It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Peter Christopherson, a.k.a. Sleazy, member of such seminal groups as Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, and Coil. He reportedly died in his sleep yesterday, November 24, at the age of 55.

The initial announcement came roughly an hour ago, at around 4 AM EST, when Throbbing Gristle members Cosey Fanni Tutti and Chris Carter tweeted the same message:

Our dearest beautiful Sleazy left this mortal coil as he slept in peace last night.words cannot express our grief.

Throbbing Gristle’s official website has also been updated with the simple message,

Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson

1955 - 2010

Christopherson’s passing comes soon after news that Genesis P-Orridge is no longer performing with the band live, which resulted in a last-minute name change to X-TG during their recent tour (TMT News).

Needless to say, Peter Christopherson’s influence on what we listen to here at Tiny Mix Tapes is immeasurable. We consider ourselves lucky to have interviewed him a couple years back. This is a hard loss to swallow. We send our deepest condolences to Christopherson’s friends and family.

• Throbbing Gristle: http://www.throbbing-gristle.com

• X-TG: http://x-tg.com

• The Threshold HouseBoys Choir: http://www.thresholdhouse.com

[Photo: Shiver Shi]