Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker has died at the age of 64.
The band confirmed the news with a statement, sharing: ‘It is with extreme sadness we confirm that at 6:30am on 26th November 2023 in Prague, Killing Joke’s legendary guitarist Kevin ‘Geordie’ Walker passed away after suffering a stroke, he was surrounded by family.
‘We are devastated. Rest In Peace brother.’
Blabbermouth reports that Geordie’s friend Luca Signorelli was the first to break the news, writing on social media: ‘This morning I got a phone call, telling me that Kevin ‘Geordie’ Walker had died few hours ago in Prague, following a massive stroke last Friday…
‘I don’t remember even one moment Geordie was around that was awkward or boring. Geordie had a reputation for being abrasive and sometimes curt with people who tried to approach him, but the reality is that he didn’t want to waste his time with people he didn’t like. And “like” or “dislike” was for Geordie entirely a matter of instinct.’
RIP: Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker has died at the age of 64 (pictured in 2019)
Band: Geordie and Jaz Coleman (right) were the only constant members of Killing Joke (pictured with Paul Ferguson)
The band’s drummer Martin Adkins later paid tribute by posting a clip of their supergroup they were also both part of.
Alongside the video for The Damage Manuel’s Laugh Track, Martin shared: ‘Gutted’, later confirming in the comments: ‘Geordie has passed.’
Martin later took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share the same video with the caption: ‘#GodBless Geordie Walker’.
Geordie and Jaz Coleman were the only constant members of Killing Joke.
He joined the group in 1979 after responding to an advert he’d seen in Melody Maker, which read: ‘Want to be part of the Killing Joke? We mean it man.
‘Total exploitation, total publicity, total anonymity. Bass and lead wanted.’
Speaking about his work in the rock band, he previously said: ‘I liked the sound of it, it looked rather serious, fanatical, I don’t know what it was but it clicked with me.
‘So I went down to see this guy [Jaz] and immediately started arguing with him about his taste in music and whatever, and I kept in touch and kept hassling them for some reason.
‘I think it was the intensity of the argument I liked.’
Killing Joke released its self-titled debut album in 1980 and has gone on to release 15 more albums.
In March last year the band released a new EP, Lord Of Chaos, their first new material for seven years.
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