Update - review of my first ever live Killing Joke experience at Hull's Spring Street Theatre, July 1983 as featured in Kindred Spirit issue one has now been added at foot of page.
As Killing Joke’s 40th anniversary tour comes to a
close, now seems the ideal time to share the interview we did with singer Jaz
Coleman, which was featured in issue 3 of Kindred Spirit.
“Because I like that sort of thing. Sometimes I like walking for miles
in the middle of nowhere… think… hear music in my head… feel breeze on my face…
do a bit of writing… maybe it’s a real hot day, blue sky and sunshine and I get
so hot I’m sweating all over so I stand under a mountain stream… feel elements…
feel shivers down my back. Maybe I’m with a girl that I love… feel how good it
is to be human. We forget these things y’know.”
As Killing Joke’s 40th anniversary tour comes to a
close, now seems the ideal time to share the interview we did with singer Jaz
Coleman, which was featured in issue 3 of Kindred Spirit.
I couldn’t believe my luck when through the daughter of a
friend of my mum’s (believe it or not) we managed to secure a back stage pass
to interview Killing Joke. The interview followed a mesmerizing performance at
Tiffany’s, Leeds in December 1983, several months
after the release of the brilliant Fire Dances album.
Glitzy Tiffany’s seemed a somehow unfitting venue, but once KJ
took to the stage the surroundings suddenly became irrelevant. They had us all
in the palm of their hands from start to finish as they stomped their way
through an awesome set. With his painted face and menacing expressions, Jaz
dominated the scene; whilst guitarists Geordie and Raven swayed effortlessly
from side to side in time to drummer Paul’s pounding tribal beats. Wow! It’s all coming back to me…
The highlights of the set for me were Psyche, Wardance,
Dominator and one of my personal favourite KJ tracks – Change. I managed to
find the full set list at setlist.fm
Once the gig finished we waited back stage not quite knowing
what to expect or how we would be received. We were beckoned to come in after
about ten minutes, and here follows the interview that was featured in Kindred
Spirit.
*******************************************
On the surface it seemed like a chance too good
to miss. Face to face with Killing Joke, showering them with ridiculous
questions, making them promise to play a gig in Hull
Having said all that however, by the end of the
gig I’d somehow managed to convince myself that this most definitely was a chance too good to miss.
One shouldn’t be fooled by everything one reads after all, should one?
Once backstage it soon became apparent that we
hadn’t chosen the best of nights to hold any sort of level headed conversation
with the band. It was lead guitarist Geordie’s birthday and celebrations were
well and truly underway by the time we were permitted to join the post-gig
pandemonium.
The birthday boy himself remained almost silent,
apart from scrounging the odd cigarette and agreeing with Jaz when necessary.
Bassist Raven (a fan of the Red Guitars incidentally) was for 99% of the time
nowhere to be seen and Paul the drummer appeared to be deep in discussion
somewhere on the other side of the room.
The only member of the band who was in fact
prepared to make a few comments was Jaz.
Sat silently in the corner regaining his breath
and having removed all traces of war paint, he didn’t look anywhere near as
forbidding. After making the expected general enquiries about who we were,
flicking through the fanzine and handing us drinks, party hats etc Jaz seemed
quite content to be bombarded with questions.
We all agreed that glittering Tiffany’s, complete
with Christmas decorations, bow-tied bouncers et al wasn’t exactly the ideal
venue for a Killing Joke gathering and Jaz seemed somewhat disappointed about
the manner in which the audience had reacted to their performance.
“They were a bit tame tonight. I thought they were getting a bit tired
of us by the end. We’ve played here before, I don’t think we’ll be playing here
again somehow.”
Do
you think your change of style has attracted a slightly different type of
crowd?
“No. They’re all the same. One or two still spit and they all wear
leather jackets and dance crazy. I’m glad they are still hardcore
thought – I’d rather they were.”
Do
you class yourself as a “hardcore” band?
“No. We make savage music that has got feeling and feeling is nothing to
do with uniform. We’re more of an ‘80s band than a ‘70s band.”
Were
you influenced in any way by any of the ‘70s punk bands?
