The discography of Killing Joke, a British rock band, consists of 15 studio albums, seven live albums, 14 compilation albums, five extended plays (EPs), 31 singles and four video albums. The band formed in late 1978–early 1979 in Notting Hill, London, England.[1][2]
| Killing Joke discography | |
|---|---|
 Killing Joke performing in 2010 | |
| Studio albums | 15 |
| EPs | 5 |
| Live albums | 17 |
| Compilation albums | 16 |
| Singles | 32 |
| Video albums | 4 |
| Music videos | 15 |
In October 1979, shortly after they began the Malicious Damage record label, Killing Joke released their debut EP, Turn to Red.[3] It was shortly followed by their second EP, Almost Red, released in November, and by their first single, "Nervous System", released in December 1979. Their first studio album, Killing Joke, was released in 1980. The album, which peaked at number 39 on the UK Albums Chart,[4] produced three singles: "Wardance", "Change" and "Requiem". Their second studio album, What's THIS For...!, was released in 1981 and reached number 42 in the UK.[1] "Follow the Leaders", the only single to be released from the album, charted in the UK and in the U.S.[4][5] Their third album, Revelations, was released in 1982 and peaked at number 12 in the UK, and number 33 in New Zealand.[1][4][6] Two singles, "Empire Song" and "Chop-Chop", were released from the album, but only "Empire Song" charted in the UK.[4] After the release of their third EP, Birds of a Feather and the eponymous single, which charted in the UK, Killing Joke released their fourth studio album, Fire Dances, in July 1983. The only single from Fire Dances, "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)", and the album both charted in the UK.[1][4] In October, they released "Me or You?", a non-album single that charted in the UK.[4]
Their fifth album, Night Time, was released in 1985. It achieved mainstream success, reaching number 11 in the UK, 8 in the Netherlands, and 50 in Sweden, receiving the silver certification in the UK. It was preceded by the single "Eighties", non-album single "A New Day" and "Love Like Blood", and followed by "Kings and Queens". All four singles charted in the UK, but "Love Like Blood" was an international hit and charted in Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and New Zealand.[7] The album itself peaked at number 11 in the UK, 8 in Netherlands, and 50 in Sweden.[1][4] In 1986, Killing Joke released their sixth studio album, Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, and two singles, "Adorations" and "Sanity". The album charted in the UK and in the U.S., and both singles only in the UK.[1][4][5] Outside the Gate, their seventh studio album, was released in 1988. While it was not promoted, the album and two singles from it, "America" and "My Love of This Land", charted in the UK.[4] Coleman and Walker temporarily decided to disband the band. The Courtauld Talks, released in 1989, was essentially a spoken word album. Killing Joke's eighth album, Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions, was released in 1990. It included two singles, "The Beautiful Dead" and "Money Is Not Our God". A Killing Joke anthology, Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!, and two singles featuring "Change" and "Wardance" in several new versions remixed by Youth, were released in 1992. Pandemonium, released 1994, and Democracy, in 1996, resulted in five singles: "Exorcism", "Millennium" (a UK Top 40 hit), "Pandemonium" (a UK Top 30 hit), "Jana" and "Democracy" (a UK Top 40 hit).[1][4]
After the Democracy tour, the band went on an extended hiatus until 2002, when Coleman, Geordie and Youth reformed Killing Joke. Their second self-titled album was released in 2003. The album reached the UK Top 40, and produced two singles, "Loose Cannon" (a UK Top 25 hit)[4] and "Seeing Red". In February 2005, Killing Joke played two consecutive shows to commemorate their 25th anniversary. DVD and CD recordings from these concerts were released in the fall of 2005 as XXV Gathering: The Band That Preys Together Stays Together. In June, remastered and expanded editions of their two 1990s Butterfly Recordings albums, Pandemonium and Democracy, were released by Cooking Vinyl. These were followed in July by their first four albums (from Killing Joke to Ha!) on EMI. Hosannas from the Basements of Hell was released in April 2006 on Cooking Vinyl. The album made the UK Top 75. Early in 2007, Killing Joke released three archival collections via Candlelight Records: Inside Extremities, Bootleg Vinyl Archive Volumes 1 & 2 and, in October, Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions. On 28 January 2008, the albums Fire Dances, Night Time, Brighter Than a Thousand Suns and Outside the Gate were reissued in remastered form with bonus tracks by EMI. Each of these carried the message: Dedicated to our brother Paul Vincent Raven 1961–2007.
In 2008, Killing Joke released Duende - The Spanish Sessions and an album of radio session recordings, The Peel Sessions 1979-1981. The EP In Excelsis was released in 2010, and the following studio album, Absolute Dissent, was released in September 2010. On 2 April 2012, Killing Joke released their 15th studio album, MMXII on Spinefarm Records/Universal. It reached number 44 on the UK albums chart upon its first week of release,[4] and number 9 on the Finnish albums chart.[8]
On 23 October 2015, the band released their 15th studio album, Pylon.
