Ogilvie was born on 5 December 1962 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. From a young age, he had imagined working in a studio as a singer, describing it as his own "manifest destiny". He was also interested in magic and had attempted to become a magician, even joining the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He would entertain his parents with magic shows, noting that his tricks would often fail humorously.

Ogre's first collaboration with Al Jourgensen was in 1987 during the recording of the song "Show Me Your Spine" for the film RoboCop. The song was recorded by PTP, a side project of Jourgensen's alongside Ministry cohort Paul Barker. Jourgensen explained that he "didn't even know who he [Ogre] was, but somebody said he was some singer from somewhere, so I just said "hey man, make yourself useful, get in here and sing". Ogre would later go on tour with Ministry to promote their album The Land of Rape and Honey in 1988. Ogre asked Jourgensen if he would produce the 1989 Skinny Puppy album Rabies, a job he accepted. Jourgensen noted that there were "bad vibes" in studio since it had been Ogre, not Key and Goettel, who asked for assistance on the record; "Sometimes bad vibes make for great, tension-filled music, and that's what Skinny Puppy thrived on".  Ogre next worked with Jourgensen on the Ministry album The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, receiving credit as a writer on the song "Thieves". Ogre introduced Jourgensen to Toronto native Angelina Lukacin whose voice was recorded for the album closer "Dream Song". Ogre joined Ministry on tour contributing guitars, keyboards, and vocals. He said that "Playing with Ministry was insane everywhere, especially during the tour for The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, which had the cage set up at the front of the stage. It became all you saw, the cage separating you from the raging mass of people in front of you". The single "Burning Inside" featured a live cover of the Skinny Puppy song "Smothered Hope", with Ogre contributing vocals.  Ogre had also worked with Jourgensen in the industrial group Revolting Cocks, originally as a touring member. Ogre mentioned that he "had a gas" while on tour, referring to it as an initiation; "My brain was rotating about four feet above my head". He continued to work with the group by providing vocals for their 1990 effort Beers, Steers, and Queers. However, Ogre declined the invitation to go on tour, noting that there were some tensions between Jourgensen and himself. "There were a few things that happened between me and him [Jourgensen] that really made me question our whole friendship and his reason for having me down there. So I decided to bow out of the Revolting Cocks tour. If I hadn't, I would have come back totally addicted to heroin".Answer this question using a quote from the following article:

was the album successful?