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

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.

[1] Their style evolved over many years, at times incorporating elements of gothic rock,[2] synth-pop and electronic music, but always featuring Walker's prominent guitar and Coleman's "savagely strident vocals".

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.

[9] 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.

[11] 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.

[12] 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".

For this second album, they hired sound engineer Nick Launay, who had previously recorded with Public Image Ltd.[14] 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".

[18] He then began the band Brilliant with Ferguson, but the latter defected and travelled to Iceland to rejoin Killing Joke with new bassist Paul Raven.

[7] The band achieved mainstream success in January 1985 with the single "Love Like Blood", which blended goth and new wave to pop and rock;[20] it peaked at No.

The label rejected Kimsey's original mixes and had the album re-mixed against the wishes of the band, in an attempt to achieve more commercial success.

[26] Coleman then delivered a lecture at London's Courtauld Institute about his method behind the songs, expounding on its origins in gematria and the occult, while Walker and Scantlebury provided a minimal acoustic musical backing.

[27] The resulting album, Outside the Gate, released the following June, is Killing Joke's most controversial work to date due to its complex synth instrumentation and stylistic departure.

Virgin dropped the band two months later, by which time Coleman and Walker had become embroiled in a lengthy legal battle to extricate themselves from their contract with E.G.

First on board was drummer Martin Atkins, who had gained notability in Public Image Ltd. A suitable bass player proved more difficult.

Eventually the band settled on Welsh bass player Dave "Taif" Ball, and played their first gigs in almost two years in December 1988.

The result was Killing Joke's eighth album, Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions, released on the German Noise International label in 1990.

Atkins continued with Walker, Raven and the band's live keyboard player, John Bechdel, as the short-lived Murder, Inc., recruiting Scottish vocalist Chris Connelly and reuniting with Ferguson as second drummer.

That same year, two singles (on cassette and CD) appeared featuring the early songs "Change" and "Wardance" remixed by Youth, who was by then a successful producer.

[33] In late 1993, Walker, Youth, and Coleman (alongside new drummer Geoff Dugmore) started work on Killing Joke's ninth studio album.

In February 2005, now with young drummer Ben Calvert (Twin Zero, Sack Trick), Killing Joke played two consecutive shows at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire to commemorate their 25th anniversary.

That year, Reza Udhin joined the band on keyboards when they supported Mötley Crüe's British tour; they then began work on their next album in Prague.

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

Obviously before punk, there was Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and there was Yes even and King Crimson, and those had all influenced me as a player, and the other guys would say other things, but I'm sure they were all part of their history as well".

[63] In the first part of their career, Coleman also played synth while singing, adding electronic atonal sounds to create a disturbing atmosphere.

[73] Walker's style inspired Kurt Cobain's work with Nirvana, according to Bill Janovitz of AllMusic, with the use of a metallic sound mixed with a shimmering chorused effect.

Shoegaze guitarist and composer Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine mentioned the band and specifically praised Walker's touch, which he described as "this effortless playing producing a monstruous sound".

[79] In 2002, James Murphy of dance-punk band LCD Soundsystem lifted the rhythm section of "Change" on his debut single, "Losing My Edge".

[80][81][82] Killing Joke were the subject of a feature-length documentary film, The Death and Resurrection Show (2013), by filmmaker Shaun Pettigrew;[83] its genesis came from an earlier video work financed by Coleman called Let Success Be Your Proof.