Albums
editStudio albums
edit| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
FIN [8] |
FRA [9] |
NL [10] |
NZ [11] |
SWE [12] |
US [13] | |||
| 1980 | Killing Joke
|
39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1981 | What's THIS For...!
|
42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1982 | Revelations
|
12 | — | — | — | 33 | — | — | |
| 1983 | Fire Dances
|
29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1985 | Night Time
|
11 | — | — | 10 | 8 | 50 | — | UK: Gold[14] |
| 1986 | Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
|
54 | — | — | — | — | — | 194 | — |
| 1988 | Outside the Gate
|
92 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990 | Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994 | Pandemonium | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996 | Democracy
|
71 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | Killing Joke
|
43 | — | 108 | 100 | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | Hosannas from the Basements of Hell
|
113 | — | 173 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2010 | Absolute Dissent
|
71 | 37 | 113 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012 | MMXII
|
44 | 9 | 134 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015 | Pylon
|
16 | — | 98 | 70 | — | — | — | — |
Live albums
edit| Year | Album | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK [4] | ||
| 1982 | The Unperverted Pantomime | |
| Ha | 66 | |
| 1989 | The Courtauld Talks | — |
| 1995 | BBC in Concert | — |
| 2001 | No Way Out But Forward Go! | — |
| 2005 | XXV Gathering: Let Us Prey | — |
| 2008 | The Original Unperverted Pantomime | — |
| Live at the Forum | — | |
| 2009 | Requiem | — |
| 2009 | The Gathering 2008 | — |
| 2011 | Down by the River | — |
| 2015 | Live at the Hammersmith Apollo 16.10.2010 Volume 1 | — |
| Live at the Hammersmith Apollo 16.10.2010 Volume 2 | — | |
| 2016 | The Great Gathering | — |
| 2018 | Laugh at Your Peril (Live in London) | — |
| Laugh at Your Peril (Live in Berlin) | — | |
| 2019 | Malicious Damage (Live at the Astoria) | — |
| 2021 | Total Invasion: Live in the USA | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. | ||
Compilation albums
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1990 | An Incomplete Collection 1980-1985 |
| 1992 | Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! |
| 1995 | Wilful Days |
| 1996 | Alchemy – The Remixes
|
| 1998 | Wardance – The Remixes
|
| 2003 | The Unperverted Pantomime |
| 2004 | Chaos for Breakfast |
| For Beginners | |
| 2007 | Inside Extremities: Mixes, Rehearsals and Live |
| Bootleg Vinyl Archive Vol. 1 | |
| Bootleg Vinyl Archive Vol. 2 | |
| 2008 | Rmxd
|
| The Peel Sessions 1979-1981 | |
| Duende - The Spanish Sessions | |
| 2013 | The Singles Collection 1979-2012[15][16] |
| 2014 | Killing Joke in Dub
|
Extended plays
edit| Year | Title | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Turn to Red
| ||
| 1995 | Jana Live
| ||
| 2010 | In Excelsis
| ||
| 2022 | Lord of Chaos
|
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
GER [17] |
IRE [18] |
NL [19] |
NZ [11] |
US Dance [5] | |||
| 1979 | "Nervous System" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Turn to Red |
| 1980 | "Wardance" | — | — | — | — | — | 50 | Killing Joke |
| "Change"[20] | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Requiem" | — | — | — | — | — | 43 | ||
| 1981 | "Follow the Leaders" | 55 | — | — | — | — | 25 | What's THIS For...! |
| 1982 | "Empire Song" | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | Revelations |
| "Chop-Chop" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Birds of a Feather" | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | Birds of a Feather | |
| 1983 | "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)" | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | Fire Dances |
| "Me or You?" | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album song | |
| 1984 | "Eighties" | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | Night Time |
| "A New Day" | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album song | |
| 1985 | "Love Like Blood" | 16 | 24 | 30 | 5 | 6 | — | Night Time |
| "Kings and Queens" | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "Adorations" | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | Brighter Than a Thousand Suns |
| "Sanity" | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988 | "America" | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | Outside the Gate |
| "My Love of This Land" | 89 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990 | "The Beautiful Dead"[21] | — | — | — | — | — | — | Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions |
| 1991 | "Money Is Not Our God" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1992 | "Change: The Youth Mixes" | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album song |
| 1994 | "Exorcism" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pandemonium |
| "Millennium" | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Pandemonium" | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995 | "Jana" | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1996 | "Democracy" | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | Democracy |
| 1998 | "Love Like Blood/Intellect" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Night Time and Democracy |
| 2003 | "Loose Cannon" | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | Killing Joke (2003) |
| "Seeing Red" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "Hosannas from the Basements of Hell" | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | Hosannas from the Basements of Hell |
| 2011 | "European Super State" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Absolute Dissent |
| 2012 | "In Cythera" | — | — | — | — | — | — | MMXII |
| "Corporate Elect" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015 | "I Am the Virus" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pylon |
| "Euphoria" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Dawn of the Hive" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020 | "Turn to Red 2020" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album song |
| "War Dance (Liminal Twins Disorientation Mix)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Part of the book Killing Joke: A Prophecy Fulfilled by Chris Bryans | |
| 2023 | "Full Spectrum Dominance" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album song |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||
Videography
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Rok ďábla/Year of the Devil (feat. Jaz Coleman)
|
| 2003 | No Way Out But Forward Go!
