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Kirk Brandon | |
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 Brandon performing live in London, 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 3 August 1956 Westminster, London, England |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
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| Website | kirkbrandon |
Kirk Brandon (born 3 August 1956) is an English musician best known as the leader of the bands Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny.
Brandon's music career started in 1978, in Clapham, south London, with the formation of punk group The Pack, in which he was the singer and songwriter.
The Pack consisted of Brandon, Scottish-born drummer Rab Fae Beith and two Canadian brothers, Simon and Jon Werner on guitars. The last live gig by The Pack took place at the 101 club in Clapham.
Brandon then formed the post punk new wave band Theatre of Hate in 1980 recruiting Stan Stammers, previously of The Straps, on bass guitar, Nigel Preston on drums, Billy Duffy on guitar and John 'Boy' Lennard on saxophone. Theatre of Hate had their largest hit from the Westworld album with the single "Do You Believe in the Westworld?", which achieved number 40 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1982, while the album rose to number 17 in the UK Albums Chart in March 1982. [1]
Theatre of Hate disbanded in 1983. Brandon and Stammers were then joined by Lascelles James of Brit funk band Body, Soul & Spirit on saxophone and Chris Bell on drums to form Spear of Destiny. The new band adopted a more melodic and less aggressive sound, distancing themselves from post-punk and moving a little more towards mainstream pop.
While continuing to explore the political ideas that he wrote about in Theatre of Hate, Brandon's lyrics for Spear of Destiny dealt more frequently with the classic pop themes of love and romance. Many line-up changes followed with the band swelling to a 6 piece and then contracting back to a 4 piece. The band's reputation as a live act never translated itself into record sales, and Spear of Destiny only had one Top 20 hit, "Never Take Me Alive", which reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart in 1987.
In 2003, Brandon did a solo tour as support to The Alarm on their 'Poppyfields' tour. His set included some new material played on an acoustic guitar with electric pick up, as well as some material from his time with Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny.
In later years he performed in the punk supergroup, Dead Men Walking, before reforming and touring with Spear of Destiny in 2007 and 2008. Brandon continues to tour with both Spear of Destiny and Theatre of Hate, as well as a revamped Dead Men Walking, playing occasionally as The Pack, and acoustic shows including with cellist Sam Sansbury.
As a boy, Kirk Brandon attended Churston Ferrers Grammar School in Devon. In 1987, Brandon developed reactive arthritis and could not walk for more than a year. [2] Brandon was married in 1994 to a Danish woman, Christina. [3] Shortly afterwards, he was declared bankrupt. [4]
In 1997, Brandon sued the singer Boy George for malicious falsehood and lost. [5] George revealed details of his love for Brandon and their romantic and sexual affair in his 1995 autobiography Take It Like a Man . [5] Brandon claimed that stories about the gay affair in the early 1980s damaged his career as a musician. He also objected to the lyrics of a Boy George song, "Unfinished Business", which apparently were aimed at him: "I hear you married a Danish girl ... You break your promise easily ... You lie, you lie, you lie. Yeah tough guy, you know exactly what I mean." Brandon demanded damages from Boy George, George's publishers, Sidgwick and Jackson, and also Virgin Records and EMI Virgin Music Publishing. The judge ruled in favour of the defendants, and ordered Brandon to pay £200,000 to Virgin Records, EMI Virgin Music, and the book publisher in court costs. Following the lawsuit, Brandon declared bankruptcy which resulted in Boy George paying over £20,000 in legal fees instead. [6]
In January 2008, Brandon sued GlaxoSmithKline UK over personal injuries as a result of taking the anti-depressant drug Seroxat. [7] Brandon had heart surgery in 2011. [8] He was a tutor at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music in 2012. [9]
Brandon was portrayed by the actor Richard Madden in the 2010 television film Worried About the Boy , a dramatisation of Boy George's rise to fame in the early 1980s.
