Started Malicious Damage record label

By September 1979, shortly before the release of their debut EP, Turn to Red , they started the Malicious Damage record label with graphic artist Mike Coles as a way to press and sell their music. Island Records distributed the records (and released their debut single ” Nervous System “), before they switched to E.G. Records with distribution through Polydor from 1980. Killing Joke’s early material “fused together elements of punk , funk and dub reggae “. Turn to Red came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel , who was keen to champion the band’s urgent new sound and gave them extensive airplay. In October 1979, the band recorded their first session for Peel’s radio show. An NME concert review said that “their sound is a bit like early [Siouxsie and the] Banshees without the thrilling, amoral imagination”. Concerning their live performances, it was said that “the only animation on stage is provided by Jaz who crouches behind his synthesizer, making forays like a Neanderthal man gripped by a gesturing, gibbering fury”. The songs on the 1980 ” Wardance /Pssyche” single were described as “heavy dance music” by the press. The band had changed their sound into something denser, more aggressive and more akin to heavy metal . Their debut album, Killing Joke , was released in October 1980; the band had considered calling it Tomorrow’s World . The press started to criticise them for the lack of new material appearing on the B-sides of singles, which often featured different mixes. The group preferred to carry on working in the studio and released What’s THIS For…! just eight months after Killing Joke , in June 1981. For this second album, they hired sound engineer Nick Launay , who had previously recorded with Public Image Ltd . They toured extensively throughout the UK during this time, with fans of post-punk and heavy metal taking interest in Killing Joke via singles such as ” Follow the Leaders “.