Martin Atkins | |
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 Atkins in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Martin Clive Atkins (1959-08-03)3 August 1959 (age 66) |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer, best known for his work inpost-punk andindustrial groups includingPublic Image Ltd,Ministry,Nine Inch Nails,Pigface, andKilling Joke. He also works as a consultant, has written multiple books on the music industry, and is the music industry studies coordinator atMillikin University in Decatur, IL. Atkins is the owner and operator of the Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music in Chicago, is an honorary board member of the Chicago-based nonprofit organizationRock For Kids, and is a fellow ofIn Place of War.
Atkins was born inCoventry, England.[1]
Atkins' first major exposure as a drummer was withJohn Lydon's post-Sex Pistols band,Public Image Ltd. He joined in 1979, just in time to contribute to the song "Bad Baby" on the albumMetal Box. Atkins' first live show with PiL was recorded and released as a live albumParis au Printemps and his first year with the band included appearances onThe John Peel Sessions for theBBC,American Bandstand and the BBC's liveOld Grey Whistle Test.
In 1980, Atkins left Public Image Ltd to concentrate on his band Brian Brain with Pete Jones (who also played with Public Image Ltd in 1982 and 1983) on bass (in 1983 replaced by originalGo-Go's bassist Margot Olavarria) and Bobby Surgeoner on guitar (later replaced by Olavarria's husband, Geoff Smyth). Named after the Worcestershire and Gloucestershire seam bowlerBrian Brain, the band released six singles and one LP (Unexpected Noises) onSecret Records,[3] and continued to release singles and LPs on Atkins' own Plaid Records throughout the 1980s. The band had a minorindie chart hit in 1980 with "They've Got Me in the Bottle" (#39),[4] and club hits with the singles "Jive Jive" (1981) and "Funky Zoo" (1982).
Atkins was hired in late 1980 by Public Image Ltd to perform onThe Flowers of Romance, drumming on four tracks. In 1982 he re-joined as a full-time band member, co-producing and co-writing the albumThis Is What You Want... This Is What You Get. Atkins left PiL for the last time in 1985.
After leaving Public Image Ltd, Atkins revived his Brian Brain project[5] and recorded an EP at Planet Sound Studios in New York for his own, short-lived labelPlaid Records,[6] which was released in July 1985.[7] Throughout the late 1980s, the 1990s and early 2000s, Atkins performed with many bands, includingNine Inch Nails (appearing in the video for "Head Like a Hole"), as well asMinistry. The dual-drumming of Atkins andBill Rieflin appears on the live Ministry album/videoIn Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up. Atkins later joinedKilling Joke, performing on 1990sExtremities, Dirt, and Other Repressed Emotions. He also managed the band for that time, and designed their live show scenery and some merchandise.
Atkins formed hisindustrialsupergroup,Pigface, during aMinistry tour in 1989–1990. After joiningKilling Joke for their 1990 recording,Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions, he went on to formMurder, Inc., a new band featuringGeordie Walker andPaul Raven from Killing Joke, andChris Connelly, in 1992.[8] During this time, he played with theRevolting Cocks and is credited alongsideChris Vrenna inNine Inch Nails for performing extra drums on "Wish" and "Gave Up," tracks two and six of theBroken EP (as well as the aforementioned "Head Like a Hole").
In between creating albums and touring with Pigface he also formedThe Damage Manual withJah Wobble, Walker, and Connelly. Atkins later produced and released a collaborative album withSkinny Puppy'sNivek Ogre, the latter's first project outside of Skinny Puppy, under the monikerRx. The resulting album was entitledBedside Toxicology.
Between 2000 and 2002 he released four albums as Opium Jukebox featuring instrumental cover tunes done in aBhangra style.[citation needed]
In October 2006, Atkins visited Beijing to discover the emerging Chinese music scene. During his stay, Atkins recorded and signed a handful of Chinese bands toInvisible Records and recorded material for a new Pigface album.
Atkins has taught atColumbia College in Chicago where he instructed the course "The Business of Touring". He is also an active guest lecturer, speaking at such institutions as the University of Southern California, the Midi School in Beijing andLebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania. Atkins has since become an instructor at theMadison Media Institute inMadison, Wisconsin. Atkins has announced plans to take his lecturing further by eventually opening a school of his own.[9] He is also a former department chairman for a music business program he designed atSAE Chicago.[10] He now is the acting Music Business program coordinator atMillikin University in Decatur, IL.
Atkins has held a number of seminars atTech Music Schools (Drumtech, Vocaltech, Guitar-X and Keyboardtech) in London, with more planned for the future.
Atkins has written what he calls "the first real book on touring". The bookTour:Smart, featured contributions fromHenry Rollins,Cynthia Plastercaster,The Enigma, theSuicide Girls,Zim Zum (formerly of Marilyn Manson),Kevin Lyman, Curse Mackey, CPA Lisa Malina and various other managers, journalists, venues, agents, sponsors, and radio personalities.[11][12]
Atkins was on the tenth annual Independent Music Awards judging panel, and was also a judge for the seventh annual season of Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.[13]
Starting in 2015, Atkins has written and performed several podcast stories for The Martin Atkins Minute, included with theNPRAll Songs Considered podcast.[14]
In 2018 Martin releasedBand:Smart, the follow-up to hisTour:Smart book. This book covers record labels, book agents, crafting a stage show, band names, social media and lots more.[15]
In 2020, Martin joined the band Nadjia for a re-recording of their 90s music on the album '7 Ends 13'. A sample of Martin had actually been used in the original recording, but Martin stepped in this time to do it himself.[16]
In 2021, Martin opened Chicago's "Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music" documenting the history of the two movements with over 3000 items and ephemera. Displays include handwritten lyrics by Trent Reznor for Pigface,[17] Martin's drum set,[18] vintage rarities fromSkinny Puppy, and a myriad of other rare items from the history of Industrial music.
In 2022, Martin was also inducted byBrian Eno as a fellow of In Place of War, a global organization that uses creativity in places of conflict as a tool for positive change.[citation needed]
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Main article:Pigface discography
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Somehow keeping it together is Martin Atkins, a British expatriate and avant-rock veteran with stints in esteemed bands such as Public Image Ltd. and Killing Joke.
Back in New York, former Public Image Ltd. drummer/writer/producer Martin Atkins has gone solo with a new label called Plaid Records. The first project there is an EP by Brian Brain, which features Margot Olavarria, formerly of the Go-Go's.
Four-song EP by New York based outfit employing heavy drum sound and chant vocal arrangements. Title track is an anti-drug tune that manages to avoid becoming bogged down under the weight of its message.
Further reading:
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
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