• 1 History
  • 1.1 1979–1982
  • 1.2 1983–1988
  • 1.3 1989–1991
  • 1.4 1992–1996
  • 1.5 2002–present
• 2 Discography
  • 2.1 Albums
  • 2.2 Singles & EPs
  • 2.3 Live albums
  • 2.4 Compilations
  • 2.5 Videography
• 3 Side Projects
• 4 Influence
• 5 References
• 6 External links

History

1979–1982

Ferguson was drummer in the Matt Stagger Band when he met Coleman (originally from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire) in Notting Hill, London. In early 1979, after Coleman was briefly keyboard player in that band, he and Ferguson defected to form Killing Joke with Geordie and bassist Martin "Youth" Glover. According to Coleman, their manifesto was to "define the exquisite beauty of the atomic age in terms of style, sound and form".

In late 1979, they began the Malicious Damage record label with graphic artist Mike Coles as a way to press and sell their music; Island Records distributed the records, until Malicious Damage switched to E.G. Records in 1980. The songs on Killing Joke's early singles were primitive punk rock sometimes mixed with funk ("Nervous System") and dub/reggae ("Turn to Red") styles. Their 'Nervous System/Turn To Red' EP came to the attention of legendary DJ John Peel, who was keen to champion the band's urgent new sound and gave them extensive airplay. They quickly progressed this sound into something denser, more aggressive, and more akin to heavy metal, as heard on their first two albums, Killing Joke (1980) and the more abrasive What's THIS For...! (1981). They toured extensively throughout the UK during this time, and both fans of post punk and heavy metal took interest in Killing Joke through singles such as "Follow the Leaders" (1981).

Killing Joke became notorious largely due to the controversies that arose from their imagery. The images that appeared on their records and on-stage while performing live were, typically, bizarre and potentially shocking and inflammatory. One promotion poster featured an undoctored photo from the Spanish Civil war, of Pope Pius being shown off to rows of saluting Nazis. Shortly afterwards, the band was banned from performing a concert in Glasgow, Scotland. Strangely enough, at that time some NME's leftist journalists were suspicious about Killing Joke's image and wrote that "Killing Joke's music includes certain fascist tendencies...". This was a common misconception because, if anything, Killing Joke were a politically left-leaning band, with much of their disturbing imagery acting as ironic or cynical symbols for a world which they perceived was becoming ever more materialist, unjust and conservative. However, following various 'run-ins' with a number of music journalists, Killing Joke were far from being the industry darlings of the era, regardless of their actual output.

Killing Joke's 3rd album, Revelations, produced by Conny Plank, was issued in 1982, and supported by a pair of performances on The John Peel Show and by the singles "Chop-Chop" and "Empire Song".

By 1982, members of Killing Joke, especially Coleman, had become immersed in the occult, particularly the works of occultist Aleister Crowley. In February of that year, Coleman, with Geordie and Youth following shortly after, relocated to Iceland to survive the Apocalypse, which Coleman predicted was coming soon. While in Iceland, Coleman and Geordie worked with musicians from the band Theyr. After a few months, Youth decided there was no indication of the Apocalypse, and decided to relocate back to England. Youth then began the band Brilliant with Big Paul, but the latter defected and traveled to Iceland to rejoin Killing Joke with new bassist Paul Raven (previously of Neon Hearts and the rock / glam band Kitsch) in tow. After spending some time in Iceland, Killing Joke returned to England and began touring and recording again.

The new lineup soon produced, again with Conny Plank, the single "Birds of a Feather / Sun Goes Down / Flock the B-Side" and HA!, a 6 track 10" EP of a live performance recorded in Toronto in August.

1983–1988

Killing Joke's 4th album, Fire Dances (1983), contained music that, like that heard on the "Birds Of A Feather" single, was artier and relatively calmer than before, which, in hindsight, began a new direction. This was continued with the non LP singles "Me Or You" (1983, b/w "Wilful Days") and "A New Day" (1984, b/w a dance remix or dub mix of the same), the latter promoted with a music video.

