Killing Joke - Definition and Overview

Killing Joke are an influential UK punk/ goth / rock / industrial band. Formed by Jaz Coleman (lead vocals), Big Paul Ferguson(drums), Martin 'Youth' Glover(bass) and Kenneth 'Geordie' Walker(guitar) in late 1978 / early 1979. According to Coleman, their manifesto was to "define the exquisite beauty of the atomic age in terms of style, sound and form".

In 1992 Killing Joke sued the band Nirvana for copyright infringement. The band claimed that Nirvana's single Come As You Are's main riff was too similar to Killing Joke's single Eighties. The courts agreed and Killing Joke won the suit. Apparently neither band holds a grudge, as in 2003 (Nirvana's) Dave Grohl played drums on Killing Joke's album. Dave Grohl's band Foo Fighters also recorded a cover version of Killing Joke's Requiem. Jaz Coleman has performed this song live with the Foo Fighters at a New Zealand concert.

Other members of notability through the years include bassist Paul Raven and drummer Martyn Atkins.

Discography

Albums

• Killing Joke (1981)
• What's THIS For...! (1981)
• Revelations (1982)
• Fire Dances (1983)
• Night Time (1985)
• Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (1986)
• Outside the Gate (1988)
• The Courtald Talks (1989)
• Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions (1990)
• Pandemonium (1994)
• BBC In Concert [live](1996)
• Democracy (1996)
• The Unperverted Pantomine? (2003)
• Killing Joke (2003)

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

Singles/EP's

• Turn To Red EP (1979)
• Birds of a Feather EP (1982)
• Ha! Killing Joke Live (1982)
• (1992)
• Change (1992)
• Pandemonium (12 Single)(1994)
• Pandemonium (CD Single) (1994)
• Millennium (1994)
• Democracy (Single) (1996)
• Love Like Blood/Intellect (1998)
• Seeing Red (UK CD) (2004)

Compilations

• Incomplete Collection 1980-1985 (1990)
• Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! (1992)
• Wilful Days (1995)
• War Dance (Remix Album) (1998)
• No Way Out But Forward Go [live] (2001)
• Chaos for Breakfast (2004)
• For Beginners (2004)

Covered

• 1987 Metallica covered The Wait on their E.P. Garage Days Re-Revisited.
• 1993 Helmet covered Primitive on the second single for their song Born Annoying.
• 1997 Foo Fighters covered Requiem on the single for their song Everlong.