[kj] Geordie

[Phil Tofield]

So I was getting ready for work last monday and thought I'd just check my
phone quickly. There was a WhatsApp message from my brother sent in the
middle of the night. He lives in Israel so bearing in mind the shit that's
kicked off out there recently, I was more than a little worried about what
he might have to say. The next few minutes are a bit of a blur. I
couldn't believe what I'd just read. I know I burst into tears almost
instantly. My Mrs was holding me asking what was wrong. I showed her the
message......

I'm ten years old. My older brother, Pat, has just got back from London
raving about this new band he saw last night called Killing Joke. It was
one of their first gigs. I'm an avid listener to the John Peel show. I've
got this little leather bound FM radio with a single mono earpiece (still
got it, still works!) and I listen most nights under the covers until I
fall asleep. So when I hear Peel play Turn to Red a few days later, my ears
prick up. This is good! Not long after this, Pat bought me the first album
for my 11th birthday. That was it. We were both hooked. For life. No other
band comes anywhere close and never will. And we all know the reason that
Killing Joke were such a special band. That fucking guitar!

Now I must admit, my love for Killing Joke has waned somewhat in recent
years. For me, their last great album, the last album that I played over
and over and over again, was Democracy (and that was like over 20 years
ago!). I've found their output since then to be quite hit and miss to be
honest and apart from the odd outstanding track I've just found it all a
bit.....samey. With each new album, after a few listens, I'd find myself
skipping tracks. Then more tracks. Then after only a few weeks or months,
I'd be a bit bored of the whole thing. That never used to happen with the
earlier stuff. The last single they put out, I have to confess I've not
listened to it all the way through even once.

That said, I still love them for their earlier work. And live they were
always something to behold. I saw them more times than I can remember, the
last
time was in Birmingham a couple of years ago. I was lucky enough to meet
Geordie a few times. Only briefly, but he was always an absolute gent. I
had a ticket for the Albert Hall gig, but had a funeral to go to early the
next morning so had to give it a miss. Doubly gutted now, as it turned out
to be their last gig.

As for the future, well there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this
is the end of Killing Joke. Much as it pains me to say that. I remember Jaz
saying in an interview after Raven died, that he wouldn't have been able to
carry on if it had been Geordie. Well now it is, and I very much doubt if
his position will have changed. Geordie is utterly irreplaceable. He was
the sound of Killing Joke. That in itself, is quite some legacy to leave.
And who would want to see KJ with some stand in playing guitar? Not me. It
wouldn't sound right, it wouldn't look right, and it wouldn't *be* right.
We might get some reissues, remixes or some unreleased rarities coming out
from time to time, but as a working band, they are done I'm afraid. I
can't say I like the idea of reworking Geordies 2007 demos into some kind
of fake Killing Joke track either. Just leave them as they are!

Anyway, for anyone in the UK, Mark Riley on Radio 6 Music will this week be
replaying the Killing Joke session that they did for Riley and Mark
Radcliff on the late night slot on Radio 1 back when Pandemonium was
released. That was a cracking session from what I remember. Exorcism,
especially. Not sure what day or days, he just said this week.

So, the Golden Harp will be stroked no more. Farewell Geordie....

Phil
xxx
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