Mixing their sound with a slightly pop style, and with Coleman singing and not growling, Killing Joke had developed a decidedly unique variation of new wave, which was heard on their fifth album, Night Time (1985). They unexpectedly achieved mainstream success with the single "Love Like Blood" (from Night Time), which became a big hit, peaking at #16 in their homeland. Night Time was also supported with singles for "Eighties" (1984), "Kings and Queens" (1985) and "Love like Blood (Gestalt mix)" (1985), which all reached the UK Top 75.

The music on Killing Joke's sixth album, Brighter than a Thousand Suns (1986), was mostly similar in sound and mood to Love like Blood. While no less aggressive and heavy than their older work, Brighter than a Thousand Suns diverged musically (as is common in Killing Joke's broad oeuvre) in ways that lead to controversy among listeners. In this case disagreements between fans and critics alike included opinions on whether the band was conforming with pressures from EG Records to develop a more commercial sound, to whether the songs were relevant for those listeners more comfortable with their proto post-punk beginnings. Those who are strongly approving of the work consider it a milestone - and quite intense - progressive rock album, and their most consistent work to date. Two singles were released from the album - "Adorations" and "Sanity" - and the band continued touring successfully until the end of the year.

In 1987, Coleman began plans for a solo record of unusual music, and he made demos of his songs, on which he performed with Geordie's assistance. The project ran way over budget and so, despite Coleman's objections, the record company decided that the music would be released under the name "Killing Joke" in order to best recoup the costs. Attempts were made to include Killing Joke rhythm section members Raven and Ferguson, but it didn't work out and tensions ultimately led to both being fired from the band. Session player Jimmy Copley was then brought in to provide the drumming on the songs, along with percussion player Jeff Scantlebury.

The resulting album, Outside the Gate (1988), is Killing Joke's most controversial album, with opinion ranging from admiration to total disgust, owing to its synth-led sonics (experimentally, there is even a brief rap on one song) and disagreement over the quality of the material. It is not signature-sound Killing Joke, being built around Coleman's orchestral keyboards instead of Geordie's distinctive guitar riffs. Had the album been released as "Coleman/Walker" (as the cover graphic implies) it might have been better received. Released as "Killing Joke" however, it was panned by confused critics and fans alike. Two singles, "America" and "My Love Of This Land", were released from the album but did little to improve its fortunes. The video for the former features Coleman and Geordie with drummer Jimmy Copley and session bassist Jerome Rimson, who never actually recorded with the band. No live dates were played to support the album and the band spent much of 1988 in a legal battle as they tried to split from their management and record company, E.G. This struggle resulted in Coleman suffering a nervous breakdown.

On 19th September 1987 Coleman had delivered a lecture at London's Courtauld Institute outlining the thinking behind the then-unreleased Outside the Gate album, touching on numerology and the occult. Geordie and percussionist Jeff Scantlebury provided a minimal musical backing at the event. A recording of the lecture was eventually released under the title The Courtauld Talks on Martin Atkins' Invisible Records in 1989.

1989–1991

Towards the end of 1988, Coleman and Geordie decided to get Killing Joke up and running again as a live band, and they began looking for full-time bass players and drummers. First on board was drummer Martin Atkins, who had gained notability in Public Image Ltd. and later Ministry and Pigface. A suitable bass player proved more difficult, however. Former Smiths man Andy Rourke was hired, then fired again after only 3 days. Eventually the band settled on Welsh bass player Dave "Taif" Ball, and played their first gigs in almost two years in December 1988. These were seen as a return to form, and featured the best of their 1980 to 1985 work, alongside powerful new material which alluded to the band's earlier, harsher sound. Nothing from Brighter than a Thousand Suns or Outside the Gate was played (and indeed, never has been since). Touring continued across the UK, Europe and the US until August 1989, when the band took a break to record its new material in Germany, and to allow Jaz Coleman time to record Songs From the Victorious City with Anne Dudley of Art of Noise.

