With a brief look at some notables along the road, Chang Terhune’s Music Mondays aims to shed light on both new and old(er) music over a wide spectrum of sound (and vision). This week: RIP Geordie Walker of Killing Joke 1957—2023.
Requiem
RIP Geordie Walker of Killing Joke 1957—2023
Geordie Walker, guitarist for Killing Joke, last of the great punk and post-punk bands of the 1970s, died on Friday November 24, 2023 from a massive stroke at age 64. Remembrances poured out from all over the breadth and width of musicians, those who knew him and those who didn’t. Many said the same thing: that they’d never pick up a guitar without hearing him play.
One could be forgiven for asking why a band more closely aligned with the heavy metal scene of late would be featured in an experimental electronic music magazine. For those unfamiliar with Killing Joke’s legacy there’s many reasons. That KJ were one of the first bands to expand their formidable sound with synthesizers should be enough to satisfy that. However, it’s safe to say that without KJ there’d be no KLF (Jimmy Cauty was a roadie in the early days of the band), nor The Orb (Alex Patterson, a childhood friend of Youth, KJ’s first bassist, was a founding member of The Orb) or Drum Club or any number of other bands.
But Geordie Walker was a much more varied player than what you hear on “Eighties.” He played a semi-hollow body electric guitar which along with some effects produced a very unique tone unlike anyone else. You knew a Killing Joke song from two things: Geordie’s guitar and Jaz’s voice.
My favorite KJ track is “Me Or You,” a single from the Fire Dances era. It’s easy to write it off as a pop ditty with Jay’s sweet vocals and the delicate dampened guitar until you get to the chorus where Paul Ferguson’s drums amplify the pounding of Geordie’s guitar.
After discovering Killing Joke in 1985 I wouldn’t see them until 2009 for a variety of reasons. I saw them three times in total and every time the band was flawless, raw and powerful. Absolute blasting into each song like they were 18 again. They regularly opened shows with Tomorrow’s World which is a slow burner, thumping and thudding into the apocalypse.
“The Gathering,” from Fire Dances became one of the bands anthems. “The Gathering” was a semi-regular event where fans came to see the band and friends play. It’s a showcase of the band as a whole where Geordie’s guitar holds the entire song together so the rest of the band can propel the ritual of the song forward.
The band toured regularly (when they weren’t on one of many hiatus’) where they honed their craft from the early days, still wielding perfect versions of their older tracks at every show. It’s where their sound was truly forged I believe and where their skills and prowess are best displayed.
This live set is absolutely perfect Killing Joke in action:
Killing Joke also ended every show in recent years with “Pandemonium.” When the first notes hit the entire crowd would roar with joy as the song was an anthem to both the band and to life. Embracing chaos and playing hard, loving your tribe and holding each other up. We shall all go to the gathering.
Personally, Killing Joke are one of the bands which formed my own musical being. The first album of theirs I owned was Night Time which I bought for the single “Eighties.” It’s amazing how almost 40 years later the song has lost none of its power, insight and relevance. When I heard the news of his passing I was as shocked as anyone. And I chose to change; my grief into a celebration of some of my favorite Killing Joke songs that highlight the legendary guitar work of Geordie Walker. Rest in peace, six-stringed titan!
Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell is available on Cooking Vinyl. [Bandcamp]
