KILLING JOKE / DESPERATE MEASURES @ KKS STEELMILL, WOLVERHAMPTON, FRIDAY 10/03/2023

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The lights dim and the theme tune to the 1971 action-comedy series The Persuaders! rings out as tonight`s special guests Desperate Measures hit the stage. The quartet open with the blistering `Scars and Memories` from their last release, the six track `Rinsed` EP.  The fellas share a pretty intense thirty minutes where the highlights for me were `Flowers At Your Door` which had a kind of gothy The Mission riff throughout, scorching `Lost Angels` and `The Rich-Tual` which was dedicated to Gary Lineker. The band have an album due out shortly and I’m sure will be out promoting it and judging by the interest at the merch table I’m sure they`ll be plenty up to catch those shows. 

As Killing Joke`s 1981 album stated `What`s THIS For…!` , and the answer is that this evening`s gig was the final in a series of four Special intimate warm up shows which were played in Portsmouth,  Colchester, London and finally Wolverhampton at, in my opinion, one of he best music venues in this country. The shows are the lead up to the bands sold out Albert Hall show this coming Sunday. 

What I’d call the classic line up of Killing Joke Jaz Coleman, Kevin “Geordie Walker”, Youth (Martin Glover) and Paul Ferguson entertain us for over ninety minutes with tracks mainly from two of their definitive albums. The first half of the show is taken up with a run through of the band`s debut album `Killing Joke` which spawned classics such as `Requiem`, `Wardance`, `Bloodsport` and `The Wait` which satisfies the older faithful and nostalgia freaks like me. If that wasn`t enough we then enjoy a live rendition of the band`s second album `What’s THIS For…!` with my favourites `The Fall of Because`, `Unspeakable`, `Follow the Leaders` and `Exit`. 

The guys are encouraged to return and do so to present four cuts with the anthemic `Are You Receiving?`, unnerving  `Change`, the wonderfully hypnotic `Turn to Red` and leave us pretty bewildered with the intimidating `Pssyche` 

As I said last time and maybe every time I see Killing Joke and I still stand by it. Killing Joke gigs aren`t just a gig but an event, a coming together of like-minded people to enjoy an evening being in the presence of a powerful, menacing, entrancing, and brooding cacophony of music with intriguing and thought provoking lyrics. There is no other band to me who come anywhere near. 

Long may they continue.  

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