I don’t think any of these have been posted here before.
Here’s one of them:
The rest are [url “http://www.kirkwestphotography.com/#/squared_gallery/rock/”]here about halfway down the page. There’s some other cool pics up there as well lots of different musicians.
This is a great pic! Wemp looks so out of place here. He must have forgotten it was the 1980s and said “Fuck it. I’ll just throw on a scarf.”.
This is a great pic! Wemp looks so out of place here. He must have forgotten it was the 1980s and said “Fuck it. I’ll just throw on a scarf.”.
I think you hit the nail on the head. This is really early on, before the first show. I can tell because that’s Paul Taylor in the middle and he never made it to the stage.
So I’m still somewhat shy here…probably had only been in the band for a week or two. Besides, I’ve never needed to accentuate my appearance with makeup and accoutrements. I’m naturally handsome. 
Besides, I’ve never needed to accentuate my appearance with makeup and accoutrements. I’m naturally handsome.
Definitely better looking than that dude on the far right. Looks like Jonathan Schaech from That Thing You Do and The Doom Generation on a lot of drugs.
[reply]Besides, I’ve never needed to accentuate my appearance with makeup and accoutrements. I’m naturally handsome.
Definitely better looking than that dude on the far right. Looks like Jonathan Schaech from That Thing You Do and The Doom Generation on a lot of drugs.[/reply]
I think that is John Davis. Sadly, I believe he is a fallen member of Ministry. Maybe Wemp can clear this up.
[reply][reply]Besides, I’ve never needed to accentuate my appearance with makeup and accoutrements. I’m naturally handsome.
Definitely better looking than that dude on the far right. Looks like Jonathan Schaech from That Thing You Do and The Doom Generation on a lot of drugs.[/reply]
I think that is John Davis. Sadly, I believe he is a fallen member of Ministry. Maybe Wemp can clear this up.[/reply]
L-R: Yours truly, Stevo, Paul Taylor, Al, John Davis (JD).
JD died 5 or 6 years ago in Florida. His death was from heart failure, so I’m told. He was never the healthiest person. Wasn’t a big partier but he had a not so secret habit. Not a great musician but a really hard worker and a really nice guy to be around. He had a fearsome appearance, but a soft high voice and a gentle way about him. He may have suffered from Graves or Crohn’s Disease. At least that’s what people have said. He was Stevo’s first or second cousin, I can’t remember which.
BTW- This picture was taken at our first reheasal space in the Fulton Market district in Chicago. I think it was actually on Fulton Street near Morgan Street. It’s only about a mile from where I’m at right now.
ON EDIT: The address was 955 West Fulton Market. The same building housed a not so legal venue called “Space Place”. The biggest act to play at Space Place was Bauhaus. I remember the show because I felt certain the building was going to fall down it was so crowded. We occasionally used the Space Place room with the stage to rehearse but since we had to hump our gear up it took extra time and we only did it a few times. By the Spring of '82 we’d moved a couple of blocks away to a space on Lake Street. Second floor, lots of windows…the L tracks right outside.
Thanks Wemp for filling us in! Your stories are always great.
Do you happen to have an collection of photos from the early days?
Thanks Wemp for filling us in! Your stories are always great.
Do you happen to have an collection of photos from the early days?
Not really. I’ve got a Facebook folder for Ministry stuff, but a lot of that came from outside sources.
BTW - I’ve yet to look at the rest of the pics on that site. It’s really slow to load. I’ll try later at home.
EDIT: Checked out the Kirk West site and the other two more or less uninteresting pics. Says the photos were from March of '81 but that’s false. They are from December of '81, I have no doubt.
Awesome!
[shocked]
Oh gawd yes, early Ministry is my favorite era… y’all looked really hot. now i have this big urge to listen to Revenge.
[;)][blush]
I never knew Edward Scissorhands was in the band.
[reply]…and wardrobe by Jeans West
Or perhaps I’m thinking of Merry-Go-Round or Chess King…one of those stores had like Billy Idol biker clothes on one rack, official Prince clothing on other rack, and surfer clothes…you get the picture…yes, I was a mid-80s mall rat.[/reply]
It’s unlikely that any clothing item in the pic came direct for a mall. You gotta remember, this was the early 80’s. The nearest suburban style shopping mall to us was probably in Skokie, and none of us had a car. Most of our clothes came from either Salvation Army, Wax Trax or our girlfriend’s closet. The malls were filled with stores that sold flares, members only jackets, and polyester shirts. Even the hip clothes from a movie would not have been available in a mall in the early 80’s.
[reply]…and wardrobe by Jeans West
Or perhaps I’m thinking of Merry-Go-Round or Chess King…one of those stores had like Billy Idol biker clothes on one rack, official Prince clothing on other rack, and surfer clothes…you get the picture…yes, I was a mid-80s mall rat.[/reply]
I remember Chess King.
My friends and I decided around that mid-80’s time that we would be New-Ro (not sure if that’s the right spelling). New-Ro’s were into Duran Duran and Depeche Mode and I’m not really sure what else. But we tried to dress like sissyfag Brit poppers and wore really long shirts and stole our moms’ jewelry . . . especially broches (those big gaudy pendant pins that we would pin on the center of our collars).
Chess King was the go-to shop for all our faggy poser gear.