Killing Joke guitarist Kevin “Geordie” Walker has died, aged 64.
The news was posted on former Killing Joke drummer Martin Adkins’ Facebook page this evening (November 26). He shared a video of The Damage Manuel’s ‘Laugh Track’ – a supergroup of which they were also both a part of – with the caption “gutted”. In the comments section, Adkins wrote “Geordie has passed”, confirming the news.
He also later posted on Twitter/X writing: “#GodBless Geordie Walker”. No official statement has yet been released nor a cause of death, though it is believed Walker died from an apparent stroke. NME has reached out to representatives of Killing Joke for comment.
Walker was best known for playing guitar in the post-punk group where his unorthodox style of playing electric guitar earned him much acclaim – including from Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields, who once described Walker as having “this effortless playing producing a monstrous sound.”
Walker was a founding member of the band after answering an advert from Killing Joke founding member, Jay Coleman in Melody Maker. He was also a member of industrial music supergroups The Damage Manuel and Murder, Inc, but played on all of Killing Joke’s albums through the years.
Walker lived in the US until moving from Prague in recent years, where it is thought he died.
Tributes for Walker have poured in on social media – you can see some below:
God bless #GeordieWalker my @Killingjokeband murderinc #damagemanual band mate – tell Paul Raven I said hi xxxx pic.twitter.com/XMtwPu3mFr
— Martin Atkins (@marteeeen) November 26, 2023
What a fucking cool dude.
First saw Killing Joke in 1980, last saw them in 2023
RIP Geordie Walker
Pic: Frank Jenkinson pic.twitter.com/6WAT3bL1zM
— Complete Control PR (@pollybirkbeck) November 26, 2023
There was a jagged toughness to Geordie Walker’s guitar. He, as much as anyone else you care to mention, defined the sound of 80s Alternative Rock. Those three notes at the start of “Love Like Blood” alone opened up a whole world. R.I.P. https://t.co/XwQFugl1Oj
— Simon Price﮷ (@simon_price01) November 26, 2023
Oh fuck no!!! Responsible for one of the best bands out there and the best guitar sound ever #geordiewalker #killingjoke one of my biggest musical inspirations pic.twitter.com/GVHD9gMaDW
— Paul Gestalt (@paulpoker182) November 26, 2023
You could argue his contribution in shaping the definitive sound of eighties alternative rock, and what the nineties and noughties morphed it into is a significant one, but for now I’ll simply reminisce on the wonderful gigs I watched. R.I.P. Geordie Walker pic.twitter.com/YdCb74pWzw
— Jack Press (@JackPressy101) November 26, 2023
Killing Joke were formed in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in 1978 by Coleman, Walker as well as Paul Ferguson and Youth. While adopting a post-punk musical style, their heavier sound was a key influence on industrial rock and had elements of goth, synth-pop and electronica.
Their first album, Killing Joke, was released in 1980 but it wasn’t until their 1985 studio album ‘Night Time’ that the band earned mainstream success with ‘Night Time’.
Walker and Coleman were constant members of the Killing Joke lineup and had been reunited with founding members Ferguson and Youth since 2008 following various line-up changes over the years.
Bands including Metallica, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden have all cited Killing Joke as influences on their music.
The band’s last album was 2015’s ‘Pylon’; an EP, ‘Lord Of Chaos’ was released in 2022 with the band’s original members. The band’s single ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ was released in March this year to celebrate their sold-out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
This is a breaking news story – more to follow
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