The evolution of what would one day become Marilyn Manson began in Canton, Ohio on January 5, 1971. There a baby boy named Brian Warner was born to a world that would eventually, in many cases, rise up against him. Much of the future fury was anticipated, much of it was based on false premise, but all of it was enjoyed, if not desired, by the original rocker.
Marilyn Mason’s music career began in Tampa Bay, Florida in 1989. Working occasionally as a music journalist and interested in the freedom of speech that so many media types hold dear (ironic, considering his future struggles for fair representation), Warner created a band called ‘Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids’ with a mission to “explore the limits of censorship".
The band, consisting of Manson, bassist Olivia Newton-Bundy (later replaced by Gidget Gein), Daisy Berkowitz (guitar), keyboardist Zsa Zsa Speck (later replaced by Madonna Wayne Gacy), and Sara Lee Lucas (drums), defined themselves from the start. Each member choose a last name of a notorious murderer and a forename of a prolific female celebrity.
Very quickly the band’s shocking image caught the attention of Nine Inch Nail’s frontman Trent Reznor and his label, Nothing Records. After gaining considerable local recognition, the band released their first successful record, Portrait of an American Family, which was soon certified gold. The success of American Family lead to Marilyn Manson tour dates with NIN and the band’s first taste of real controversy. In 1994 Manson found two titles placed upon him: “Reverend", from the Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey; and “criminal", as he found himself in jail for exposing himself during a Florida gig.
The lynch mob didn’t really gain steam until Manson’s 1995 release Smells Like Children and the album’s double-platinum success. Perhaps it was the album’s attention-grabbing title or the cold realization that their children were buying Marilyn Manson’s music in droves,
but parents began small protests around North America at the artist’s appearances and concert dates. Cries were loud about the demoralizing persona of Manson and for the cancellation of tour dates. The band quickly followed up on the success of Smells Like Children and their new-found publicity with 1996’s Antichrist Superstar, which entered the American charts at #3 and produced the hit “The Beautiful People". Despite the growing surge of anti-Manson sentiments, critical acclaim was found for the new release. Despite the best efforts of protestors, Marilyn Manson embarked on a sold-out world tour.
In 1997 the vocally-opposed found a voice in government when Senator Joesph Lieberman, and future vice-presidential nominee singled out Antichrist Superstar as “perhaps the sickest group ever promoted by a mainstream record company.”
The band’s next album, Mechanical Animals (1998) followed what seems to be an unbreakable pattern for the band: a platinum release. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the publicity that shock-rocker Marilyn Manson has generated is how gullible the press and the public have been in falling for his grand persona. People who have never been to his concerts, listened to his music or even read his lyrics are quick to cry to the foul he is committing and the demons he is instilling on an entire generation of young music-lovers. Marilyn Manson may show considerable talent in the process of making music, but it is as a showman and media spin-doctor that he displays his greatest talents.