‘Sabre Dance’: The song that inspired Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker
Although founding stories often include more nuances or complexities, the path that led Geordie Walker to Killing Joke was relatively straightforward. After spotting an advertisement, something seemed to align nicely, and so he applied and subsequently met up with Jaz Coleman to discuss joining the band. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
Throughout their tenure, Walker remained the only consistent member of Killing Joke, sharing the spotlight with Coleman. Born in 1958, Walker relocated from Newcastle to Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, at the age of 14, earning the moniker ‘Geordie’ in the process. It was in the southern region of England that he honed his guitar skills.
Reflecting on his journey, Walker shared with Music UK in 1984: “I used to run home from school at about four, lock myself in the bedroom, turn the amp up full, and thrash it till he [his dad] came in. It was a daily ritual.” The advert that changed it all was one in Melody Maker, which read: “Want to be part of the Killing Joke? We mean it man. Total exploitation, total publicity, total anonymity. Bass and lead wanted.”
Walker recalled his earliest encounter with a stringed instrument – a ukulele – during an evening at a relative’s house while still in primary school. At the age of 12, he received a guitar, but even then, he didn’t feel compelled to pursue it further. After a brief encounter, he lost interest until a few years later when he decided to take it more seriously.
Discussing the desire to pick up the guitar in the first place, Walker explained: “There was a record called ‘Sabre Dance’ by Love Sculpture, and I used to go mad when it came on the radio. It used the guitar as a musical instrument to convey an atmosphere; it wasn’t normal guitar playing which people feel they have to play, certain rhythms, certain solos, certain scales. In fact, I don’t know why he didn’t carry on along those lines. A guitar has a lot of musical capability, but it has the rhythm as well. As one instrument, I think it has the most pleasing sound, the attack, the rhythm…”
With time, Walker delved deeper into the realm of electric guitars, scouring shops in search of an affordable instrument when one Saturday afternoon, while browsing a shop in Northampton, he found the perfect match. “My mum had seen Jimi Hendrix in 1967. She went to see Engelbert Humperdinck, but he was on the same bill.”
Continuing, he added: “There was this record company that billed seven acts, and she saw Jimi Hendrix, and she knew about it. The guitar in the shop was a 1969-70 Les Paul Deluxe Sunburst, just the same as Pete Townshend’s, who I was into at the time, and I just couldn’t believe it.”
Embracing the guitar as his primary instrument marked the beginning of Walker’s celebrated path as an esteemed musician. The guitarist went on to play a significant role in shaping Killing Joke’s distinctive sound, characterised by heavy, industrial-infused post-punk with elements of electronic and tribal influences.
