fell from a two-storey balcony at his home and died that evening in the hospital.[10] Peter Christopherson announced Balance's death on the Threshold House website, and provided details surrounding the accident. Balance's memorial service was held near Bristol on 23 November, and was attended by approximately 100 people.[11] November 2014 saw the publication of a retrospective volume of his art called "Bright Lights and Cats with no Mouths" by Edition Timeless.[12]
Balance first recorded using the alias "Murderwerkers". The Murderwerkers track, "Blue Funk (Scars for E)", was included on the Sterile Records cassette compilation Standard Response. Balance also published an underground zine, Stabmental,[13] and released a track, "A Thin Veil of Blood", also using the nom de guerre Stabmental.[14] "A Thin Veil of Blood" was included on the cassette compilation Deleted Funtime – Various Tunes for Various Loons. Balance then joined up with Peter Christopherson and Boyd Rice to record Nightmare Culture under the moniker "The Sickness of Snakes". Balance subsequently joined Psychic TV and performed alongside Christopherson; however in 1984, Balance and Christopherson left the group to develop Coil.[15] A short collaboration with Zos Kia produced the split tape Transparent.[16] Credit for the album was shared, and marked Coil's first release. The original Coil / Zos Kia tape, Transparent, was released as a "His-Storical" CD reissue in 1997.[17]
During Coil's 23-year career, Balance collaborated with a number of his peers, including Jim Thirlwell/Clint Ruin (Foetus), Marc Almond, Thighpaulsandra, NON, Current 93, and CoH; appearing on many of these artists' albums.
See main article: Coil discography.
"The Snow Man" on compilations The Final Solstice, The Final Solstice II and split album Grief. (1999)
| Date of first pressing | Song title | Released on | Group name released under | Musical Role | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Men with the Deadly Dreams | (various) | conceived, commissioned and edited compilation, released as a number of Stabmental fanzine | ||
| 1981 | "Words from a Radio" | The Men with the Deadly Dreams | A House | tapes, effects | |
| 1981 | "Yellowsong" | Video Rideo | Cultural Amnesia | organ and violin | |
| 1982 | Endzeit | (various) | conceived, commissioned and edited compilation | ||
| 1983 | Bethel | (various) | conceived, commissioned and edited compilation | ||
| 1983 | "Here to Go" | Sinclair's Luck | Cultural Amnesia | wrote lyrics, also designed packaging (with assistance of Peter Christopherson) and wrote sleeve notes for album | |
| 1983 | "Scar for E" | The Uncle of the Boot | Cultural Amnesia | wrote lyrics | |
| 1983 | Music for Hashashins | Vagina Dentata Organ | created wolf growl sample (along with Peter Christopherson) and helped in the recording process of the album | ||
| 1984 January | LAShTAL | Current 93 | featuring | ||
| 1985 | Bar Maldoror | Current 93 | bass guitar, miscellaneous | ||
| 1985 | Live at Bar Maldoror: Gyllensköld, Geijerstam And Friends | Nurse with Wound | featuring | ||
| 1985 | The Sylvie and Babs Hi-Fi Companion | Nurse with Wound | featuring | ||
| 1986 | Happy Birthday Pigface Christus | Current 93 | featuring | ||
| 1986 | In Menstrual Night | Current 93 | featuring | ||
| 1987 | "Europa: The Gates of Heaven" | To Drown a Rose | Death in June | vocals | |
| 1987 | "We Are The Lust" | Brown Book | Death in June | co-wrote and appears on track | |
| 1987 | Dawn | Current 93 | bass guitar, miscellaneous | ||
| 1987 | Imperium | Current 93 | |||
| 1988 | Earth Covers Earth | Current 93 | performer | ||
| 1988 | "Anti-Christ Anti-Christian" | Peyrere | Current 93 | performer | |
