Geordie Walker ‘K!lling Joke’ Said This Before Death |Try Not To Cry😭

Geordie Walker ‘K!lling Joke’ Said This Before Death |Try Not To Cry

It is being reported that Killin’ Joke guitarist Kevin 'Geordie' Walker has died after an apparent stroke, aged 64.
The news was broken by Martin Atkins, former Killing Joke drummer and with whom Geordie also played in Murder, Inc, who posted on his Instagram, "Geordie Walker has left the building". No statement from the band has been released at the time of writing.


Geordie was one of only two constant members of the legendary British post-punk band, alongside singer Jaz Coleman, whose advert in Melody Maker the guitarist answered in 1979. His riffing style, simple and repetitive, but also enormous sounding and with a world of subtle dynamics and mastery of cold melody, helped to turn Killing Joke into one of the most important and influential cult bands in the history of rock music.
Their music was hugely important in the foundations of industrial music, but can be felt even amongst the biggest bands to emerge after them. Metallica who covered The Wait from their essential self-titled 1980 album, while Nirvana's Come As You Are riff is eerily close to KJ's classic Eighties, and whose drummer Dave Grohl would play on their astonishing 2003 album, also self-titled. Lamb Of God, Ghost, Creeper, Paradise Lost, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and countless more have all saluted the band, often noting Geordie's unique style.

Walker was best known for playing guitar in the post-punk group where his unorthodox style of playing electric guitar earned him much acclaim – including from Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields, who once described Walker as having “this effortless playing producing a monstrous sound.”
Walker was a founding member of the band after answering an advert from Killing Joke founding member, Jay Coleman in Melody Maker. He was also a member of industrial music supergroups The Damage Manuel and Murder, Inc, but played on all of Killin Joke’s albums through the years.
Walker lived in the US until moving from Prague in recent years, where it is thought he died.
Tributes for Walker have poured in on social media


Walker and Coleman were constant members of the Killin Joke lineup and had been reunited with founding members Ferguson and Youth since 2008 following various line-up changes over the years.
Bands including Metallica, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden have all cited Killing Joke as influences on their music.
The band’s last album was 2015’s ‘Pylon’; an EP, ‘Lord Of Chaos’ was released in 2022 with the band’s original members. The band’s single ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ was released in March this year to celebrate their sold-out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Rest in power king