Marilyn Manson is an American rock band formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Known for their controversial look and lyrics and for promoting nonconformism. Each of the band’s albums to date has had a different and individual sound, making them difficult to classify, and the band and its leader have tried to come up with a unique and sophisticated image for each successive era. The musical group was formed in 1989 as Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids. The unique performances led to the creation of a local cult following that later grew worldwide. The band’s program almost always changes between album releases.
Marilyn Manson’s reputation grew along with the band, which is considered one of the most notorious and controversial among modern bands; which is largely due to Brian Warner and his frequent melee with religion and political figures. The nickname of each band member was created by combining the first name of a famous woman considered to be a sex symbol and the name of a known serial killer, doing so to represent the strange dichotomy of society (especially American society). In recent years, the new members of the band have departed from this rule and stayed with their own names. The group wears bizarre costumes and makeup, and deliberately portrays shocking behavior both on and off stage. Marilyn Manson’s lyrics often receive criticism for their anti-religious predilections and attitudes toward sex, violence, and drugs. The band’s music and speeches are often called offensive and obscene. On several occasions, the band has even faced protests and petitions for them to stop performing.
These controversies have contributed to the group’s growing popularity. Many die-hard fans have made Marilyn Manson a top band: three albums have achieved platinum status and three others gold. Four albums debuted in the top ten, including two at number one. In June 2003, Jon Wiederhorn of MTV.com described Marilyn Manson as “the only true artist today.”[4] VH1 ranked Marilyn Manson as the 78th best rock band on its 100 Best Hard Rock Artists list[5].
The Spooky Kids and the Early Years (1989-1992)
In 1989, Brian Hugh Warner studied journalism and gained experience by writing music articles for the South Florida “magazine”, 25th Parallel. This gave him the opportunity to meet musicians to whom his band could later be compared, including My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Soon after, Warner met Scott Putesky and, after showing him some of his own lyrics, suggested they start a band together. Brian Warner, guitarist Putesky and bassist Brian Tutunick recorded their first demo as Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids in 1990, taking on artistic pseudonyms, Marilyn Manson, Daisy Berkowitz and Olivia Newton Bundy, respectively. They were soon joined by Stephen Bier, who called himself Madonna Wayne Gacy, and Bundy was replaced by Brad Stewart’s Gidget Gein. In 1991, drummer Fred Streithorst joined the group with the artistic pseudonym Sara Lee Lucas.
Each band member’s artistic pseudonyms represented an idea whose main premise was: the dichotomy of good and evil coming together to form a whole. “Marilyn Monroe had a dark side,” Manson explains in his autobiography, “Just as Charles Manson has a good, intelligent side.”[6] The images of Monroe and Manson, as well as others equally famous and widely known, were a common element in the band’s early promotional materials.
Popularity around The Spooky Kids grew rapidly, largely due to radio DJ Scott Davis of WYNX-FM, an early fan who was eager to play songs from the band’s demo; as well as because of the highly spectacular concerts that were known for their shocking performances. It was not unusual to see “a naked woman nailed to a cross, a baby in a cage, or bleeding animal body parts”[7] at such a concert; Manson, Berkowitz, and Gein in women’s clothing or bizarre costumes; and professional pyrotechnics (e.g., occasionally the stage would go up in flames). The group dramatically juxtaposed these grotesque performances with cultural elements drawn from its members’ youth (1970s and 1980s): characters from children’s cartoons of those years often appeared, with altered images, on posters and in Marilyn Manson newsletters, and were also sampled. The band continued making and releasing tapes – shortening their name to Marilyn Manson in 1992 – until the summer of 1993, when they came to the attention of Trent Reznor, who had just started his own record label called Nothing Records.