| 1988 | Swastikas for Noddy | Current 93 | featuring | ||
| 1988 | The Red Face of God | Current 93 | featuring | ||
| 1989 | Crooked Crosses for the Nodding God | Current 93 | vocals | ||
| 1991 | A Document of Early Acoustic & Tactical Experimentation | Lustmord | featuring | ||
| 1992 | "LAShTAL", "Salt" | Nature Unveiled | Current 93 | performer | |
| 1992 | "All the Stars Are Dead Now", "Rosy Star Tears from Heaven" | Thunder Perfect Mind | Current 93 | vocals | |
| 1993 | The Nodding Folk | The Apocalyptic Folk In The Nodding God Unveiled | |||
| 1993 | "Great Black Time I (Excerpt)", "Sucking Up Souls (Excerpt)", "Great Black Time II (Excerpt)", "Great Black Time III (Excerpt)", "Maldoror Is Ded Ded Ded Ded" | Current 93 | featuring | ||
| 1993 | "Hitler As Kalki (SDM)", "Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow" | Hitler As Kalki | Current 93 | featuring | |
| 1994 | "Lucifer Over London Parts I & II" | Lucifer Over London | Current 93 | vocals | |
| 1995 | "Where the Long Shadows Fall (Beforetheinmostlight)" | Where the Long Shadows Fall (Beforetheinmostlight) | Current 93 | vocals | |
| 1996 | "The Long Shadow Falls", "Twilight Twilight Nihil Nihil", "The Inmost Light Itself" | All the Pretty Little Horses | Current 93 | vocals | |
| 1998 | "To Drown a Rose" | Kameradschaft | Death in June | provides vocals, this is an outtake version of the song | |
| 1999 | "Grief" | Borderlands | Tactile | provides vocals | |
| 1999 | "The Snow Man" | The Final Solstice | Rosa Mundi | provides vocals | |
| 1999 | "Lucifer Over London" | Calling for Vanished Faces | Current 93 | vocals | |
| 1999 | "Misery Farm" | Misery Farm | Current 93 | featuring | |
| 2000 | "Silence Is Golden" | Vox Tinnitus | CoH | wrote lyrics | |
| 2000 March 1 | "Black Nurse", "Tudor Fruits" | Some Head EP | Thighpaulsandra | vocals | |
| 2001 | "Love's Septic Domain (Health & Deficiency)" | Love Uncut | CoH | provides vocals, duet with Louise Weasel | |
| 2001 | Cats Drunk On Copper | Current 93 | featuring | ||
| 2001 August 6 | Fouled | The Michel Publicity Window E.P. | Thighpaulsandra | "vocals and text", album art | |
| 2001 | Optical Black | I, Thighpaulsandra | Thighpaulsandra | "vocals and text" | |
| 2003 June 23 | "He Tastes of the Sea" | Double Vulgar | Thighpaulsandra | featuring | |
| 2004 | "Lucifer Over London" | Sixsixsix Sicksicksick | Current 93 | vocals | |
| 2004 | "E2 = Tree 3" | Toilet Chants | Black Sun Productions | provides vocals | |
| 2005 | "Fj Nettlefold", "Make Room for the Mushrooms" | A Nature of Nonsense | Aural Rage | vocals, written by | |
| 2005 | "A List of Wishes" | operettAmorale | Black Sun Productions | vocals | |
| 2005 December 23 | "Christ's Teeth" | ...It Just Is | Thighpaulsandra | vocals | |
| 2006 February | "Star Malloy" | Not Alone | Thighpaulsandra | ARP 2600 synthesizer | |
| 2006 July 1 | "A Tree Now" | The Impossibility of Silence | Black Sun Productions | provides vocals (howling) | |
| 2007 July | "Fetish for Today", "Scars for E", "Here to Go" | Enormous Savages | Cultural Amnesia | wrote lyrics | |
| 2007 November | "Hot in the House", "Scars for E (alternate take 2)", "Spoilt Children" | Press My Hungry Button | Cultural Amnesia | wrote lyrics, album cover features sleeve notes by Balance dating from 1983 | |
| 2007 November | "Scars for E (alternate take 1)" | Still Hungry | Cultural Amnesia | wrote lyrics | |
| 2009 May | "Fetish for Today", "Scars for E", "Here to Go" | Enormous Savages Enlarged | Cultural Amnesia | wrote lyrics | |
| 2016 June | "Hot in the House" | Ring The Hungry Bell | Cultural Amnesia | wrote lyrics, official video for "Hot in the House" features mailart and other images by Balance |