THIS IS MUSIC
TO MARCH TO
DO A WAR DANCE
Killing Joke
is the debut
studio album by
English post-punk band
released on
October 5, 1980
by E.G. via
Polydor Records.
It debuted at number 41
on the
UK Albums Chart
on
October 25th1980
and later peaked at
number 39.
Background and Recording
Singer and keyboardist
Jaz Coleman
met drummer
Paul Ferguson
in late 1978.
In February 1979,
they put an announcement in
Melody Maker
with the words:
"Bass, lead, to tell the killing joke,
we mean it man !
Total exploitation,
no information, anonymity".
They soon recruited
guitarist
Geordie Walker
and then bassist
Youth.
After releasing a few singles,
they recorded
Killing Joke
in August 1980
at Marquee Studios
in London,
shortly after a small tour
promoting the
Almost Red EP.
The album was self-produced
by the band on purpose.
They only wanted an engineer
"who can put their
technical knowledge
into what we want,
the way we want it.
He's got to take us as we are".
They recorded it live
in the studio as
"basic"
as possible with
"no overdubs to speak of";
Ferguson explained,
"The mixing is where the difference is".
Engineer
Phil Harding
reckons the recording
of the album might
have only taken two weeks.
The album's lyrics
were written by
Coleman and Ferguson
expressing their opinions
on issues such as
politics,
death,
hypocrisy,
human nature,
pollution
and exile.
The artwork was based on
a photograph by
Don McCullin
of young rioters
trying to escape
from clouds of
CS gas
released by the
British Army in
Derry,
Northern Ireland,
on July 8th 1971
during the Troubles.
The original picture
was taken a
few months before
the day now known as
Bloody Sunday
that took place i
n the same town
in early 1972.
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