However, for reasons which remain unclear, the German Killing Joke sessions were scrapped and bass player Taif left the band to be replaced by old hand Paul Raven. The revised line up began recording again, this time in London, and the result was Killing Joke's eighth album, the ferocious Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions, released on the German Noise International label in 1990. It included some of the heaviest, noisiest and harshest music ever to appear on a Killing Joke record, although the progressive musical spirit of the previous two albums remained as well. The many highlights included "Solitude", "Slipstream", "Age of Greed" and the single "Money Is Not Our God". Once again the band toured Europe and North America, but by the middle of 1991 this promising new line up had imploded. Coleman emigrated to New Zealand to live on a remote Pacific island, and it looked like Killing Joke was over for good.

Geordie Walker, Martin Atkins, Paul Ferguson, Paul Raven and the band's live keyboard player John Bechdel (Ministry, Fear Factory, Prong, Pigface, Abstinence, False Icons, Ascension of the Watchers) added Scottish vocalist Chris Connelly (Finitribe, Revolting Cocks) and continued as the short-lived Murder, Inc., releasing a self-titled album in 1992.

1992–1996

A Killing Joke anthology, Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!, was released in 1992, and during its production Geordie was re-acquainted with Youth, who suggested that they reform the band with himself back on bass. That same year two singles (on cassette and CD) appeared featuring the early songs "Change" and "Wardance" in several new versions remixed by Youth, by then a very successful producer.

The reactivated Killing Joke released two strong and well-received albums on Youth's Butterfly Recordings label, Pandemonium and Democracy, which saw the band shift back to the simpler arrangements of their early albums. Pandemonium (1994) wove a metallesque ritualistic sound with mosh beats and loops and provided Killing Joke with a memorable Top of the Pops performance for the single 'Millennium', which was a UK Top 30 hit. Democracy (1996) successfully introduced acoustic guitar into the mix, as well as adopting more of a "live band" sound again. Much of Pandemonium and all of Democracy featured session drummer Geoff Dugmore. He also played live with the band throughout this era. Youth bowed out of live performance early in the Democracy tour and was replaced by Troy Gregory, ex Prong.

Coleman had produced the 1993 debut album Churn by the New Zealand Band Shihad and Shihad drummer Tom Larkin played drums on some of the songs on Pandemonium. However, relations later soured between Coleman and Shihad due to a dispute over Coleman's production fee for Churn, and the fact that Shihad considered him a "megalomaniac". Shihad's second album, 1995's Killjoy, includes two songs about Coleman and the dispute: Bitter and You Again. Coleman has also made a number of disparaging remarks about Shihad in the media. Shihad singer and guitarist Jon Toogood says his band have put the dispute behind them, however a song was recorded by Shihad called "Killing Jaz".

Killing Joke also sued Nirvana during this phase, alleging that the riff for the latter's song "Come as You Are" was copied from the riff for their song "Eighties". The lawsuit was dropped after the sudden death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

After the Democracy tour the band went on an extended hiatus. Jaz Coleman and Youth produced a string of well-received orchestral rock albums based on the music of legends such as Led Zeppelin and The Doors. Coleman became Composer-in-Residence for New Zealand and Czech symphony orchestras. He seems to have become something of a celebrity in the Czech Republic and made his acting debut with the main role in the film Rok ďábla (Year of the Devil) by Czech filmmaker Petr Zelenka (who later would direct the video for "Hosannas from the Basements of Hell").

