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James Chance




While he was professionally and romantically linked with No Wave musical luminary Lydia Lunch the duo created seminal No Wave group Teenage Jesus & The Jerks; then after Chance quit the group in 1978 due to professional differences, the pair collaborated on the album 'Off White' (released by 'James White and the Blacks' with 'Stella Rico').

Chance's stage and musical persona were finalized by romantic partner and agent Anya Philips , whose death from cancer in 1981 coincided with Chance's withdrawal from public visibility for over a decade, before reappearing in the mid- 1990s .

Chance (and his followers) differed from some of his No Wave compatriots by possessing and demanding from his band a certain level of musical aptitude and talent. His music is frequently described as combining the freeform playing of '', wrote
And although "affection" is possibly an odd word to use in reference to a bunch of nihilists, I do feel fond of the No Wave people. James Chance's music actually stands up really well, I think. (Listen to James Chance & the Contortions, "Contort Yourself," 1979.)


Chance was noted for engaging in physical confrontations, from pushing contests to fisticuffs, with his audience, including rock critic Robert Christgau {Link without Title} . This practice is reported to have somewhat diminished after a series of lawsuits and physical injuries.


DISCOGRAPHY

  • No New York (compilation Antilles 1978)

  • Buy the Contortions (ZE-Arista 1979)

  • Theme from Grutzi Elvis (EP ZE 1979)

  • Off White (ZE-Buddah 1979)

  • Second Chance (ZE-PVC 1980)

  • Live aux Bains Douches (Fr. Invisible 1980)

  • Live in New York ( Cassette Tape ROIR 1981)

  • Sax Maniac (Animal 1982)

  • The Flaming Demonics (ZE-Island 1983)

  • Soul Exorcism (tape ROIR 1991)

  • Lost Chance (ROIR 1995)

  • White Cannibal (ROIR 2000)

  • Christmas with Satan (single Tiger Style 2002)

  • Irresistible Impulse (retrospective Tiger Style 2003)

  • Sax Education (2004)



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