In a bizarre turn of events, Killing Joke today announced that frontman Jaz Coleman has gone missing after apparently taking to Facebook to malign The Cult and The Mission and proclaim — falsely, it turns out — that the band was pulling out of a recently downsized U.K. tour with the two acts this September.
In a statement posted on the band’s official Facebook page, Killing Joke writes, “We are deeply embarrassed by this and offer our sincere apologies to all involved. We are all concerned about our missing singer’s welfare.” The band states that it made “a collective decision” to play with The Cult and The Mission, and it that it plans to honor that commitment. If that’s not possible, the band promises to find a way “to compensate for the trouble caused.”
“We are doing everything we can to make this tour happen and locate our missing singer.”
The furor started earlier this month when a scathing note about the tour and, specifically, The Cult (“All their songs suck!”), purportedly written by Coleman, was posted then removed from the band’s Facebook page, leading to rampant speculation that Killing Joke had quit the tour.
In part, that note read: “Frankly, playing at a gig with The Cult never appealed to me in the first place. The only reason we allowed ourselves to be talked into it was to blow both bands off the stage and to steal their respective audiences. As the concert has been downgraded to a venue that we have recently headlined (and sold out) it doesn’t make sense.”
Days later, Wayne Hussey of The Mission took to his band’s website to address the rumors, writing, “I think the promoters have conceded that Killing Joke ARE puling out of the shows. We have tried to contact the band through their management, agents and promoters and it seems that no one is any the wiser and the band have gone incommunicado.”
Now it appears the rest of Killing Joke — Kevin “Geordie” Walker, Martin “Youth” Glover and Paul Ferguson — are up for the tour after all. But first they must find their singer.
Read Killing Joke’s full statement below:
Official Statement
A statement was posted on Facebook, reputedly by our singer, maligning both The Cult and The Mission and pulling us out of the shows.
He is now AWOL and has not contacted any of his band mates.
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 made a collective decision to play with The Cult and The Mission in September.
It was agreed by all of the band that we would do these shows. Indeed, we thought that they were something to look forward to, even though they were downsized.
We would still like to honour our commitment to this tour, the other bands, and all the Gatherers and people who have already bought tickets and made travel arrangements.
If this proves not possible, Killing Joke will make alternative arrangements to compensate for the trouble caused.
Meanwhile we are doing everything we can to make this tour happen and locate our missing singer.
KILLING JOKE
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Killing Joke quits U.K. tour with The Cult, The Mission over venue downsizing?
- The Cult, The Mission, Killing Joke U.K. arena tour downsized for ‘more intimate experience’
- The Cult announces 20-date North American tour with Against Me!, The Icarus Line
- The Cult, The Mission, Killing Joke team up for 5-date U.K. arena tour this September
- Video: Killing Joke, ‘In Cythera’ — plus stream 5-minute ‘MMXII’ album ‘taster’
- The Mission taking 25th anniversary reunion tour to Mexico, South America this spring
There’s a bit of the girl who cried wolf feeling to this, Jaz, the joker. Hope he’s just being cheeky.
I’ll tell you what the biggest joke of all is…Facebook.
Ask the cult, mission, and especially live nation, where jaz Coleman is and who wrote the note.
Check the islands!
Wha, this disappearance isn’t nearly as interesting as his disappearances in the 80s. I wish he’d just retire–he’s ruining his legacy! Wha… Ma, is my tuna melt ready!!! Gymnastics are about to start!
Always a bummer when a band I like insults another band I like. Childish. Jaz has always been a bit “off”, but usually in a very entertaining fashion, but he’s too old to be pulling this kind of stuff and I’m sure the rest of his band are fuming.
Hopefully all’s well though. Their last album was really good and I would love to have seen this show. Weird.
This gives me chills like when I had when Stuart Adamson went missing.