Throbbing Gristle's Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson Dies at 55

Throbbing Gristle founder Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson died "peacefully" in his sleep on Nov. 24 at the age of 55 in his Bangkok home.

Born in Leeds, England, the industrial music pioneer was also a founding member of Coil and Psychic TV after Throbbing Gristle disbanded in 1981, as well as recording solo work under the name The Threshold HouseBoys Choir. Most recently, he founded Soisong in 2007 with Ivan Pavlov.

The news was made official today when Throbbing Gristle bandmates Cosey Fanni Tutti and Chris Carter tweeted: "Our dearest beautiful Sleazy left this mortal coil as he slept in peace last night. words cannot express our grief." Other artists, like Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor also took to Twitter to express their grief: "I awake to sad news. RIP Peter Christopherson - friend and huge inspiration."

In a Quietus piece last summer, Christopherson obliquely addressed rumours that the cancellation of SoiSong and Throbbing Gristle tour dates were a result of his illness:

"Don't worry, I'm fine, I think :-) but remember we are all only temporary curators of our present bodies, which will all decay, sooner or later. In a hundred years or so ALL the humans currently alive will have died. I take great comfort in knowing, with certainty, that thing that makes us special, able to enrich our own lives and those of others, will not cease when our bodies do, but will be just starting and new (and hopefully even better) adventure... If we don't get to meet in this Life, maybe in the next you can buy me a beer! :-)

Watch Throbbing Gristle Play 'Persuasion' in 2004
In the meantime, fans can assuage their grief listening to the music that Christopherson helped craft. Throbbing Gristle formed in the mid-70s with Carter, Tuttie and Genesis P-Orridge, and using synthesizers, drum programming and samples laid the groundwork for the industrial rock revolution that followed their 1981 disbandment. Though they reunited in 2004, P-Orridge left again this past summer, causing the band to finish out their tour dates as X-TG (ex-Throbbing Gristle).

Christopherson was also a noted graphic designed and video director -- as part of the design collective Hipgnosis, he created iconic album art for records like Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here,' and his music videos included Nine Inch Nails' 'Wish' and Rage Against the Machine's 'Bulls on Parade.'

Watch Throbbing Gristle's 'Discipline' Video