Martin Atkins
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The industrial drummer Martin Atkins was born in Coventry, England on August 3, 1959.
His first exposure as a drummer was with John Lydon's post-Sex Pistols band, Public Image Ltd., which he left on unpleasant terms. In 1980, Atkins formed the band Brian Brain with Pete Jones (who also played with Public Image Ltd. in 82-83), on bass and Bobby Surgeoner on guitar. Brian Brain released six singles and one LP on Secret Records [1], and continued to release singles and LPs on Atkins's own Plaid Records throughout the 1980s. The band had club hits with the singles "Jive Jive" (1981) and "Funky Zoo" (1982). He formed his industrial supergroup, Pigface, during a Ministry tour in 1989–1990.
Over the next decade, he performed with many bands, the bigger names including Ministry, Killing Joke (with whom he formed Murder, Inc. in 1992), and Nine Inch Nails. He later worked on a very well-received project called The Damage Manual with Chris Connelly, Jah Wobble, and Geordie Walker from Killing Joke.
Atkins released a collaborative album with Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre under the moniker Rx, the resulting album was entitled Bedside Toxicology. However, his dedication to his label Invisible Records, and his highly acclaimed drumming work with his collaborative group Pigface has prevented him from pursuing it further.
Martin is currently teaching for his third year at Columbia College in Chicago. He is the instructor for the course "The Business of Touring". He is currently in the studio working on a new album with The Countdown, and Pigface sixth studio album and other various projects.