‘The difference between Ministry and other bands is that we sold out before we even started.’ Alain Jourgensen (b. 7 October 1958, Havana, Cuba) began producing music under the Ministry name in the early 80s in Chicago, but was unhappy with the Euro-pop direction in which his record company (Arista Records) pushed him for 1983’s With Sympathy, later describing it as ‘that first abortion of an album’. Ministry took on a more acceptable shape for Jourgensen after signing to Sire Records and releasing 1986’s ‘Twitch’, with the addition to Jourgensen’s guitar, vocals and keyboards of Paul Barker (b. 8 February 1958, Palo Alto, California, USA) on bass and keyboards, and drummer Bill Rieflin. The band evolved their own brand of guitar-based industrial metal, considering 1988’s The Land Of Rape And Honey to be their true debut, and employed a variety of guest musicians for both live and studio work, with regular contributions from ex-Rigor Mortis guitarist Mike Scaccia and ex-Finitribe vocalist Chris Connelly.
Despite Jourgensen’s dislike of touring, Ministry developed a stunning live show, with a backdrop of disturbing visual images to accompany the intense musical barrage, and the sinister figure of Jourgensen taking centre stage behind a bone-encrusted microphone stand. In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Showing Up (Live) displayed the metamorphosis of the songs as the band extended themselves in concert. At this stage, Jourgensen and Barker were working on numerous other studio projects in a variety of styles, including Lard with Jello Biafra, but Ministry remained one of two main acts. The other, the outrageous Revolting Cocks, served as a more blatantly humorous outlet for the pair’s creative talents, in contrast to the dark anger and socio-political themes of Ministry. As alternative culture became more acceptable to the mainstream, Ministry achieved major success with 1992’s Psalm 69 (subtitled The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs), helped by the popularity on MTV of ‘Jesus Built My Hotrod’, featuring a guest vocal and lyric from Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes. The band was a huge draw on the 1992 Lollapalooza tour, playing second on the bill, and their debut European tour later that year was also a resounding success.
In 1994, Rieflin was replaced by former Didjits drummer Rey Washam. Jourgensen was arrested on a drugs charge in August 1995. The following year’s Filth Pig contained, in true Ministry fashion, a distorted and raucous cover version of Bob Dylan’s beautiful love song, ‘Lay Lady Lay’. Retreating from the public eye for another lengthy lay-off, Jourgensen and Barker returned in 1999 with Dark Side Of The Spoon, which struggled to reassert Ministry’s credentials as leading industrial noise terrorists (the title was a wry nod to the various addictions which had sidelined the band). The album proved to be Ministry’s last for a major label. They made their debut for Sanctuary Records with the 1996 tour document Sphinctour. The studio albums Animositisomina (2003) and the George W. Bush-baiting Houses Of The Molé (2004) saw Jourgensen and Barker clawing back some critical respect after the wildnerness years of the late 90s.
