The group was founded by Richard 23 and Luc Van Acker with Al Jourgensen as their producer. According to Jourgensen, the band got their name after a fight in a Chicago bar in 1983. Jourgensen, Richard 23 and Luc Van Acker celebrated the formation of the new band with a few drinks. The evening then ended up in a brawl, with bar stools being thrown through the establishment's windows. As he was throwing the trio out, the owner, a man Jourgensen recalls was named Dess, shouted, "I'm calling the police! You guys are a bunch of revolting cocks!" The trio subsequently decided to use the name for their band.
Their first release was No Devotion on Wax Trax! Records in 1985. The single was quickly followed by an album, Big Sexy Land (1986), featuring a mix of industrial, hard rock, and EBM with dominating sampling and strong synthesized beats.
Losing Richard 23 due to creative differences, the group's remaining two members were augmented by a rapidly changing set of musicians centered on Chris Connelly (Cocksure, Bells Into Machines, Murder Inc., and Damage Manual), Paul Barker (Ministry, Lead Into Gold, Flowering Blight, and Bells Into Machines), and Bill Rieflin (Ministry, Pigface, R.E.M., and King Crimson), with around twenty others as irregular contributors or guest artists.
The following live album, You Goddamned Son of a Bitch (1988), featured a return to Ministry-like industrial rock - the Big Sexy Land tracks embedded in shouting and noise. This trend continued on Beers, Steers, and Queers (1990), layering sample over sample and pushing ever further into distortion. Linger Ficken' Good (1993) was released by Sire Records and was a tamer affair, most tracks returning to the less layered material. Included was a cover of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?," also released as a single. A tour was planned but cancelled, and the band quietly came to an end in 1994.
In 2004, Jourgensen and Phildo Owens (Skatenigs, Snow Black) revived the group. They released an album entitled Cocked and Loaded (2006). Caliente (Dark Entries), a cover of sorts of Dark Entries by Bauhaus, with vocalist Gibby Haynes (Butthole Surfers), was featured on the soundtrack to Saw II in 2005.
After assembling a touring line up to open for Ministry on the MasterBaTour of 2006, Jourgensen chose vocalist Josh Bradford (Stayte, Simple Shelter, V.H.S.), keyboardist Clayton Worbeck (Stayte, Simple Shelter), and guitarist Sin Quirin (Society 1, Ministry and ReVamp) as the new full-time members for the Revolting Cocks, now simply being called RevCo. The group recorded Sex-O Olympic-O and officially released the album on March 3, 2009. It was followed up by the last RevCo album Got Cock?, released on April 13, 2010.
In celebration of Wax Trax! Records, the "Wax Trax! Records Retrospectacle: 33 1/3 Year Anniversary" was held from April 15-17, 2011 at the Metro in Chicago, Illinois, United States. As a part of the lineup, Chris Connelly, Paul Barker and Luc Van Acker performed Revolting Cocks songs with various guests. For their performance on the 17th, Richard 23 joined them on stage to sing lead vocals on No Devotion.
In 2014, Chris Connelly and Jason Novak (Acumen Nation, DJ? Acucrack, Iron Lung Corp) formed Cocksure, a project that bridges the gap between Wax Trax! era industrial dance music and the future sounds of mass corruption. The project is very influenced by the early RevCo sound, and has been described as "where the Revolting Cocks left off in 1994."
Previous Members:
Al Jourgensen - production, programming, and various instruments (1985–1993, 2004–2010)
Luc Van Acker - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards (1985–1991, 2006)
Richard 23 - vocals, programming (1985–1986)
Bill Rieflin - drums, keyboards, programming (1986–1993)
Paul Barker - bass, keyboards, programming (1987–1993)
Chris Connelly - vocals, programming (1987–1993)
Phildo Owen - vocals, programming (1989–1991, 2004–2006)
Duane Buford - keyboards (1993)
Josh Bradford - vocals (2006–2010)
Sin Quirin - guitars, bass, keyboards (2006–2010)
Clayton Worbeck - keyboards, bass (2006–2010)
Live Lineups:
--------- 1987 ---------
Al Jourgensen - keyboards, vocals, guitar
Paul Barker - bass, keyboards
Luc Van Acker - guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards
Chris Connelly - vocals, keyboards
Bill Rieflin - drums
--------- 1988 ---------
Al Jourgensen - keyboards, vocals, guitar
Paul Barker - bass, keyboards
Luc Van Acker - guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards
Chris Connelly - vocals, keyboards
Bill Rieflin - drums
Nivek Ogre - vocals
--------- 1990 ---------
Al Jourgensen - guitar, backing vocals
Paul Barker - bass
Chris Connelly - vocals
Phildo Owen - vocals
Jeff Ward - drums
Mark Durante - guitar, backing vocals
Michael Balch - keyboards
Kevin "Doc" Sullivan - keyboards, backing vocals
Trent Reznor - vocals
--------- 1991 ---------
Al Jourgensen - guitar, backing vocals
Paul Barker - bass
Chris Connelly - vocals
Phildo Owen - vocals
Bill Rieflin - drums
Mark Durante - guitar, backing vocals
Michael Balch - keyboards
Luc Van Acker - vocals
--------- 2006 (Ministry's MasterBaTour) ---------
Al Jourgensen - guitar, backing vocals
Phildo Owen - vocals
Luc Van Acker - vocals
Josh Bradford - vocals
Sin Quirin - guitar
Clayton Worbeck - keyboards
Anna K - bass
Seven Antonopoulos - drums
--------- 2009 (Ministry's LubricaTour) ---------
