Led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Kirk Brandon (formerly of The Pack), the original group also consisted of bassist Stan Stammers (formerly of The Straps and The Epileptics), saxophonist John "Boy" Lennard, [1] guitarist Steve Guthrie and drummer Luke Rendle [2] (formerly of Crisis and The Straps).
The Pack
The Pack were a British punk rock band formed in 1978, comprising Kirk Brandon on guitars and vocals, Simon Werner (died 26 November 2010) on guitars, Jonathan Werner on bass, and Rab Fae Beith (later of UK Subs) on drums. Beith was eventually replaced by Jim Walker.[3] The band released two singles in 1979, ""Heathen" and "King of Kings", and the Kirk Brandon & The Pack of Lies EP in 1980, before splitting. Their posthumous releases were the Long Live the Past EP (1982), The Pack Live 1982 live album, recorded in 1979 and released on cassette only on Walker's Donut Records label, and the collection Dead Ronin (2001).
In 1980, The Pack disbanded. Joined by Luke Rendle (drums), Steve Guthrie (guitar), and John Lennard (saxophone), bassist Stan Stammers completed Brandon's line-up to form Theatre of Hate; the Werner brothers subsequently joined The Straps, the street punk band Stammers had played for prior.[3] Inspired by Antonin Artaud's book Theatre and its Double, the new band took its name from the concept of the Theatre of Cruelty: "Artaud called for the emotional involvement of the audience. Singer Brandon borrowed the thespian term because he was trying to do the same."[5]
"Original Sin", Theatre of Hate's first single, was released in November 1980 as a double A-side with "Legion"; reaching No. 5 in the UK Indie Chart, it was followed by the singles "Rebel Without a Brain" in April 1981, and "Nero" in July.[4] Early attention focused on the band as a live act, its full-length debut in 1981 being the album He Who Dares Wins (Live at the Warehouse Leeds), released on vinyl by Burning Rome Records.[3] Guthrie left the band shortly after the album's release. Another live recording followed, Live at the Lyceum, issued on cassette, also in 1981.
In August 1981, Mick Jones of The Clash produced Westworld, Theatre of Hate's first (and only) studio album to be released prior to the band's dissolution the following year.[6] Guitarist Billy Duffy (formerly of The Nosebleeds) joined the band soon after the album had been recorded, and drummer Rendle was replaced by Nigel Preston.[6] Heralded by the Top 40 single "Do You Believe in the West World" (which afforded the new line-up the band's one appearance on Top of the Pops), Westworld was released in February 1982 by Burning Rome Records, peaking at No. 17 the following month during its seven week run in the UK Albums Chart.[7][8][9][10] Recorded in September 1981 in Berlin, the live album He Who Dares Wins was also released in February in an attempt to curtail the sale of bootlegged recordings of Theatre of Hate concerts.
A follow-up single, "The Hop", was released in May 1982 and peaked at No. 70.[11] Of the two further singles planned for release, only "Eastworld" was issued, in August. In 1984, and subsequent to Theatre of Hate's split two years previous, Burning Rome Records released Revolution, a compilation album that spent three weeks in the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 67.[10][12] This posthumous album also included "Americanos", Theatre of Hate's final, unreleased single.
Theatre of Hate reformed in 1991 for the Return to 8 tour, which included original band members Brandon, Stammers and Lennard, with the addition of three Spear of Destiny members, guitarist Mark Thwaite (also formerly of The Mission), drummer Pete Barnacle and keyboard player Volker Janssen. A live recording of the London Astoria show featuring this line-up was later included in the Act 4 compilation.
Theatre of Hate's unreleased second studio album, recorded in 1982, was released as Ten Years After in 1993.[3]
In 1994, a line-up of Brandon, Stammers, guitarist John McNutt and drummer Art Smith went into Mix-O-Lydian Studio in Boonton, New Jersey with producer Brad Morrison to record a new album under the Theatre of Hate banner. As Stone in the Rain, it was released by Anagram Records in 1995, credited to Kirk Brandon's 10:51; it was released in the US a year later as a Theatre of Hate album, retitled Retribution.
A 1996 tour featuring a line-up of Brandon, McNutt, Smith and new bassist Knut Knutson resulted in the live album Retribution Over the Westworld, issued that year by Receiver Records. Another album of 1982 material recorded with Jones, Aria of the Devil, was released in 1998 by Snapper Music, while Live at the Lyceum was reissued as Love Is a Ghost in 2000.[6]
To coincide with Westworld's 25th anniversary, Theatre of Hate reformed for a week-long tour culminating at the Carling Academy Islington on 29 April 2007. Of the original line-up, only Stammers was unavailable, due to conflicting schedules and family commitments in the US where he now lives.[17] Replacing him was Craig Adams (former bassist for numerous bands including The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, The Cult, The Alarm and Spear of Destiny), joining Brandon, Guthrie, Lennard and Rendle for the reunion.
In May 2012, Theatre of Hate, with a line-up of Brandon, Stammers and Lennard, augmented by Adrian Portas (New Model Army, Sex Gang Children, Spear of Destiny) on guitar and Mike Kelly on drums, reunited again for three Westworld 30th anniversary concerts, held in Bristol, London and Crewe. 2013 concerts in Birmingham and Bristol with this line-up were self-released as the CD/DVD set Live 2013.[18]
After Kelly was replaced by Danny Ferrani, Theatre of Hate recorded a new four-song EP, Slave, self-released in 2014,. The band issued a free single, "Day of the Dog", in 2015.
In 2016, Theatre of Hate released the album Kinshi, self-released via PledgeMusic.[19] It was followed by Black Irony the following year and Utsukushi-sa (A Thing Of Beauty) in 2020.[20]
Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been packaged into numerous collections, and they remain one of the more well-known bands of the early Batcave scene and have reformed for new albums and touring at various times since the early 1990s.
Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one "Don't Turn Around" (1988) and "Shine" (1994). "Aswad" is Arabic for "black". They are three-time Grammy Award nominees.
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.
No-Man are an English art pop duo, formed in 1987 as No Man Is an Island (Except the Isle of Man) by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson. The band has so far produced seven studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections (including 2006's career retrospective All the Blue Changes). The band was once lauded as "conceivably the most important English group since The Smiths" by Melody Maker music newspaper, and a 2017 article of Drowned in Sound described them as "probably the most underrated band of the last 25 years".
The Partisans are a Welsh punk rock band formed in Bridgend, South Wales, in early 1978, when all four members were in their early teens. They continued until 1984, having several hits on the UK Indie Chart. The band re-formed in the late 1990s.
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.
Kirk Brandon is an English musician best known as the leader of the bands Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny.
One Eyed Jacks is the second studio album by Spear of Destiny, released by Burning Rome Records in 1984.
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.
Aria of the Devil is the second of two studio albums by Theatre of Hate issued after the band's dissolution in 1983. It was released in 1998 by Original Masters/Snapper Music
Stan Stammers is an English musician best known as the bass player for the bands Theatre of Hate, Spear of Destiny and Plastic Eaters.
Nigel Preston was an English drummer. He was a founding member of the Cult. He also played and recorded with Theatre of Hate, Sex Gang Children, the Baby Snakes, the Gun Club and DeLuca.
The Wall were a punk rock band formed in Sunderland, England, in early 1978. They have released two studio albums.
Robert Ian Andrews is a British rock guitarist, and former member of the bands Generation X, Empire and Westworld.
"Alone" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1993 as the lead single from their sixth studio album The Buffalo Skinners. It was written by Stuart Adamson and produced by Big Country. "Alone" reached number 24 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for three weeks.
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