致命玩笑

Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (bass).

Their first album, Killing Joke, was released in 1980. After the release of Revelations in 1982, bassist Youth was replaced by Paul Raven. The band achieved mainstream success in 1985 with the album Night Time and particularly the single "Love Like Blood", which reached the top ten in Belgium, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

The band's musical style emerged from the post-punk scene, but stood out due to their heavier approach, and has been cited as a key influence on industrial rock. Their style evolved over many years, at times incorporating elements of gothic rock, synth-pop and electronic music, but always featuring Walker's prominent guitar and Coleman's "savagely strident vocals". Killing Joke have influenced many bands and artists, such as Metallica, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden.

Following Raven's sudden death in 2007, all four founding members returned to the band's lineup the following year. Coleman and Walker were the only constant members of the band until Walker's death in 2023.

History

Formative years (1978–1982)

Paul Ferguson was the drummer in the band Matt Stagger when he met Jaz Coleman (from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire) in Notting Hill, London in late 1978. Coleman was briefly the keyboard player in that band. He and Ferguson then left to gradually piece together Killing Joke. In the following months, they placed advertisements in Melody Maker and other music papers. Guitarist Geordie Walker joined them in March 1979, followed by bassist Youth. The band was formed in June 1979. Coleman said their manifesto at the time was to "define the exquisite beauty of the atomic age in terms of style, sound and form". Coleman gave an explanation concerning their name: "The killing joke is like when people watch something like Monty Python on the television and laugh, when really they're laughing at themselves. It's like a soldier in the first world war. He's in the trench, he knows his life is gone and that within the next ten minutes he's gonna be dead ... and then suddenly he realises that some cunt back in Westminster's got him sussed—'What am I doing this for? I don't want to kill anyone, I'm just being controlled'." The band played their debut gig on 4 August 1979 at Whitcombe Lodge in Brockworth, near Gloucester, supporting the Ruts and The Selecter.

By September 1979, shortly before the release of their debut EP, Turn to Red, they started the Malicious Damage record label with graphic artist Mike Coles as a way to press and sell their music. Island Records distributed the records (and released their debut single "Nervous System"), before they switched to E.G. Records with distribution through Polydor from 1980. Killing Joke's early material "fused together elements of punk, funk and dub reggae". Turn to Red came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who was keen to champion the band's urgent new sound and gave them extensive airplay. In October 1979, the band recorded their first session for Peel's radio show. An NME concert review said that "their sound is a bit like early [Siouxsie and the] Banshees without the thrilling, amoral imagination". Concerning their live performances, it was said that "the only animation on stage is provided by Jaz who crouches behind his synthesizer, making forays like a Neanderthal man gripped by a gesturing, gibbering fury". The songs on the 1980 "Wardance/Pssyche" single were described as "heavy dance music" by the press. The band had changed their sound into something denser, more aggressive and more akin to heavy metal. Their debut album, Killing Joke, was released in October 1980; the band had considered calling it Tomorrow's World. The press started to criticise them for the lack of new material appearing on the B-sides of singles, which often featured different mixes. The group preferred to carry on working in the studio and released What's THIS For...! just eight months after Killing Joke, in June 1981. For this second album, they hired sound engineer Nick Launay, who had previously recorded with Public Image Ltd. They toured extensively throughout the UK during this time, with fans of post-punk and heavy metal taking interest in Killing Joke via singles such as "Follow the Leaders".