Killing Joke – “Eighties”

Killing Joke – “Eighties”

I’d meant to make some sort of mention of Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker’s passing since he died back in November, but just didn’t get to it until Adrian at Anyone Can Play Guitar posted his own lesson/tribute last month… and even then, it’s taken me weeks to get it done.

As one of the preeminent post-punk guitarists of the ’80s, Walker’s passing hardly went unmentioned. Guitar World rounded up a number of tributes from his more famous fans and followers, as well as offered insights to Walker’s distinctive guitar tone.

“Geordie was a true inventor of a massive sound that has influenced so damn many of us”: Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker has died, aged 64 @ Guitar World

And the Guitar World website also shared sister publication Guitarist‘s own tribute to Walker’s style and influence, and Guitar Player – who are also owned by the same parent company but still have their own domain name, at least – also collected some tributes.

“Geordie was a true inventor of a massive sound that has influenced so damn many of us”: Remembering Geordie Walker, the sonic maverick whose playing could brutalise and beguile @ Guitarist (via Guitar World)

“When I heard him play, it was like fire from heaven”: Tributes pour in for Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker who has died, aged 64 @ Guitar Player

The Guitar Magazine, meanwhile, and who are not owned by Future, paid tribute in the form of a lesson on Walker’s style, broken down by the man’s best riffs:

Geordie Walker’s 10 greatest Killing Joke guitar riffs @ The Guitar Magazine

Naturally, one of those riffs came from “Eighties”, take from their 1985 masterpiece Night Time. It’s certainly his most famous, for reasons both related to the song it’s taken from and not, but we won’t get into that here. It’s the song ACPG breaks down for their lesson and it’s a lot of fun to play, and a damn sight harder than the, well, other version.

And if you’re more a “tab on the screen while watching someone play” kind of guy, Romain CNC offered their own lesson without all the accompanying verbiage a couple years ago.

The song was premiered in a live performance on television show The Tube in December 1983:

But was released as the first single from Night Time in April 1984, well ahead of the album’s release the following February. Naturally, there’s a bombastic accompanying video:

And just because it’s available, a March 1985 live performance of the song taken from a concert in Munich, Germany.

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