
Remember that time with Dave Grohl…?
The Singles World Tour coincides with the release of The Singles Collection – 35 years of hits, and a compendium of new wave experimentation from one of the world’s most influential outfits. Jaz ponders the question of what Australian fans can expect on this tour. After a long pause he replies “What can you expect for this tour? I don’t know, I’ve never seen the band play, to be perfectly honest. When everyone gets together for our concerts, it’s not just a concert, it is a ceremony for people who share similar ideas about individual liberties and the idea of freedom and living outside of the grid, and looking for alternative or better ways to live. Killing Joke concerts are traditionally forums for people who are interested in counter-culture if you like. It is a very close relationship we have with the people who put food into our stomachs.”
Killing Joke paved the way for an entire generation of musicians, and are listed as major influences on innumerable iconic albums from the 1990s, and by artists including Metallica, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, and Faith No More. “It’s hard to say where our influence comes from” explains Coleman. We’re four such different individuals that there is a library of musical styles that influences us. Punk affected all of our lives, but the rhythm section of punk bored us. We were all into reggae and 70s disco dance music to be honest – so we were already interested in hybrid styles. Not all of our inspiration came from music – I always give thanks to the almighty that I am in a band where everybody hates football, and sports, and nobody talks about it.”
Killing Joke were last in Australia in 2004 for the tour following their second self-titled album, on which Dave Grohl played drums, and this will be the first time the band has played on New Zealand soil, even though Coleman is a part-time resident of Auckland. “This Australasian leg will mark the end of the world tour, which started at the beginning of last year (2012) so it is quite a long tour and it is a very interesting way to end – it will be the first time we’ll have played in New Zealand, but more than that – the movie about Killing Joke: The Death and Resurrection Show will be premiered in auckland the day before we play our first show over there. It’s quite an exciting time really.”
The 2003 release of the second self titled album Killing Joke was not the first time Coleman and Grohl had crossed paths – in fact there was quite a bit of controversy involved when Nirvana were accused of plagiarism, with claims that the main guitar riff from Nirvana’s 1992 release “Come as You Are” bore a striking resemblance to Killing Joke’s 1985 release “Eighties”. “Do you want the truth or the official version?” Coleman started. “When Dave Grohl came into the Killing Joke camp, he didn’t meet any resistance, but you can see in the movie that I take him out at one point when I get completely rat-faced pissed up – I make him look into the camera and I say ‘so what are we going to do about “Eighties”?’. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I take his confession in the street and put a dog-collar on him when i’m pissed out of my head.”
Killing Joke, with their razor sharp political stance, are not exactly what you would call mainstream, and have, at times, been labelled as “devil worshippers”. “Crikey. I’ve had people say all sorts of things like that. We’re an unconventional lot, but firstly, none of us believe in the devil so i don’t see how we could be devil worshippers per se. everybody believes in divinity. I had one guy ask me during a press conference if I practice necrophilia. Seriously, what do you say to that?”
The soon to be released movie about Killing Joke – The Death And Resurrection Show explores the more personal side of the band, and delves into rituals, religion, and politics. “Its the story of my bizarre career, which spans from conducting and composing for orchestras, to being with this band thats influenced a generation of music, to studying earth sciences – geo-magnetic energy and the secret history of the world, and of course a lifetime study of the occult.”
Coleman is a man of many faces; musician, actor, orchestral composer, and father, to name a few. “I’m alive, I’m fitter than I was in my 20s, and I’ve got three gorgeous daughters. I’ve got one hell of a life, but I don’t really live anywhere, I move from job to job and country to country. I’ve been living like a hobo for some time now.”
Moving on from this tour, are there any plans for future recordings from Killing Joke? “We don’t really plan anything. I think the secret to writing music is: if you make your life colourful, your music becomes colourful – you don’t even have to think about writing music, it’s just a spontaneous process that happens by living your life fully.”
Originally published 2013