“I liked the Pistols, “Neat Neat Neat” by the Damned and bits and pieces
of the early Ants, but I only liked a certain amount from that period, it
lacked imagination or musicianship. I liked the guitar, the wall of noise and
letting yourself go. That’s part of our roots isn’t it? Part of our entire heritage
because I’ll tell you now there’s a lot of heritage and a lot of tradition in
Killing Joke. We’ve got four years behind us now, a long tradition and we
celebrate that. That’s what a lot of these young bands don’t have. That’s why
they go down so badly in Europe . Sex Gang
Children, Death Cult… they just don’t work abroad. The same goes for Kirk Brandon
As a total contrast you may have already heard
about the symphony which Jaz has written. Hopefully it shouldn’t be too long before
we’re given the opportunity to see it performed.
“The only thing that’s holding me up is the publishing deal. Once I’ve
got that I’ve had acceptances from two orchestras. I’d like to invite quite a
lot of fanzines to that to see what they make of it.”
What
inspired you to write it?
“I got my inspiration from making a drastic change to my life by going
to Iceland
Would
you like to live in the outdoor for a while, in a hut or a cave perhaps?
“Yes but I’d like to make it more than that. I have done already
thought. I love camping for example and I lived in the desert for two months. I
behaved like an animal – rubbed dirt all over myself – it was great.”
Why
did you do it?
 |
Sketch of Jaz Coleman from Kindred Spirit issue one |
Do
you believe in God?
“Not as a separate entity. I love to see the divine in ourselves. That
is, if I see someone who is talented, like a good cook or a good gardener I see
the divine in them. Therefore by seeing the divine in our individual selves, we
can realise our full potential. Then we can move into a world of myth and
legends where we all become a living legend, all become gods. I see God in man. It’s more colour, more
richness, more fun.”
And talking of fun it was time for yet more
helpings of Killing Joke’s favourite poison – sake. Nice stuff if you can
afford it.
“Oh I’ve no objections to a high standard of living let me tell you,
none whatsoever! I’ll take all I can get, won’t you? I think a high standard of
living is very credible itself.”
Is
that why you’ve moved away from England
to live in Switzerland
“No, I hate England England
I’ll tell you what I do like, I like waking up in a morning – it’s a
nice big house, we all have our own rooms – then I like coming down and a nice
big breakfast to be waiting for us all, put on a bit of Beethoven, nice
morning, mountains outside, have some coffee and maybe a bit of peace and
quiet. Paul reads a book, Geordie plays his guitar, then when we feel like it
we go down to the studio and do some rehearsing. Then we get drunk, go down to
a club and ponce drinks off everybody.”
But there are a great many people who can’t do
that. Don’t you ever think about them?
“That’s bollocks! We couldn’t do that once. We pushed for it. I came
from a little village; they came from Milton Keynes and Newcastle
What
other main themes are there running through your music?
“Fire and drums. It’s extrovert music, it’s offensive music, it’s music
about willpower. I think we’re moving towards a time now when the willpower is
more important than the intellect. You see, I’ve experienced that intellect
within its analysis (?) goes nowhere, but a person who has willpower sets
everything into motion. No matter how naïve they are they’ll achieve far more
than the intellect.
I think there’s a fair amount of intellectual capacity with Killing Joke
but we enjoy the simple things in life. I come from the countryside and I want
basically to be able to offer a future to others. The lifestyle we have, I want
to be able to offer to others.
Do
you think there is anyone else moving along the same lines?
“You tell me.” (Pause for thought) “Boy George!”
Really?
What do you think of Boy George?
He irritates me. His music is the sort I detest. I’d rather listen to
Beethoven’s 5th or Wagner than Boy George. It’s music which is there
for making money and adding a bit of glamour and glitter to people’s dull,
mediocre lives. I’ve no time for it.”
But
isn’t he doing what you do – taking all he can get?
“Oh as an individual I can respect what he’s doing… I don’t like it
though! From the financial side I can see his point of view perfectly.
Are
you planning on making any more videos?
“Yes, a few videos. We made one to Fire Dances but it didn’t get shown
very much at all over here. They said it was too violent. It was shown in all
the clubs in America
Do
you think Killing Joke will ever be played on a regular basis on daytime radio?
“I don’t think so. Our music’s too savage. It stops you from doing what
you’re doing and demands your full attention. Most of the stuff played on the
radio is to perpetuate the mediocrity and slavery that goes on half the time.
