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)
You Often Forget
Revolting Cocks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The first is for friendship
The second is to politic
The third one, quite differnt
On the last hour, they've been stopped
So hard to disappear
No sign of life for many days
Of a strong way reappear
I can not refrain
(To believe that the day will come)
We'll see them again
They didn't smile on your scream
Headlights color red
For one single day
Their goodbyes for longer
Situation is changed, though
Body and soul engaged forever
Oh based on minds will be it
Somewhere where you can hear hills?
I can not refrain
We'll see the day
(To believe that the day will come)
I can not refrain
(To believe that the day will come)
Will see them again
The first have friends
The third world fighters
Body and soul engaged forever
It seems you often forget
(You often forget)
No more contacts
No more words
But their mind clear will stay
Even behind the walls
The human rage reflection
The human rage reflection
I can not refrain
(To believe that the day will come)
We'll see them again
The day will come
Their doors' always closed
And even open
Some people got one dozen ways
To prevent my feelings from running away
Some people got one dozen ways
To prevent my feelings from running away
I can not refrain
Will see them again
Running away
I can not refrain
We'll see them again
(To believe the day will come)
Running away
The first is for friendship
The second is to politic
The third one, quite differnt
On the last hour, they've been stopped
So hard to disappear
Usual goodbye
No sign of life for many days
Of a strong way reappear
I can not refrain
(To believe that the day will come)
We'll see them again
They didn't smile on your scream
?
For one single day
Their goodbyes for longer?
You often forget
The song "You Often Forget" by Revolting Cocks seems to be about missing someone who has gone away, and the different reasons why people may leave. The first verse seems to indicate that the first reason people may leave is for friendship, while the second reason is to pursue political goals. The third reason is more ambiguous, described only as "quite different." The chorus ("I can not refrain, to believe that the day will come, we'll see them again") suggests a hopeful longing for a reunion with those who have left.
The second verse describes the difficulty of disappearing, with "usual goodbyes" and "no sign of life for many days." This echoes the longing in the chorus for a reunion with the missing people. The bridge seems to suggest that the missing people were fighters of some kind, with "body and soul engaged forever." The line "somewhere where you can hear hills" is more difficult to interpret, but could suggest a desire for a place that is tranquil and natural, away from the conflict that may have caused the people to leave.
The third verse is more about the singer's own feelings, with the lines "no more contacts, no more words, but their mind clear will stay." This suggests that even though contact has been lost, memories of the missing people will persist. The line "even behind the walls, the human rage reflection, the human rage reflection" could be interpreted in a few different ways - perhaps it means that even in times of peace, there is still a lingering anger that drives people apart.
Overall, the song seems to be about the pain of missing people who have left under difficult circumstances, but also expresses a hope for reuniting with them someday. The ambiguous third reason for leaving adds to the sense of mystery and longing in the song.
Line by Line Meaning
The first is for friendship
The first thing mentioned here is about friendship.
The second is to politic
The second thing mentioned here is about politics.
The third one, quite different
The third thing mentioned here is different from the first two.
On the last hour, they've been stopped
Something/someone stopped them on their last hour.
So hard to disappear
It's difficult for them to disappear.
Usual goodbyes
They said goodbye in a usual way.
No sign of life for many days
There was no sign of life from them for many days.
Of a strong way reappear
They will reappear in a strong way.
I can not refrain
I cannot stop myself.
(To believe that the day will come)
I believe that the day will come.
We'll see them again
We will see them again.
They didn't smile on your scream
They didn't find your screaming amusing.
Headlights color red
The headlights are colored red.
For one single day
For one day only.
Their goodbyes for longer
Their goodbyes lasted longer.
Situation is changed, though
The situation has changed, however.
Body and soul engaged forever
Their body and soul are engaged forever.
Oh based on minds will be it
It will be based on minds.
Somewhere where you can hear hills?
Is there somewhere you can hear hills?
The first have friends
The first group mentioned has friends.
The third world fighters
The third group mentioned are fighters from the third world.
It seems you often forget
It seems like you often forget.
(You often forget)
You often forget.
No more contacts
There are no more contacts.
No more words
There are no more words.
But their mind clear will stay
Their clear mind will stay.
Even behind the walls
Even when behind the walls.
The human rage reflection
It's the reflection of human rage.
The day will come
The day will come.
Their doors' always closed
Their doors are always closed.
And even open
And even when open.
Some people got one dozen ways
Some people have many ways.
To prevent my feelings from running away
To stop my feelings from escaping.
I can not refrain
I cannot stop myself.
Running away
Escaping.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Al Jourgensen, Luc Van Acker, Richard Jonckheere
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cynthianovoselsky3717
Intense and I will always be thankful for the good times we had especially seeing them live in concert
@Jazna1
This is the record I played to get back at my noisy neighbors when they woke me up int he middle of the night. Next morning, around 9 am, this would go on, loud. The 1980s, good times.
@DanielHinojosa
I love these Love Songs 💗💖💜💙
@DondeArandas
Had a few of their albums, back in the day.
Huge fan
@813lynch
Great track.love the first 3 RevCo albums
@fh8769
You're right!
@glenbellefonte9620
@f h do you have any idea what this song is about
@colossusofrhodes1282
fucking JAM. no questions asked... interprete. and RESPECT.
@raimywinter2309
Rest In Power Bill
@dionisio8204
Absolut Balearischer, Delikatessen, Dunkler, Mächtig, Pur und Feiner Klang!