Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson

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Marilyn Manson (born Brian Hugh Warner ; January 5, 1969) is an American musician and artist known for his controversial stage persona and image as the lead singer of the eponymous band, Marilyn Manson. His stage name was formed from the names of actress Marilyn Monroe and convicted murder-planner Charles Manson. He has a long legacy of being depicted in the media as a bad influence on children. The seemingly outrageous styles for which he models and the controversy surrounding his lyrics have led to his very pronounced public appeal.

Early life

Marilyn Manson was born as Brian Hugh Warner in Canton, Ohio, the only child of Barb (née Wyer) and Hugh Warner. Manson is of German descent on his father's side, and is a 4th cousin twice removed of Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan. As a child, he attended his mother's Episcopalian church, though his father was Catholic. Warner attended Heritage Christian School from first grade to tenth grade. He later transferred to Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Manson graduated from high school in 1987, and became a student at Broward Community College in 1990. He was working towards a degree in journalism, and was gaining experience in the field by writing music articles for a South Florida lifestyle magazine, 25th Parallel . He would soon meet several of the musicians to whom his own band would later be compared, including My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

Career

Music

Main article: Marilyn Manson (band)

Manson formed Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids in Florida in 1989 (the name was shortened to Marilyn Manson in 1992). While with The Spooky Kids, he was involved with Jeordie White (also known as Twiggy Ramirez) and Stephen Gregory Bier Jr. (also known as Madonna Wayne Gacy) in two side-projects: Satan on Fire, a faux-Christian metal ensemble where he played bass guitar, and drums in Mrs. Scabtree, a collaborative band formed with White and then girlfriend Jessicka (vocalist with the band Jack Off Jill) as a way to combat contractual agreements that prohibited Marilyn Manson from playing in certain clubs. In the summer of 1993, the band drew the attention of Trent Reznor. Reznor produced their 1994 debut album, Portrait of an American Family and released it on his Nothing Records label. The band began to develop a cult following, which grew larger with the release of Smells Like Children in 1995. That EP yielded the band's first big MTV hit with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", a cover of the 1983 Eurythmics hi