In 1980, Kirk Brandon formed Theatre Of Hate from the ashes of heralded punk band The Pack.
Joining Kirk on vocals were notable punk musicians Stan Stammers and Luke Rendall, along with old school friend, Steve Guthrie and Canadian born John “Boy” Lennard, who revolutionised the band’s sound with his haunting sax lines.
Theatre Of Hate’s debut double-A-side single, “Legion”/”Original Sin”, topped the independent chart in 1980, and “Westworld”, their debut album, produced by Mick Jones from The Clash and released in 1982, held the number one position for 21 weeks. The single taken from the album, “Do You Believe In The Westworld?” has become an anthem and is still widely played in clubs and on international radio, as well as featuring on numerous compilation albums.
Supporting the likes of The Clash & Ian Dury lead to Theatre Of Hate headlining major venues across the UK & Northern Europe.
Theatre Of Hate imploded in 1982, with Kirk taking Stan forward to form Spear Of Destiny, but the band has resurfaced over the years to play some very special shows.
Having been asked by John Curd to join The Damned for a massive show at London’s infamous Roundhouse in December 2014 the band once again joined the fray. A short set of dates around the London anchor show attracted rave reviews, as did a six night night sold out run in December 2014.
2015 saw the band play two short jaunts across the UK in April and December both sets of dates wowed large crowds.
During touring in 2014 and 2015 the band constantly recorded at Oxygen Studios in Manchester, the first new studio album in 30+ years 'Kinshi' was released at the tail end of 2016.
Kirk, Stan and John will be joined at Thursday's Bedford Esquires (July 26) date by current Spear Of Destiny band member Adrian Portas (New Model Army) on guitar and Chris Bell(Hugh Cornwall) on drums to pay homage to the iconic TOH sound.
Special guest support comes from The Membranes, the recently reformed, highly influential UK underground band. In the 80s they developed a dark and discordant and wild music that was at the forefront of the Death To Trad Rock UK underground scene. Fronted by John Robb this is the band first appearance in Bedford for over 25 years.
Tickets priced £18 are on sale here
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