Killing Joke ready to rock festival

The band are set to join some of the biggest names in metal including Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slipknot.

Here bass player Youth, who grew up in Stoke Poges, speaks about their plans for the Knebworth extravaganza.

What is your motivation behind Killing Joke’s sound? Our intention and philosophy could be summed up as a glorious cavalry charge into the unknown. As with all the arts, inspiration and motivation must be cherished, sought out, and understood at great cost and effort.

What’s the story behind your stage name? Controversial as at least two members claim the origin, the one I like was where we were inspired by a Monty Python sketch that was called the Killing Joke , the ultimate SNAFU. My own name “Youth” was originally ‘Pig Youth’ as a satire on Big Youth, although the only person who still calls me pig is Mark Stewert from the Pop Group and a couple of ex girlfriends. I like it!

Who’s answering these questions and what do you play? Youth, bass player, producer

Tell me about the rest of the band members and how you all met? Well I met Geordie first after answering an add in melody maker he came over to my bed sit in Earls Court and refused to play my battered acoustic , he looked weird, feral, hooligan greebo vibe and insisted I hitch hike up to Cheltenham to audition. I met the others there and Jaz and Big Paul left me and Geordie and went to the pub, they were about to come back and tell me thanks but no thanks, but then heard the glorious racket that we were jamming on and, like in the movies picked up their instruments and eureka , bosh, bang! Our first song “Are you Receiving” was born.

What’s your current favourite Killing Joke song you like to perform live and why? A highlight at the moment is “My world hell” which is super heavy, Its incredible to stand next to Big Paul as makes the air shake , feel a bass sonic boom ripple through the floorboards and be lacerated by Geordies screaming Valkyre cry and Jaz's primal scream of agony and glory! Its fun seeing the audience and myself pummelled with such intense sonic artillery!

What on stage antics will the audience experience from you guys at this year’s Sonisphere Festival? Well hopefully I will be able to stay on my feet , at a goth metal festival. This week I did a bunny hop and ended flat on my ass much to Jaz’s amusement, I got up pretty fast!

Tell me about your fans, what are they like? We have a real mixed bag ...broad appeal from young teen metal fans to old punks . Coming out of punk we never liked the term fans as we felt we ‘were’ the audience and the term was patronizing, we would often go into the crowd during performances. we have “gatherers” and the gathering gathers when we do gigs, we are also in contact and many have become friends so we get lots of feedback

Do you have any bizarre fan moments you can share? Our fans can be very obsessive.... I used to have “youth clones” follow me around wearing what I wore exactly at the previous gig...they would turn up everywhere even in my local pub! Luckily they turned out to be very nice people, nevertheless a some what surreal experience seeing your clone smiling at you across the bar!

Is there a musician who inspired you to become a musician? There are a few, lets start with Paul McCartney and John Lennon, Jimmy Page inspired me to write and produce and Marc Bolan and Keith Richards made me want to be in a band .

What inspires your music is it: love, social issues, art or drink? Love, social issues and art are all in there, we tend to use Killing Joke as a vehicle to express repressed emotion. Occasionally the strong sweet god of wine Baccus does rear his head. He is the hero, magician and tempter and can transform a peasant into a king, although a couple of the band are straight edge.

How do you write your songs… does it start from sound or an emotion? There are no rules as such but often both ways work well. I often start by jamming along to something I love by someone else and suits my emotional state of mind at that particular time. Very quickly something leaps out of the ether and were off.

I write a lot of poetry and I love a good word that can unleash a storm tide of secrets, memories premonitions that intoxicates the imagination. Some times a lyric or a title from Big Paul or Jaz will spark the star we navigate to.

It’s an amazing feeling as we go deeper into the song the known world shrinks and disappears and you feel like your soul is hurtled with fear and joy in equal measure into the uncharted distances of the unknown.

What was your inspiration for writing European Super State? Musically its inspired by the cold wave European sound. From the 70‘s Morroder, Neu! and Kraftwerk to contemporary Berlin tech, Salem and the Bloody beetroots. We have generally avoided American influences (apart from disco and the Detroit techno sound) in the past and like the sound to have a European influence.

Lyrically its about a pan European super state and Plato’s idea of the republic. Its also addresses ‘old’ Europe and our love of European culture and multi culturalism, essentially it’s protesting against globalization and its not anti Europe although some people think it is.

Personally I would like to see the de-nationalization of all European nations and all executive centralized control and power returned to towns, villages and communities, I am very much an internationalist, and I am opposed to institutional officious government. I can see what’s happening in the Middle East happening here in the West within the next few years, where people power can start revolutions instantly. Why do we succumb so easily to corrupt rightwing nationalistic, big brother governmental control when information is so transparent and readily available?

What do you think is the secret to your successful career in the music industry? A stubborn refusal to go away, fearless about reinventing ourselves and our sound, being authentic to who we are as individuals and a shared common quest in the fearless pursuit of the timeless and eternal qualities in music and life.

What do you think about the state of rock and metal music at the moment? Its very healthy, having seen the excitement of younger fans at Sonisphere in Warsaw recently and at the Metal Hammer Awards, also its great seeing the diversity on offer within metal and rock and the audience s receptivity to everything from metal dub to classic rock, it’s very exciting.

