[kj] KJ first album art/Alexinnyc's job

[Darren A. Peace]

First album artwork could have gone in an entirely different direction.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/photography/magnify.php?imageid=im0
0158

Darren
Hungerford, UK

-----Original Message-----
From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net] On
Behalf Of B. Oliver Sheppard
Sent: 24 July 2007 17:43
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
Subject: Re: [kj] KJ first album art/Alexinnyc's job

Damn -- about war photographer Don McCullin's VX gas attack photo -- I 
had no idea about that. You learn something new every day. I'm going to 
try to look it up. I like the image.

UK Decay, on their "For My Country," it's got a photo that has a similar 
feel, and in a used bookstore I found what looked like a souvenir book 
from a British war museum or something, and the cover looked like the UK 
Decay thing. I could be wrong. I thought about buying it to compare, but 
even at only $6, it seemed a bit much just to see if some band had used it.

Back in that era (early 80s), using war photos was really the punky 
thing, eh? Crass, Discharge. Not that tons of them aren't still doing it 
relentlessly, as if 1984 were still just around the corner..... The 
whole martial industrial subgenre of music is just almost maniacally 
obsessed with WW1 - WW2 photos for their album art.

Hope you're holding out okay. Of course, not living in a place nearly as 
expensive as I've heard NYC is, I can't imagine how one could hold out 
even a week!

-Oliver


Alexander Smith wrote:

>

> Cheers, Oliver -- well, Fox News never ended up calling me, so it 

> looks like that's all for naught. Can't say I'm especially 

> disappointed. I did get an interview request from the equally noxious 

> E! News Daily, but because they're on the West Coast and I'm here -- 

> that also won't be happening. Not crushed about that one either. 

> Still, a job would be nice.

>

> Regarding the first album artwork, I know we discussed it here ages 

> ago, but `twas before you arrived. The actual photo is by a storied 

> war photographer named Don McCullin. I found an image of the original 

> in a big coffee table book of his in a long-since closed photog shop 

> in Soho a few years back. You can actually see the faces of the 

> running folks. Suffice to say, the inscription scrawled on the wall 

> does *not* say "Killing Joke," alas. The image is titled something 

> like "VX Gas Attack, Belfast".

>

> Incidentally, Mike Coles *DID* sign his name on that artwork, clearly 

> visible on the album cover. Can anyone name where it is? You'll win a 

> special no-prize.

>

> Jobless in NYC

>

>


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