Killing Joke’s Youth pays loving tribute to Geordie Walker: “He defined a generation or three with his genius”

Killing Joke’s Youth has spoken out about the loss of his friend and bandmate Geordie Walker, who died yesterday (November 26).

The guitarist, whose full name is Kevin “Geordie” Walker, was confirmed as having passed in an update shared by former Killing Joke drummer Martin Atkins. Shared in a Facebook update, he posted a video of The Damage Manual’s ‘Laugh Track’ – a supergroup of which they were also both a part of – with the caption “gutted”. He also wrote in the comments section: “Geordie has passed.”

The band then released a statement later that evening, writing that they were “devastated” by the news. The update also confirmed that Walker died of a stroke that same day.

“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,” the update read. “We are devastated. Rest In Peace brother.”

Now, Martin Glover – better known by his stage name Youth – has shared his moving tribute to Walker too, and expressed his gratitude for having known and worked alongside the musician.

“Geordie. Still in shock and hard to believe he is no longer with us. Always seemed indestructible to me. Bullets bounced off him. He was truly destined to be. No man was cooler than Geordie, one of the very best and most influential guitarists ever,” he wrote in the caption.

“He was like Lee Van Cleef meets Terry Thomas via Noel Coward. Very charming, inscrutable and gracious, with a gentle effortless touch, ( both on the guitar and making you feel welcome) that is, when he wasn’t shredding you with his razor sharp articulate shrapnel.

“He was a virtuoso gunslinger, both with his music and verbosity…. He was my teacher, partner and at times a terrifying foe.”

Elsewhere in the tribute, Youth told fans that he was “eternally grateful” that he was able to have met him, and that the musician “defined a generation or three with his genius.”

“I am personally honoured and privileged to have served with him and share a vision with him of what the band could become and then see it go way way beyond that and what any of us could have imagined. Thinking of his family, mother and loved ones, band mates, all the fans, gatherers and many musicians he has influenced with his visionary playing and writing.”

Countless more names from across the music industry have come together to pay tribute to Walker following news of his passing. These have included Faith No More bassist Bill Gould, who described him as “one of, if not THE, the most natural, intuitive, original guitarists I’ve ever seen.”

DJ Marc Riley also recalled the musician as being “one of the greatest guitarists I’ve ever seen and possibly the coolest man on the planet,” while the band Therapy? hailed him as “a key architect in one of our favourite bands” and an “effortless player with a monstrous sound”.

Other tributes have come from Simon Price, The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess, and former Public Image Ltd bassist Jah Wobble.

Killing Joke were formed in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in 1978 by Youth, Walker, Jaz Coleman and Paul Ferguson. Their self-titled debut arrived in 1980, but it wasn’t until five years later that the band earned mainstream success with ‘Night Time’.

Walker and Coleman were constant members of the Killing Joke line-up and had been reunited with founding members Ferguson and Youth since 2008 following various line-up changes over the years.