What have you learnt most about being a musician? For me being a great musician is actually about everything except the music. Your music will only reflect what’s going on inside you and music doesn’t lie. It just is what it is, so for me the criteria of being a great musician is more about being open, authentic and honest having fearless courage in the face of adversity finding meaning and purpose to what you do and doing whatever you want too.

That’s what I have learned from being a musician, It is also devotional and requires great sacrifice, a great analogy I use is that the muse of music is like a demanding mistress, shown the right devotion she will reward you richly, but the moment your ego starts to think its all about yourself or if you abuse the privilege, she will rub your nose in the gutter.

It is a great way of life and you never stop learning, it’s also about getting on the mike when everyone tells you not to, Its not about how many notes you can play and how fast or how clever you are, its really about the space between the beat what you leave out is more important than what you put in.

When you were starting out what kind of job did you have to do to make ends meet in realising your dream? Well the worst job I had was working in the kitchen of the Chelsea hospital old soldiers home, making vast vats of porridge at 5am I lasted three days! My dad was a builder amongst many things, so I often was a general worker on the sites.

Do you have a partner or family; has following your dream as a musician had an impact on them? Massively, for me it’s the greatest sacrifice and any working musician with a partner and especially kids know those challenges go deep. It is very difficult to maintain any relationships on the road. I have been lucky in that I have experienced great love and I have experienced great loss but when someone truly loves you they support you in what you want to do, my family and friends have always encouraged me, despite the many times I have had to let them down.

Can you tell me some background information about yourself – what’s your hometown like that you grew up in? In my early years I grew up in a village called Stoke Poges and went to school in Slough.

This was the sixties and they had completely rebuilt the town centre so I used to play in these massive labyrinth building sites next to the school , I remember it was great fun. Plus Tommy Cooper’s twin brother had a joke shop there he wore a fez and did all the jokes ...genius!

My mum was a model, she was a fairy liquid women once! My dad was a chap with a very colourful character and very artistic he met Dali a few times, I remember lots of parties and laughter.

Where do you like to “hang out” where you live now and why? I divide my time between Granada in Andalalicia Spain where I have a state of the art studio (Space mountain) and London. What I love about Granada and the people there is their healthy mistrust of authority and their very Dionysian philosophy, exemplified in the poetry of Lorca and in Flamenco culture itself, where they celebrate beauty and melancholy, agony of the soul vibe !

In London I have the best job in the world producing records so I “hang out” a lot in studios with great artists and with good friends in their homes, recently I’ve been working with Mark Stewert from the pop group, Penny and eve from Crass on a punk opera, well as new band Echotape, also the ultimate legend John Sinclair from the MC5 who has pulled in everyone from Keith Richards to Zodiac from Mindwarp! There are always various projects of my own making including the vertical smile project where I crazily take on lead vocal duties ........actually these days its more likely the skateboard park with my kids!

What did you learn at school outside the classroom? I learnt how to write songs and to use my imagination as a weapon and as a window to another world.

How old are you and the rest of the band members? We are all in our early 50’s....I’m the youngest and they never let me forget it!

What music did your parents listen to when you were growing up and has this affected your style or inspired your music? The Beatles were big and my mum loved the Carpenters and Bert Kamphert Orchestra Swinging Safari. My older sister liked Bread....

Did you have any musical instruments growing up at home? I started playing trombone at 12 living in London didn’t last long.

Who were your music teachers and did they have any influence on your style? My chemistry teacher taught me guitar but the deal was I had to play along to Kumbuyah at his Crusader Christian folk nights, ironic I know! But I’m still very grateful for the opportunity. The big influence was my Welsh art teacher David Carpanini who is an amazing artist and is a successful painter today. He would always play the radio or cool albums while we worked and still today when I listen to music I like to paint and when I paint I like to listen to music. He also encouraged me to do anything I liked and taught me not only how to see but also how to listen.

What was the first metal album you ever bought? Probably split by the ‘Groundhogs’ or ‘Sabbath bloody Sabbath’ closely followed by ‘Budgie in for the Kill’ and ‘Very evy very umble’ by Uriah Heep, although all were swept away by my healthy obsession for Led Zepplin ‘Physical Graffiti.’

Who’s got the worst habit in the band? Jaz has this terrible habit of spitting his luke warm tepid tea in the bands only ice bucket backstage with remorseless indignation just when you need it most.

What’s on Killing Joke’s rider for Sonisphere Festival? There will certainly be some Petron tequila as Geordie is very fussy about detail!

What’s your favourite drink? Weirdly enough at the moment its cider drenched in ice, nothing to do with credited as being the original crusty, its just very refreshing .

What is the most rock and roll thing you’d like to buy or do? Well to buy, I would love a 1961 Gibson Hummingbird acoustic or a ‘57 Les Paul! And what to do? Playing Sonisphere with Killing Joke is hard to top!

After Sonisphere Festival what’s next for Killing Joke? More recording in Prague and at Space Mountain Andalalucia. Then off to Peru with Jaz for vocals. We are well under sail with the new album and its sounding deep, dark and noisy with some of the best keyboards I have heard Jaz do since the 80’s.

Killing Joke will be playing the Bohemia Stage on the Friday night.