On July 13th 1983 Killing Joke released their 4th studio album Fire Dances, their first album to feature bass player Paul Raven, who replaced Martin “Youth” Glover (Youth would later return to the band during the mid 90s).
The band’s previous album, 1982’s Revelations, found Killing Joke on the verge of breaking up, with lead singer Jaz Coleman infamously disappearing to Iceland to “survive the apocalypse.”
The album was recorded between February and March 1983 and had only one single, “Let’s All Go (To the Fire Dances)”, which heralded the more pop sounding singles to follow on their next album such as Night Time‘s anthem for the decade—such as the band’s hit song “Eighties”.
Fire Dances also features as its opening track one of the band’s most important songs “The Gathering”.
Watch this Fire Dances era full set below!
Plus watch Killing Joke’s appearance on The Tube on December 16, 1983:
There is no appetite for grief So feed the faithless lullabies Soothe all our fears with sweetened words The rotten…
As you pretend You are my friend I had to learn it was all a lie Letting go of deeply…
Lost in the storm, no solace in healing Heartbreak bites deep, a bittersweet dance entwining our fragility and resilience. In…
This time I'm standing my ground They're closing in all around When every second counts Pick your battles, push your…
We are makers of masks, artisans of our own disguises, shaping and shading ourselves to be seen, accepted, or remembered.…
Here we are on a stakeout, stakeout I don’t see a way out, way out And if you’re bent to…