Glen Matlock is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only officially released studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, although he had left the band early in the recording process, credited as bassist and backing vocalist on only one song on the album, "Anarchy in the U.K.". However, on the bootleg album Spunk, Matlock played bass on all the songs, which included earlier studio recordings of 10 of the 12 songs that later appeared on the Bollocks album.
Craig David Adams is an English musician, bass guitarist and songwriter. Over his career he has worked with a variety of rock bands, the most notable being the Sisters of Mercy and the Mission.
John "Jake" Burns is a singer and guitarist, and is best known as the frontman of Stiff Little Fingers, although he has also recorded with Jake Burns and the Big Wheel, 3 Men + Black, and as a solo artist.
Spear of Destiny is a British rock band, formed in London in 1982 by lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Kirk Brandon and bassist Stan Stammers. It has had an ever-changing line-up through the years.
Jim Walker is a Canadian musician who was a founding director as well as the original drummer for the UK music group Public Image Ltd.
Theatre of Hate are a British post-punk band formed in London, England, in 1980.
Dead Men Walking are an English based rock supergroup with a multi national line-up, who have toured the UK, Ireland and the United States. From 2001 to 2006 they were led by Mike Peters of the Alarm and Kirk Brandon, of Spear of Destiny, with a varying cast of musicians. Since 2015, they split into two bands, one led by Peters called the Jack Tars, and another led by Brandon keeping the Dead Men Walking name.
Pete Barnacle is an English rock drummer who has played for various bands including Gillan, Girl, Broken Home, Spear of Destiny, Theatre of Hate, Yngwie Malmsteen, Sheer Greed, and Soldiers of Fortune. Barnacle now lives in Japan, teaching English, and occasionally working as a drummer.
The Straps are an English streetpunk band, formed in 1977 in Battersea, South London by vocalist Howard Jackson and guitarists Dave Reeves & Steve MacIntosh & Brad Day on drums
Spizzenergi are an English punk/new wave band led by vocalist/guitarist Spizz. Formed in the late 1970s, the band changed its name every year, subsequent names including Athletico Spizz 80, Spizzoil and the Spizzles.
Grapes of Wrath is the first studio album by Spear of Destiny, released by Epic Records in 1983. The band's first single was "Flying Scotsman" followed by the second single "The Wheel".
One Eyed Jacks is the second studio album by Spear of Destiny, released by Burning Rome Records in 1984.
Outland is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Spear of Destiny, released by 10 Records in 1987.
Sod's Law is the sixth studio album by Spear of Destiny, released by Burning Rome Records in 1992 and subsequently re-issued by Snapper Music in 1997.
Kirk Brandon's 10:51 is the band formed during a visit by Kirk Brandon to Stan Stammers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whilst Spear of Destiny was on hiatus. Stone in the Rain is the band's only album to date, released by Anagram Records in 1995. The album was released by Dojo Records in the United States as Retribution under the Theatre of Hate banner.
Westworld is the first studio album by English post-punk band Theatre of Hate. It was released in February 1982 by record label Burning Rome, prior to the band's dissolution in 1983. It was produced by Mick Jones of the Clash.
Stan Stammers is an English musician best known as the bass player for the bands Theatre of Hate, Spear of Destiny and Plastic Eaters.
Alan St. Clair is a British guitarist, who played with several prominent punk and new wave musicians in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mark Gemini Thwaite, also known as MGT, is an English musician who has been the guitarist for a number of rock bands and artists, including The Mission, trip hop pioneer Tricky, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, New Disease, Spear of Destiny & Theatre of Hate, Mob Research, and Canadian band National Velvet plus various live and recorded appearances with Gary Numan, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Roger Daltrey of the Who, P.J. Harvey, Alanis Morissette, Raymond Watts and PIG, Primitive Race, Ricky Warwick of Thin Lizzy, Ginger of The Wildhearts, Stan Lee of Marvel Comics, Franz Treichler of The Young Gods, Miles Hunt & The Wonder Stuff, Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, American rapper DMX, Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst and Porl Thompson of The Cure and Ville Valo of Finnish band HIM.
Robert Ian Andrews is a British rock guitarist, and former member of the bands Generation X, Empire and Westworld.
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