Killing Joke’s ‘Brighter Than a Thousand Suns’ turns 40 on 10 November
Killing Joke released “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns” on 10 November 1986 through E.G. Records. The album turns 40 this year.
English post-punk band Killing Joke released their sixth studio album, “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns,” on 10 November 1986 through E.G. Records, the band’s first album to reach shops through a Virgin Records deal. The album turns 40 this year.
Most of “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns” was recorded in Berlin in October 1985 with Chris Kimsey, who had also produced the preceding album, “Night Time.” Two further tracks followed in 1986: “Victory” and “Ecstasy,” produced by Stewart Levine in March, and “A Southern Sky,” produced by Chris Tsangarides in August. E.G. Records had Kimsey’s mixes replaced with new mixes by Julian Mendelsohn aimed at wider commercial appeal, against the band’s own preference; those Mendelsohn mixes went out on the original release, with “Victory” extended past seven minutes. Killing Joke headlined the first day of the 1986 Reading Festival on 22 August and played most of the album live there before release. A 2008 CD remaster restored Kimsey’s original mixes at the band’s request and added bonus tracks.
The album featured Jaz Coleman on vocals and keyboards, Kevin “Geordie” Walker on guitar, Paul Raven on bass and Paul Ferguson on drums and vocals. “Adorations” came out as a single in August 1986, followed by “Sanity” in October. “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns” entered the UK Albums Chart at number 54, where it stayed for one week, and reached number 194 on the US Billboard 200. The original vinyl pressing held eight tracks; the cassette and CD carried the full eleven:
- “Adorations”
- “Sanity”
- “Chessboards”
- “Twilight of the Mortal”
- “Love of the Masses”
- “A Southern Sky”
- “Victory”
- “Wintergardens”
- “Rubicon”
- “Goodbye to the Village”
- “Exile”
“Brighter Than a Thousand Suns” is available as a digital album on Spotify.
About Killing Joke
Killing Joke formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London. Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards) and Paul Ferguson (drums) placed a Melody Maker ad in February 1979 that brought in guitarist Kevin “Geordie” Walker and bassist Martin “Youth” Glover, completing the original line-up. The band self-released its early material on its own Malicious Damage label, including the “Turn to Red” EP in October 1979, the “Almost Red” EP that November and the “Nervous System” single in December 1979.
The self-titled debut album followed on 5 October 1980 through E.G. Records, recorded at Marquee Studios that August, its 46th anniversary covered by Side-Line. Killing Joke continued with “What’s THIS For…!” in 1981 and “Revelations” in 1982, after which Youth left the band and Paul Raven took over on bass. “Fire Dances” followed in 1983 and “Night Time” in 1985, both before Chris Kimsey returned to produce “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns” in 1986, the first Killing Joke album to reach shops through a Virgin Records deal.
Killing Joke’s catalogue continued through “Outside the Gate” (1988), “Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions” (1990), “Pandemonium” (1994), “Democracy” (1996), a second self-titled album (2003), “Hosannas From the Basements of Hell” (2006), “Absolute Dissent” (2010), “MMXII” (2012) and “Pylon” (2015). Coleman and Walker remained the band’s only constant members until Walker’s death in November 2023 at age 64. “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns,” the album that brought the band its first release through a Virgin Records deal and its Berlin studio sessions with Chris Kimsey, turns 40 this November.
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