Theatre of Hate “Original Sin”
From the “Original Sin”/”Legion” single (1980).
Having made three brief appearances in the last 20 years, Theatre of Hate remain a band every musician would die, or lie, to be in - healthy record sales, a fanatical following, and a catalogue of music with more depth, power, and soul than the band will ever be credited for…
Original Sin: A greatly misunderstood and abused song. Mick Jones actually played guitar on the 12”. An argument enused for over 10 years as to the two different ways of playing the guitar line, backwards as is the case of the single or forwards any other time - to this day no one concedes either way. This song came before a High Court judge in the case of Brandon vs. O’Dowd. O’Dowd’s claim of it being written by him dismissed by Brandon as ridiculous as Brandon says it was written a full year before meeting O’Dowd, with the aid of Steve Guthrie, the original guitarist and co-founding member. (from the liner notes to The Best of Theatre of Hate, 2000)
Gothic post-punks Theatre of Hate formed in Britain in 1980; led by singer/songwriter Kirk Brandon, formerly of the Pack, the original group also comprised guitarist Simon Werner, bassist Jonathan Werner and drummer Jim Walker. Immediately recognized as one of the era’s premier live acts, Theatre of Hate debuted in 1981 with the concert LP He Who Dares Wins Live at the Warehouse Leeds; soon after, Brandon dismissed the remainder of the group, assembling a new line-up comprising guitarist Billy Duffy, bassist Stan Stammers, saxophonist John Lennard and drummer Nigel Preston (who was soon after replaced by Luke Rendle). Another concert recording, Live at the Lyceum, followed in 1982 before Theatre of Pain entered the studio with producer Mick Jones of the Clash to record their proper debut, Westworld; the album went on to reach the UK Top 20, also launching the Top 40 single “Do You Believe in the Westworld?” He Who Dares Wins Live in Berlin followed in late 1982, but by this point the group was beginning to disintegrate, with Duffy exiting to form The Cult; a second studio album, Aria of the Devil, was recorded but went unreleased. By 1983, Brandon had founded a new unit, Spear of Destiny. (AllMusic)
Random trivia: In addition to Billy Duffy and Nigel Preston of The Cult, Theatre of Hate’s reunion line-up included Craig Adams who was part of the early ’90s Cult line-up, as well as a former member of The Mission and Sisters of Mercy.
Kirk Brandon also plays in Dead Men Walking, a rotating line-up of old school post-punkers whose current roster includes Brandon, Captain Sensible (The Damned), Mike Peters (The Alarm), and Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats). Former members and guests include Mick Jones (The Clash), Billy Duffy (The Cult), Lemmy (Motörhead), Derek Forbes (Simple Minds), Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Bruce Watson (Big Country), and Pete Wylie (Wah!).
And, yes, he’s the same Kirk Brandon who sued Boy George for detailing an alleged affair between the two of them in his mid-’90s memoir. (Yes, Boy George = George O’Dowd, mentioned in the liner notes quoted above.)
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Kirk Brandon Official
Theatre of Hate MySpace
Spear of Destiny MySpace
Dead Men Walking MySpace
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History major dropout and a slave to pop culture. I over-analyze everything, overuse adjectives, hate talking on the phone, like my tech red, and will some day buy/make a shirt that says "Banjos make me hot."
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