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Subscribe to RSSKilling Joke frontman Jeremy “Jaz” Coleman has gone AWOL as the veteran British group preps for a brief tour with The Cult and The Mission.
The influential industrial band posted on its Facebook page that the 52-year-old singer is “missing” after “maligning both The Cult and The Mission,” with which Killing Joke was to play several dates in England next month.
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“He is now AWOL and has not contacted any of his band mates,” the post reads. “We are deeply embarrassed by this and offer our sincere apologies to all involved. We are all concerned about our missing singer's welfare.”
Killing Joke is booked to play five arena shows from Sept. 11-16 with original members Coleman, guitarist Kevin “Geordie” Walker, bassist Martin “Youth” Glover and drummer “Big” Paul Ferguson. The band’s latest album, "MMXII," was released in April.
Coleman’s bandmates vowed to try to keep the tour intact but wrote, “If this proves not possible, Killing Joke will make alternative arrangements to compensate for the trouble caused.”
Last week, the group posted a statement about questions surrounding the tour. “We'll make an official announcement clearing up any questions around the Cult tour very soon,” it reads. “Apologies for messing you guys around — you know that’s never our intention, and we appreciate the support you have all shown us over the years.”
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Killing Joke formed in London in the late 1970s as a postpunk quartet and evolved into a pioneer of industrial metal. It has released more than a dozen studio albums while remaining popular in the U.K. But only 1987’s "Pandemonium" dented the Billboard 200 stateside, peaking at No. 194. Coleman, who also plays keyboards, and Walker have been with the group throughout its three-decade-plus career.
A number of prominent bands have cited the group as an influence, including Nirvana, Metallica, Jane’s Addiction, Rammstein and Korn.
Watch the group's 1984 video for "Eighties," whose riff is eerily similar to Nirvana's 1992 hit "Come as You Are," below.
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