|
| 2005 | XXV Gathering: The Band That Preys Together Stays Together
|
| 2009 | Requiem (Live) |
| 2019 | Malicious Damage - Live at the Astoria 12.10.03
|
Music videos
edit| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Let's All Go (To the Fire Dances)" | Tony Van Den Ende[22][23] |
| 1984 | "Eighties" | |
| "A New Day" | ||
| 1985 | "Love Like Blood" | Peter Care[24] |
| "Kings and Queens" | ||
| 1986 | "Adorations" | |
| "Sanity" | ||
| 1988 | "America" | Ralph Ziman[25] |
| 1991 | "Money Is Not Our God" | |
| 1994 | "Millennium" | Jon Klein[26] |
| "Pandemonium" | C.B.[27] | |
| 1996 | "Democracy" | Guy Guillet[28] |
| 2003 | "Loose Cannon" | |
| "Seeing Red" | Oblong Box | |
| 2006 | Electronic Press Kit (EPK) | |
| "Hosannas from the Basements of Hell" | Petr Zelenka[29] | |
| 2011 | "European Super State" | Digital Beast[30] |
| 2012 | "In Cythera" | Mike Coles[31] |
| 2013 | "Corporate Elect" | Mikee Goodman[32] |
| 2016 | "New Cold War" | Mike Coles[33] |
| "Euphoria" | ||
| 2023 | "Full Spectrum Dominance" |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Hightower, Laura; DeRemer, Leigh Ann (2001). "Killing Joke". Contemporary Musicians. Profiles of the people in music. Vol. 30. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research. ISBN 0-7876-4641-5. OCLC 51547697.
- ^ "Killing Joke". Where to Start with. Kerrang. Archived from the original on 18 May 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ "Malicious Damage". Malicious Damage. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Chart Stats - Killing Joke. OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved on 5 July 2010
- ^ a b c "Killing Joke > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- ^ Killing Joke - Revelations (album), lescharts.com, retrieved 21 October 2014
- ^ Fun & Games: Killing Joke in the mid-'80s by Adrien Begrand, PopMatters.com.
- ^ a b "Discographie Killing Joke". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved on 10 November 2010.
- ^ "Discographie Killing Joke". lescharts.com. Retrieved on 5 July 2010.
- ^ "charts.org.nz - Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Discography Killing Joke". charts.org.nz. Retrieved on 5 July 2010.
- ^ "Discography Killing Joke". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 5 July 2010.
- ^ Billboard Albums. Allmusic. Chart information courtesy of Billboard.com © 2006 VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Retrieved on 5 July 2010.
- ^ "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2010. Note: User needs to enter "Killing Joke" in the "Search" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Go" button.
- ^ "The Singles Collection: 1979-2012 (April 15th)". Killing Joke's official. 13 December 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012.
- ^ "Killing Joke 'The Singles Collection 1979-2012' Out Now". Spinefarm Records. 6 May 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Chartverfolgung - KILLING JOKE" (in German). Musicline.de. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". IRMA. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- ^ "charts.org.nz - Dutch charts portal" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ Unofficial single released on 17 March 1980 at the Peel Sessions as a 7" single and limited to only 300 copies.
- ^ Unofficial single released in 1990 under ODIC Production as a 7" Flexi disc single.
- ^ Van Den Ende, Tony. "Music Video & Concert Credits - A Full & Updated List". Anthony Van Den Ende. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Pitalo, Stephen (20 March 2012). "eighties"-video-for-killing-joke-"they-were-a-frightening-band"/ "Director Recalls Shooting 'Eighties' Video For Killing Joke: 'They Were a Frightening Band'". The Golden Age of Music Video. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Care, Peter. "Music Videos - UK 1983-1986 - Killing Joke, Love Like Blood". petercare.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Brendon (11 September 2011). "Killing Joke". Autodistruzione Cerebrale 2.0 - Musica e di più!. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock - Google Books. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306076. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022. p. 93.
- ^ "Production Notes - Los Angeles". Billboard. 21 January 1995. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022. p. 42.
- ^ Atwood, Brett (8 June 1996). "Larry ('Kids') Clark Among Directors Getting Original". Billboard. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ Munro, Scott (15 October 2019). "Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman: I could have saved Heath Ledger". Louder/Future Publishing Limited Quay House. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Hanna, Robert (29 April 2013). "Preview: Killing Joke at Neumos". SSG Music. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ Janes, Steve (12 March 2012). "Killing Joke new single 'In Cythera' March 19th". WithGuitars. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ Welding, Alan D. (10 May 2013). "KILLING JOKE - New Video Single Unveiled". Pittsburgh Music Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ Cody, Randy "Rocket" (29 March 2016). "KILLING JOKE – Release New Music Video". The Metal Den. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.