How big was Killing Joke back in the 1980s and 1990s?

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Rude_Rhubarb1880@reddit

In the 90’s: not big at all To the point where the grunge/britpop generation would not have heard a single song And to be fair if it wasn’t for the come as you are controversy then I still wouldn’t have heard any of their songs

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geekroick@reddit

Heavy music is/was kind of its own thing in the UK. There are the odd bands that break through to 'household name' status (Black Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden, for example) but for the most part it's a genre that pretty much keeps itself to itself. Having a look at previous KJ tours on setlist.fm it looks like they were the kind of band that would play to crowds of 1000-2000 in the UK at their peak in late 80s/early 90s for headline shows, and that's slowly reduced in demand to the point where they've been playing 300-500+ cap shows in recent years. So, 'big'? Not really.

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Fun-Estate4188@reddit

I think it's one thing about the British music scene that works well actually, there's a load of bands that - whilst they're not particularly mainstream - can attract a couple of thousand people to their gigs, so are just about viable. One of the folk behind Killing Joke was really key to the illegal rave scene in the late 80s/early 90s. Like, not directly involved in it as of such, but was a big supporter of crews like Spiral Tribe. Forget who, though.

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heliskinki@reddit

That would be Youth - he went on to have a massive impact as a DJ, producer, and label owner. I saw him dj many a time in the early > mid 90s - and I'd argue he was as directly involved in it as any other producer back then.

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Dtoid_Ali_D@reddit

I think if you only listened to your mainstream, commercial radio station, then you probably didn't know them. I only heard about them when I was a teenager in the late 90's and then bought some of their albums.

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Lammyrider@reddit

i knew of them but only bexause i drank in the goth pub in town. i'd only recognise love like blood tho. i'd see plenty of leather jackets with them painted on the back tho back then

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Careful-Swimmer-2658@reddit

A staple at "alternative" nights in the 80s but never mainstream.

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Kangaroo197@reddit

They had no mainstream crossover appeal at all, but they were fairly popular with goths, some metal fans and post-punk types. The fan base overlapped with the likes of Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division, PIL.

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voxxyhair@reddit

I'm Canadian, and Love Like Blood was pretty big on our Alternative Radio in 1985 or whenever it came out. It's an absolute perfect classic. But, yeah.. I've mentioned it to a few friends from the USA who have no F-ing idea what I'm talking about. Pretty funny how that happens. A similar, great band you should check out if you haven't yet is The Chameleons. Start with their song "Up The Down Escalator". (1983) Very similar in genre. Another one most American friends have no idea about. They're from Manchester.

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ChunkyLover500@reddit

I stumbled on the Chameleons by accident in the middle 80’s and still listen to them. So many great songs. Too bad they weren’t more popular.

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voxxyhair@reddit

They're so good. I can't figure out why they didn't make it bigger. Maybe it was the fact that they had some of the worst album covers ever. lol

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YoruShonen@reddit (OP)

Hey I actually saw the Chameleons a couple years ago opening for The Mission. Love their music!

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voxxyhair@reddit

Sweet! These bands are huge influences on my own band. Not everyone over here gets us, but we like what we do.

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MacSamildanach@reddit

They were never huge, but among the people who liked a certain kind of music, they were certainly known. 'Love Like Blood' is easily the only song they are **widely** known for (though they had a few others more hardcore people might remember), but it was like 6-7 years after their formation. At the time, they were just one of many post-punk bands, and they had a following like you'd expect for that. However, James Hetfield was a fan, and both Soundgarden, Faith No More, and Jane's Addiction cited them as major influences. And even Nirvana and Foo Fighters. Among many others.

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Kleepuppet@reddit

I was in my twenties in the 80's and they were more Punk/New Wave than Goth (with a wide range of musical influences) and played the same big venues/festies as any other headline band. They were, and remain, less commercial than some other bands that have had more 'success". My favourite track remains "Are You Receiving".

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Stinkinhippy@reddit

never heard of them if that helps. not my scene though so I guess it only really says they were never mainstream about to catch my attention.

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geekroick@reddit

Heavy music is/was kind of its own thing in the UK. There are the odd bands that break through to 'household name' status (Black Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden, for example) but for the most part it's a genre that pretty much keeps itself to itself. Having a look at previous KJ tours on setlist.fm it looks like they were the kind of band that would play to crowds of 1000-2000 in the UK at their peak in late 80s/early 90s for headline shows, and that's slowly reduced in demand to the point where they've been playing 300-500+ cap shows in recent years. So, 'big'? Not really.

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Johnny-Alucard@reddit

Not very. People who were into alt/indie music would have known of them but they fell between most of the genre tribes. There is actually a large mural of the lead singer Jaz Coleman near where I live but that’s because I live in Cheltenham where he is from and Cheltenham has a mural festival every year! I’ve a feeling they were actually bigger in France than here.

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thickwhiteduck@reddit

In my memory they were more post-punk, Cure era, a little bit early to be proper goth and not quite the same, but loved the albums. They featured in the charts in the UK.

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sqkz69oioi@reddit

Love like blood went top 20s in the early eighties, they weren't super mainstream but had a super cult following behind them, they still played major venues and festivals though! Basically all the major successful grunge and metal bands reference them as inspiration (Metallica covered their song the wait as you probably know!) If you are into this music I would strongly recommend going on the NTS radio website, this is the UK's best online station for underground good quality music They have a section called 'infinite mixtapes', and if you select the one called 'the tube' it is a 24/7 neverending compilation of highly curated radio shows where they play all things goth, post punk and industrial, enjoy!

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How big was Killing Joke back in the 1980s and 1990s?

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22 Comments

Rude_Rhubarb1880@reddit

geekroick@reddit

Fun-Estate4188@reddit

heliskinki@reddit

Dtoid_Ali_D@reddit

Lammyrider@reddit

Careful-Swimmer-2658@reddit

Kangaroo197@reddit

voxxyhair@reddit

ChunkyLover500@reddit

voxxyhair@reddit

YoruShonen@reddit (OP)

voxxyhair@reddit

MacSamildanach@reddit

Kleepuppet@reddit

Stinkinhippy@reddit

geekroick@reddit

Johnny-Alucard@reddit

thickwhiteduck@reddit

sqkz69oioi@reddit

AutoModerator@reddit

AutoModerator@reddit