Jeremy ‘Jaz’ Coleman, singer and keyboard player with post-punk rockers Killing Joke, is on a tour with a difference at present, as this time he is speaking to the audience rather than singing to them.
Unspeakable: A Spoken Word Tour involves the musician, composer, producer, author, lecturer, traveller, philosopher, actor and chevalier des arts et des lettres visiting nine different cities across the UK.
Beginning on 19 March in Glasgow, Jaz is criss-crossing the country before the tour finishes up in Cambridge this weekend.
Ahead of this foray into the unknown, he promised to “reveal all” about, among other things, his personal life, his struggles with mental health and his diabetes.
Jaz spoke to the Cambridge Independent from the Columbia Hotel in Lancaster Gate, London, “the last smoking hotel left in the UK” (although he himself no longer smokes or drinks) and a hotel he has often stayed at ever since he was a teenager. It used to be known as the ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel’.
“What I’m doing for this spoken word tour is I’m covering a different period of time each night, and by the time I get to Cambridge, that will be from [2015’s] Pylon, the last album I did with Killing Joke, to the present date,” explains Jaz, who lives in Argentina, has a home in New Zealand and has “sort of currently got a home in Prague”.
“It should be interesting because the last seven or eight years have been interesting, leading up to Geordie’s departure three months ago,” he says.
The ‘Geordie’ to whom Jaz refers is Kevin ‘Geordie’ Walker, Killing Joke’s much-admired guitarist and one of the band’s founding members, who sadly passed away last November.
Killing Joke first came together in 1978 and the group’s other original members are drummer Big Paul (Paul Ferguson) and bass player Youth (Martin Glover). Jaz, Paul and Youth all continue with the group.
What made the Cheltenham-born 64-year-old decide to undertake a spoken word tour? “I don’t suppose anyone has heard the full story, because it’s nothing I’ve ever shared with the press, or anyone for that matter,” he replies.
“I’m going to be talking about everything, from… I mean Killing Joke has operated as a gang really, especially in its early days, so everything from drugs to occult studies, muses, big loves, you name it. I’ve never talked about these things, I’m a very private person, but I’m going to talk about everything.”
Will there be some quite shocking revelations? “It depends on what kind of person you are!” laughs Jaz, who met fellow Cheltenham boy, the late Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, at a very young age.
“Some of it, possibly, sure… I suppose so. I mean, we’ve all lived a life without boundaries in Killing Joke, pretty much, and there’s always a strong criminal element around us, even though nobody has really broken a law, as far as I know, in any meaningful way.
“I’m going to talk about some very controversial things. I’m going to talk about anything and everything, and people can interject at any time and ask any questions about said period.
“And if they’ve got the bottle to come and sit up on stage with me, I may have a little mini-bar there and they can have a shot to calm their nerves.”
Killing Joke’s influence on music and popular culture has been significant, with a number of musicians taking their cues from their catalogue – from Nirvana to most modern American metal, to many DJs and dance music mavericks.
The band’s (self-titled) debut album was released in 1980 and their hits over the years include Empire Song, Let’s All Go (to the Fire Dances), Me or You?, Love Like Blood, Democracy, and Loose Cannon.
The band were also the subject of the 2013 documentary The Death and Resurrection Show, written and directed by Shaun Pettigrew.
Jaz notes: “The great thing about Killing Joke, if you can forget the band for a second, is the people that have put food in our stomachs.
“We have a very interesting group of followers, gatherers as we call them, so basically these events where I’m talking, they are celebrations and I’m going to have a half time where people can come and meet me and ask any questions on a one-on-one level.
“I offer my services to anyone who wants to give up alcohol; I have a 100 per cent success rate. And it’s going to be a party – before, during and after the event.”
Jaz Coleman will be in conversation with Shane Embury, of death metal band Napalm Death, as part of his Unspeakable tour, at the Cambridge Junction (J2) on Saturday, 30 March.
Tickets, priced £31.50, are available from junction.co.uk. For more in Jaz, go to jazcoleman.com.
