(From Melody Maker, UK weekly, 13 March 1982.)

No Joke For Jaz

by Steve Sutherland

Word filters through from the Killing Joke camp that founder-member, singer (?), keyboard wizard and all-round poison dwarf Jaz has gone AWOL, presumed disturbed.

According to the band's spokesman Brian Taylor, Jaz informed him early last year that he would leave the 'Joke in '82 but Taylor put it down, as usual, to Jaz's "over-active imagination".

Lately, however, Taylor reports more sinister signs with Jaz, always an occult freak, getting heavily into Aleister Crowley and ritual magic.

His fascination took him to Iceland six months ago where a presumed "visitation" sent him on to Iona. Ever since, says Taylor, he started "acting quite oddly, talked to no-one and took little interest in the group".

Jaz's bad chemicals came to a head at Brighton last week where he apparently went berserk at the usual legion of front row gobbers and "began to act as if possessed and demonic". Storming offstage, Jaz is reported as saying, "I hate them, I hate them!  Why do they spit at me? I've had it. I will never go on again".

On Friday his mother received a farewell phone call and Jaz disappeared, leaving the band to muddle through Monday's Riverside recording with a tailor's dummy in his place. "I don't know where he is or if he's coming back", quoth Taylor.

Friday was Aleister Crowley's birthday.  And Jaz's . . . .