Our music is hardly commercial, but I think situations will make it so next
year. I think we’ll go quite big next year because we’re selling well in Europe
and America now, better than
England
So
supposing you become megastars ’84?
“I couldn’t give a fuck! It wouldn’t change my life. I’d still be with
the people that I like and we’d still make savage music, in fact it would
become more savage. It would just meant that I’d get more sake!”
Between making sure that his glass didn’t run dry
and singing happy birthday to Geordie, Jaz talked non stop on a wide range of
subjects: drugs, mythology, the music press, his family… all fascinating stuff.
Had we printed every word the entire fanzine would probably have been filled
with Coleman statements only.
Before calling it a day however, we did just ask
whether or not the band had any plans to return to Hull
“Of course we’ll be playing in Hull Hull Hull Hull
******************************************
Here is the review of a Killing Joke gig that took place at Hull's Spring Street Theatre in 1983.
Although
not a Hull band, Killing Joke had something of a
cult following in Hull
This
was the first time I personally ever saw Killing Joke play live but I was an instant convert. When we later went on to carry out the above interview with Jaz Coleman after the gig at Leeds Tiffanys it was an altogether different experience, but for me the up close and personal nature of the Spring Street gig made much more of an impact and seemed a more fitting backdrop to KJs heavy tribal sound.
Support act for this gig was the excellent Play Dead, who we also later went on to interview in Kindred Spirit. The Play Dead interview will be published here on the blog in due course, bear with me on that one!
You
could almost see the word ‘aggression’ written across every face in that sweaty
crowd. You could see it in their clenched fists, outstretched arms and stamping
feet. Superfluous energy and pent up aggression all released quite painlessly
to the pounding tribal beat.
“Frenzy”
screamed out, almost rocking the foundations and driving the audience into a
frenzy, whilst “Empire Song” inevitably caused the crowd to leap a little
higher. If anything though, the old favourites “War Dance” and “Pssyche”
received the most enthusiastic response. The bouncers were virtually useless in
their attempts to keep fans from climbing on stage, not helped by Jaz who, with
that evil glint in his eyes used his backside to try and push them flat on
their faces.
All
credit must surely go to Jaz. He never showed any signs of turning his back on
the faithful supporters. From the first drum beat to the last guitar siren, he
was with them all the way.
******************************************
Here is the review of a Killing Joke gig that took place at Hull's Spring Street Theatre in 1983.
Although
not a  |
| This and other poems featured in Kindred Spirit can be found here |
Support act for this gig was the excellent Play Dead, who we also later went on to interview in Kindred Spirit. The Play Dead interview will be published here on the blog in due course, bear with me on that one!
Whilst digging around online I came across a blog entry written by a die hard KJ fan which includes photos taken by fellow fan Simon Hill at the Spring Street gig reviewed in Kindred Spirit. I've included a couple here in this article, but you can see the full set here
Here follows the review which appeared in Kindred Spirit issue one.
You
could almost see the word ‘aggression’ written across every face in that sweaty
crowd. You could see it in their clenched fists, outstretched arms and stamping
feet. Superfluous energy and pent up aggression all released quite painlessly
to the pounding tribal beat.
Not
really knowing a great deal about Killing Joke, I managed to view their
performance without any great expectations.
For
the first ten minutes of the show I was absolutely mesmerised by the expression
on lead singer Jaz Coleman’s brightly painted face. There was an almost evil
glint in his eyes as he leapt to and fro, laughing scornfully and beckoning to
his followers.
The
small theatre was literally overflowing with doting fans and without trying too
hard Jaz dominated the scene.
Strangely
enough there weren’t any really noticeable high spots. Each number was
delivered with all the power of the Clash, finishing in a blaze of glory every
time.
“Frenzy”
screamed out, almost rocking the foundations and driving the audience into a
frenzy, whilst “Empire Song” inevitably caused the crowd to leap a little
higher. If anything though, the old favourites “War Dance” and “Pssyche”
received the most enthusiastic response. The bouncers were virtually useless in
their attempts to keep fans from climbing on stage, not helped by Jaz who, with
that evil glint in his eyes used his backside to try and push them flat on
their faces.
Bass
guitarist Paul scowled and cursed as one rather hefty skinhead continually
grabbed his ankles, determined to join his heroes one way or another.
Never
before have I seen such fervour last throughout an entire performance.
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