Josh Bradford - vocals
Sin Quirin - guitar
Clayton Worbeck - keyboards, guitar
Murv Douglas - bass
Aaron Rossi - drums
Mike Scaccia - guitar (selected dates)
Al Jourgensen - guitar, backing vocals
--------- 2011 (Wax Trax! Retrospectacle - April 15-17) ---------
Luc Van Acker - vocals
Paul Barker - bass
Chris Connelly - vocals, keyboards
Duane Buford - keyboards
Jamie Duffy - guitar
Dan Brill - drums
Richard 23 - vocals
Discography:
1985 - No Devotion (single)
1986 - Big Sexy Land (LP)
1986 - You Often Forget (single)
1988 - You Goddamned Son of a Bitch (live)
1989 - Stainless Steel Providers (single)
1989 - (Let’s Get) Physical (single)
1990 - Beers, Steers, and Queers (LP)
1991 - Beers, Steers, and Queers (The Remixes) (single)
1993 - Linger Ficken' Good (LP)
1993 - Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? (single)
1994 - Crackin’ Up (single)
2006 - Cocked and Loaded (LP)
2007 - Cocktail Mixxx (remix)
2009 - Sex-O Olympic-O (LP)
2009 - Sex-O Mixxx-O (remix)
2010 - Got Cock? (LP)
2011 - Got Mixxx (remix)
Red Parrot
Revolting Cocks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
RevCo! Tet's go! Revco! To our second home
RevCo! Tet's go! Revco! To our second home
You know the place not far from here
You know the place we're going
You know the place in old El Paso
You know the place it's got my lady
She's got style when she shakes her ass
Waking up in West Tex-y
God these girls are fucking sexy
Drinkin' at the Red Parrot
Can hardly bare it
I know the place it's bright and shining
I know the face so misleading
She knows the pace to swing her body
She knows the pace that I come running
She's got style when she shakes her ass
She's got class
Waking up in West Tex-y
God these girls are fucking sexy
Drinkin' at the Red Parrot
Can hardly bare it
RevCo! Tet's go! Revco! To our second home
RevCo! Tet's go! Revco! To our second home Oh shit I'm going to die in this town aren't I?
Come on, Come on, Come on
She's got style
She's got style when she shakes her ass
She's got class
Waking up in West Tex-y
God these girls are fucking sexy
Drinkin' at the Red Parrot
Can hardly bare it
Waking up in West Tex-y
God these girls of fucking sexy
Al took their gator one day
Luc and Joey drunk on Sunday
RevCo! Tet's go! Revco! To our second home
RevCo! Tet's go! Revco! To our second home
RevCo! Tet's go! Revco! To our second home
The lyrics to Revolting Cocks’s song Red Parrot seem to be about a group of individuals who are reminiscing their time spent at a strip club called Red Parrot. It seems that the Red Parrot is a place where they feel at home, hence the refrain “RevCo! To our second home!”. The singer is enamored with one particular dancer, who he describes as having “style when she shakes her ass” and “class”. It also seems that this location is somewhere in El Paso, Texas, as they reference West Texas and old El Paso throughout the song.
The chorus, “waking up in West Tex-y, God these girls are fucking sexy, drinking at the Red Parrot, can hardly bare it” suggests that this is a place where they let loose and forget about their troubles. They also mention individuals named Al, Luc, and Joey who they likely met at the Red Parrot. The song is very lively and has a party atmosphere to it that reflects the carefree feeling of being at the strip club.
Line by Line Meaning
I didn't need these clothes anyway
The singer does not care about their clothes and is ready to go out.
RevCo! Tet's go! Revco! To our second home
The singer is urging the group to go to their usual spot, the RevCo club.
You know the place not far from here
The group assumes that everyone knows where the RevCo club is located.
You know the place we're going
The group is confirming to each other that they are indeed going to the RevCo club.
You know the place in old El Paso
The RevCo club is located in old El Paso, a known area to the group.
You know the place it's got my lady
The singer's significant other is also at the RevCo club.
She's got style when she shakes her ass
The singer's significant other has an attractive way of dancing.
She's got class
The artist's significant other has an air of sophistication and refinement.
Waking up in West Tex-y
The group has woken up in West Texas, where the RevCo club is.
God these girls are fucking sexy
The group finds the women in West Texas attractive.
Drinkin' at the Red Parrot
The group is currently at the Red Parrot, another club in West Texas.
Can hardly bare it
The group is having a hard time containing their excitement or arousal due to the attractive women at the Red Parrot.
I know the place it's bright and shining
The RevCo club is known for its colorful and vibrant atmosphere.
I know the face so misleading
The appearance of the club, though attractive, can be deceiving.
She knows the pace to swing her body
The singer's significant other knows how to dance to the music at the RevCo club.
She knows the pace that I come running
The artist is easily drawn to the dance moves of their significant other.
Come on, Come on, Come on
The artist is urging their companions to quickly join them in dancing.
Al took their gator one day
Al, a member of the group, had once taken a vehicle owned by the group.
Luc and Joey drunk on Sunday
Luc and Joey, other members of the group, were once drunk on a Sunday.
Contributed by Gabriel M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.