2002–present

Coleman, Geordie and Youth reformed Killing Joke in 2002, and recorded their second self-titled album with producer Andy Gill, released to much acclaim in 2003 on the Zuma/Sony label - a powerful addition to Extremities and other visceral 1990s albums, and considered one of their finest recordings. The War on Terror and the invasion of Iraq were cited as major factors in their reforming and this is reflected in the lyrical content of much of the album, based on themes of war, government control and Armageddon. The album was their heaviest to date and spawned two singles, "Loose Cannon" and "Seeing Red". The songs are all credited to Coleman/Walker/Glover/Gill, although Raven's name is also on the list of musicians on the liner notes, marking his return to the band after more than a decade. It remains unclear who actually played bass on which tracks on the album and in some interviews with Geordie he hints that it may have been he who actually played bass on most of the songs, with occasional contributions from Youth. Raven played on the subsequent tour however, with Youth appearing to have retired from the band by this point. Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Probot), a longtime fan of the band, occupied the drum stool for all tracks. The original plan had been to use many different drummers on the album, including Grohl, but he was so enthusiastic about the material that he persuaded the band to let him do the whole thing. The album was accompanied by a tour of the United States, Europe and Australia in 2003/2004, with ex Prong drummer Ted Parsons on board.

In February 2005, now with young Twin Zero and Sack Trick drummer Ben Calvert, they played two consecutive shows at London's Shepherds Bush Empire to commemorate their 25th anniversary. DVD and CD recordings from these concerts were released in on Cooking Vinyl in the fall of 2005 as XXV Gathering: The Band That Preys Together Stays Together.

In June 2005 remastered and expanded editions of their two 1990s Butterfly Recordings albums, Pandemonium and Democracy, were released by Cooking Vinyl. These were followed in July by their first 4 albums (Killing Joke to Ha!) on EMI, who by then owned the E.G. Records catalogue. The second batch of EMI reissues has yet to appear (as of July 2007), although they are rumoured to include a completely remixed version of Fire Dances and the original Chris Kimsey mix of Brighter Than A Thousand Suns.

In summer 2005 they provided unlikely support on the British leg of Mötley Crüe's world tour and then began work on their next album in Prague. Coleman had been working there for a few years on classical and traditional music projects and it had come to be Killing Joke's de facto base.

Opting for simplicity and raw energy, the band recorded the new album in its basement rehearsal studio, going for live takes with the minimum of overdubs. The result was Hosannas from the Basements of Hell, released in April 2006 on Cooking Vinyl. Once again it was well received by the critics.

Killing Joke began a European tour in support of the album in April 2006. However, bass player Paul Raven abruptly departed after a few dates to tour with Ministry and was temporarily replaced by Kneill Brown. The tour included an appearance headlining the MySpace stage of the Download Festival on June 10, 2006, which received four K's from Kerrang! magazine. Other highlights of the summer included a memorable set in Japan at the Fuji Rock festival where there were joined on stage by Orb frontman Alex Paterson (once a Killing Joke drum roadie) and headlining the Beautiful Days festival in the UK. The band's momentum suffered another blow however, when health problems caused the autumn leg of the tour to be cancelled.

In October 2006 it was announced that Coleman had been chosen as Composer in Residence for the European Union. As Composer in Residence he will be commissioned to write music for special occasions.

Early in 2007 Killing Joke released 3 archival collections via Candlelight Records. The first, "Inside Extremities", is a double CD of material taken from the band's preparations for the "Extremities" album: rehearsals, rare mixes, a previously unheard track "The Fanatic" and a full live show from the Extremities tour. This was followed by "Bootleg Vinyl Archive" Volumes 1 & 2, each of which is a 3 CD box set of live-in-concert bootleg recordings originally released on vinyl in the 1980s, plus the Astoria gig from the "Pandemonium" tour which was voted one of the greatest gigs of all time by Kerrang.[1]

In May 2007 it was announced that Candlelight Records will be reissuing the classic 1990 album Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions, which has long been out of print [2]. This is planned for October 2007, and it is hoped that the long-delayed second batch of EMI reissues will be released at around the same time, completing the Killing Joke reissue series.

