Today is the 33rd birthday of Chris Connelly, a prolific industrial artist who has

played with such groups as Ministry, Pigface, Revolting Cocks and KMFDM. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1964, Connelly started to train as a singer in 1974 when he joined his boys school choir in lieu of playing sports like everyone else. He started listening to works of Captain Beefheart, Can and David Bowie, at the same time learning that he could make music by distorting sounds from a microphone and his father's reel-to-reel player. His first band was Fini Tribe, a noise band he formed with his friend Andy McGregor. They played high school dances using out of tune guitars and a drum machine, eventually landing a John Peel session in 1983. Their first EP, Curling and Stretching came out later that year and was largely ignored by the public and critics. The band signed with Wax Trax! Records in 1987, but Connelly left the group and moved

to Chicago after "I Want More" and "Make It Internal" failed to do any business in Europe.

Connelly joined Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen's side project, the Revolting

Cocks, soon after he was signed to Wax Trax! He first appeared on the band's second album, 1988's You Goddamned Son of a Bitch, contributing vocal on the title track, "Cattle Grind" and "In The Neck." Later that year, he played on many tracks of Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey. Connelly continued playing with many of his Wax Trax! brothers and sisters, appearing on recordings by Pigface, Acid Horse, the Bells, Chainsuck, Die Warzau, F/i, Final , Hyperhead, KMFDM, Love Interest, Murder Inc.,

and PTP. His first solo album came out in 1990. Whiplash Boychild

surprised many fans and critics because it contained tracks that featured Connelly

actually singing instead of screaming and ranting. The following year found Connelly touring with the Revolting Cocks and then with all-star industrial band Pigface. In 1992, he released Phenobarb Bambalam, an album he is not particularly proud of due to the fact that he produced it in a haze of drink, drugs and poverty. In 1994, Shipwreck was released and Connelly continued touring and working with all his Wax Trax! buddies. As of late, Connelly has been working on getting together a Gary Neuman tribute band with Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan.

Other birthdays: Jesse Colin Young (Youngbloods), 53; Chris Dreja

(Yardbirds), 52; Vince Martell (Vanilla Fudge), 52; Len Hawkes (Tremeloes), 51; Ian Craig Marsh (Human League), 41; and Mic Michaeli (Europe), 29.