Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!

Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!
Compilation album by Killing Joke
Released	5 October 1992 [1]
Recorded	1979–1990
Genre	Post-punk industrial rock gothic rock new wave
Length	79:19
Label	Caroline Virgin
Producer	Killing Joke, Conny Plank, Chris Kimsey, Martin Rex
Killing Joke compilation album chronology
Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! (1992) Wilful Days (1995)

Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! is the first major compilation album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in October 1992 by Caroline Records in the U.S. and by Virgin Records in the U.K. and Europe. ^[2]

Content

Every studio album up to the time of release is represented, except Fire Dances and Outside the Gate . Three non-album tracks are also included, along with the original Chris Kimsey mix of "Wintergardens" from Brighter than a Thousand Suns , which was previously unreleased at the time.

The album's cover image of a priest blessing Nazi soldiers was previously used by the band for a concert poster in the early 1980s. Because of its theme, it caused quite a stir and the band were banned from playing a concert in Glasgow, Scotland. ^{[3] [4]} Contrary to popular belief, the priest in the picture was not Pope Pius XII, but German Nazi abbot Albanus Schachleiter. ^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
MusicHound Rock	[8]
Select	[9]

Ned Raggett of AllMusic wrote, "not the best compilation that could have been assembled [...] Laugh? is still a reasonable overview of the first decade of Killing Joke and its checkered but still important history". ^[6] Trouser Press called the album "commendable", but "a few obscure tracks take the place of more essential choices". ^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Turn to Red" (from Turn to Red )	Jaz Coleman, Kevin "Geordie" Walker, Martin "Youth" Glover, Paul Ferguson	4:01
2.	"Pssyche (Live)" (from Ha! )	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	4:44
3.	"Requiem" (from Killing Joke )	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	3:43
4.	"Wardance" (from Killing Joke)	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	3:45
5.	"Follow the Leaders" (from What's THIS For...! )	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	4:54
6.	"Unspeakable" (from What's THIS For...!)	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	5:18
7.	"Butcher" (from What's THIS For...!)	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	6:10
8.	"Exit" (from What's THIS For...!)	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	3:39
9.	"The Hum" (from Revelations )	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	4:56
10.	"Empire Song" (from Revelations)	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	3:17
11.	"Chop-Chop" (from Revelations)	Coleman, Walker, Glover, Ferguson	4:17
12.	"Sun Goes Down" (from Birds of a Feather EP)	Coleman, Walker, Paul Raven, Ferguson	4:17
13.	"Eighties" (from Night Time )	Coleman, Walker, Raven, Ferguson	3:49
14.	"Darkness Before Dawn" (from Night Time)	Coleman, Walker, Raven, Ferguson	5:18
15.	"Love Like Blood" (from Night Time)	Coleman, Walker, Raven, Ferguson	4:23
16.	"Wintergardens (Previously Unreleased Mix)" (original version from Brighter than a Thousand Suns )	Coleman, Walker, Raven, Ferguson	4:47
17.	"Age of Greed" (from Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions )	Coleman, Walker, Martin Atkins	7:26

Personnel

• Jaz Coleman – vocals, synthesizer
• Kevin "Geordie" Walker – guitar
• Martin "Youth" Glover – bass guitar on tracks 1 and 3–11
• Paul Raven – bass guitar on tracks 2 and 12–17
• Paul Ferguson – drums, vocals on tracks 1–16
• Martin Atkins – drums, vocals on track 17
• Mike Coles - cover design

References

1. "New Releases: Albums". Music Week . 3 October 1992. p. 10.
2. "Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!". Discogs. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
3. George-Warren, Holly; Romanowski, Patricia; Pareles, Jon, eds. (2001). The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Revised and updated for the 21st century ed.). New York: Fireside. p.  524. ISBN   0-7432-0120-5 – via the Internet Archive. Killing Joke was banned from performing a Glasgow, Scotland, gig after a 1980 concert poster depicted Pope Pius XII appearing to bless two columns of Nazi brownshirts.
4. Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958 – via Google Books.
5. MacKenzie, Iain; Francis, Fred; Giappone, Krista Bonello Rutter (13 March 2018). Comedy and Critical Thought: Laughter as Resistance. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   9781786604088 – via Google Books.
6. Raggett, Ned. "Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! – Killing Joke | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 26 February 2015.
7. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
8. Holtje, Steve (1999). "Killing Joke". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (loan required). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp.  629–630. ISBN   978-1-57859-061-2 – via the Internet Archive.
9. Scott, Danny (October 1992). "Killing Joke: Laugh? I Nearly Bought One". Select . p. 90.
10. Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press . Retrieved 26 February 2015.