Discography

Albums

• Killing Joke (1980)
• What's THIS For...! (1981)
• Revelations (1982)
• Fire Dances (1983)
• Night Time (1985)
• Brighter than a Thousand Suns (1986)
• Outside the Gate (1988)
• The Courtauld Talks (1989)
• Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions (1990)

• (Also available as Double Vinyl)

• Pandemonium (1994)

• (Also available as Double Vinyl)

• Democracy (1996)
• Killing Joke (2003)
• Hosannas from the Basements of Hell (2006)

• (Also available as Double Blue Coloured Vinyl)

See also: list of musicians with multiple self-titled albums

Singles & EPs

• Turn To Red EP 10" (Oct 1979)
• Nervous System 7" 12" (Dec 1979)
• Wardance/Pѕyche 7" (Mar 1980)
• Requiem/Change 7" 12" (Oct 1980)
• Follow the Leaders/Tension 7" 10" (May 1981) – UK #55
• Empire Song/Brilliant 7" (Mar 1982) – UK #43
• Chop Chop/Good Samaritan 7" (Jun 1982)
• Birds of a Feather/Sun Goes Down/Flock the B side 7" 12" (Oct 1982) – UK #64
• Let's All Go/Dominator 7" 12" (Jun 1983) – UK #51
• Me or You/Wilful Days 7" 12" (Oct 1983) – UK #57
• Eighties/Eighties Common Mix 7" 12" (Apr 1984) – UK #60-Theme song to That 80's show
• A New Day/Dance Day 7" 12" (Jul 1984) – UK #56
• Love Like Blood/Blue Feather 7" 12" (Feb 1985) – UK #16, Germany #24
• Kings & Queens/The Madding Crowd 7" 12" (Mar 1985) – UK #58
• Adorations/Exile 7" 12" (Aug 1986) – UK #42
• Sanity/Goodbye to the Village 7" 12" (Oct 1986) – UK #70
• America/Jihad 7" 12" (Apr 1988) – UK #77
• My Love of This Land/Darkness Before Dawn 7" 12" (Jul 1988) – UK #89
• Money is Not Our God CDs 12" (1991)
• Change: The Youth Mixes CD (1992)
• Exorcism CDs 10" (1994)
• Millennium CDs 7" 12" (May 1994) – UK #34
• Pandemonium CDs (Jul 1994) – UK #28
• Pandemonium in Dub CDs (Jul 1994)
• Jana CDs (Feb 1995) – UK #54
• Jana Live EP (Feb 1995)
• Jana/Millennium Double CDs (1995)
• Democracy CDs (Mar 1996) – UK #39
• Democracy dif. Mix CDs (Mar 1996)
• Love Like Blood/Intellect (Mar 1998)
• Loose Cannon 12" CDs DVDs (Jul 2003) – UK #25
• Seeing Red CDs (2003)
• Hosannas from the Basement of Hell/Afterburner/Universe B CDs (Apr 2006) – UK #74
• Hosannas from the Basement of Hell/Afterburner (Alternate Vers.) Limited 7" (Apr 2006)

Live albums

• Ha! 10 inch live EP (1982)
• BBC In Concert (1996)
• No Way Out But Forward Go (2001)

• (Also available as Double Vinyl)

• XXV Gathering: Let Us Prey (live, 2005)

• (Also available as Double Orange Coloured Vinyl)

Compilations

• An Incomplete Collection 1980-1985 (1990)
• Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! (1992)
• Wilful Days (1995)
• Alchemy: The Remixes (Remix Album) (1996)
• Wardance (Remix Album) (1998)
• The Unperverted Pantomime? (2003)
• Chaos for Breakfast (2004)
• For Beginners (2004)
• Inside Extremities: Mixes, Rehearsals and Live (2007)
• Bootleg Vinyl Archive Vol. 1 (2007)
• Bootleg Vinyl Archive Vol. 2 (2007)

Videography

• Rok Dabla/Year of the devil feat. Jaz Coleman Czech Rep. (2002)
• XXV Gathering: The Band That Preys Together Stays Together [live] (2005)

Side Projects

• Brilliant
• Pigface
• Murder, Inc.
• The Damage Manual
• Transmission

Influence

• In 1982, GC Green & Paul Neville first came together as Fall of Because, named after the first track on What's THIS For...! and were later joined by Justin Broadrick, setting the foundations of Godflesh, who covered Requiem live, with Raven on bass.[3]
• In 1985, the main riff of Killing Joke's song "Eighties" bears a striking resemblance to the riff of The Damned's 1982 "Life Goes On."
• In 1987, Metallica covered Killing Joke's The Wait for their E.P. Garage Days Re-Revisited.
• In some early interviews, the members of Soundgarden cited Killing Joke as one of the bands they listen to most.
• In 1989, German gothic band Love Like Blood covered the name-giving track on the "Love Like Blood EP" and on the "Snakekiller" album.
• The main riff of Nirvana's song "Come as You Are" bears a striking resemblance to the riff of Killing Joke's single, "Eighties." The band, however, did not file a copyright infringement lawsuit, which according to Rolling Stone was "due to personal and financial reasons." Some transcripts of Nirvana's songs (including commercially sold sheet music for Nevermind) have indicated that Nirvana's guitarist Kurt Cobain recorded the songs with his guitar detuned a whole step, which is the same tuning that Geordie is known to prefer.
• In 1993, Helmet covered Killing Joke's "Primitive" for the B-side to the single "Born Annoying".
• In 1993, Econoline Crush covered Killing Joke's "Psyche" (a B-side from their "Wardance" single) for their Purge EP.
• In 1995, Icehouse covered "Love like Blood" on their album "The Berlin Tapes".
• In 1997, the Foo Fighters covered Killing Joke's "Requiem" for the B-side to the single "Everlong." Dave Grohl, leader and drummer of Foo Fighters, played drums for the recording sessions of Killing Joke's second self-titled album in 2003.
• In 1998, Metallica covered Killing Joke's first single "The Wait" for the cover album Garage, Inc..
• In 2001, Amen covered Killing Joke's "Europe" during a session on BBC Radio One in 2001. The recording of this song was later the B-side for their single "Too Hard to Be Free."
• In 2001, The Mad Capsule Markets covered Killing Joke's "Wardance" on their album 010.
• In 2002, Blacklight (Oliver Heydt, Olaf Wollschäger) made a double 12" with their 5 remixed versions of "Love like blood".
• In 2002, LCD Soundsystem released Losing My Edge which is based around b side Change.[4]
• In 2003, German band blackmail covered "Love Like Blood". It was released as a download track on their homepage and as a bonus track on the Japan edition of their album "Friend Or Foe?" as well.
• In 2003, the German death metal band Disbelief covered "Democracy" on the album "Spreading The Rage".
• In 2004, Nouvelle Vague covered "Psyche" on their self-titled debut album.
• In 2005, Swiss band MXD covered "Pandemonium" on their album "Frustration Is Fuel".
• In 2005, Fear Factory covered Killing Joke's "Millennium" on their album Transgression.
• In 2007, Foo Fighters re-release 'The Colour and the Shape'to commemorate the album's tenth anniversary, it was re-released on July 10, 2007. It includes a bonus CD of six previously released B-sides, consisting of "Dear Lover", "The Colour and the Shape", and four covers, including "Requiem" by Killing Joke.
• Other professed fans of Killing Joke including Ministry, Amebix, Front Line Assembly, TOOL, Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, KMFDM The Complications, Born Dead Icons, Godflesh, Napalm Death, Mr. Bungle, VX, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, I Am Spoonbender, Primus, Jello Biafra, Prong, Morgoth and Project 86.

References

External links

• Official site
• Official Killing Joke Myspace profile
• An Irrational Domain - Extensive KJ resource
• In-Official Site — contains Lyrics from the album KJ 2003 which are unavailable on-line otherwise
• Killing Joke at Last.fm
• Killing Joke at MusicBrainz
• Fabchannel.com - Watch the amazing show at Melkweg, Amsterdam
• Fabchannel.com - Watch another amazing show at Paradiso, Amsterdam
• Jaz Coleman interview at Rockdetector.com
• Rabble Rouser Review