10 Bands That Broke Up For Bizarre Reasons

Although Killing Joke didn’t officially break up, the story behind this unusual series of events is simply too incredible to be left out. In the event of Armageddon, you would think putting your band on hold would be the least of your concerns. Killing Joke thought otherwise. The post-punk trailblazers formed in Cheltenham in 1978, and soon established themselves as legends in the making with their 1980 self-titled debut album.

Following their fiery introduction, they released ‘What’s This For?’ in 1981 and then ‘Revelations’ in 1982. But by the time 'Revelations' was released in July, Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker were on the run. In the early ‘80s, Coleman gained an occult obsession and predicted that the Apocalypse was imminent. To escape its wrath, he convinced Walker to move to Iceland with him so they would survive. This was too much for Martin ‘Youth’ Glover, who stayed in the UK and promptly left the band. Coleman and Walker formed heavy metal group Niceland while Killing Joke was dormant, before returning to the UK ahead of releasing ‘Fire Dances’ in 1983.

Years later, Coleman claimed the entire story is a myth, and he in fact moved to Iceland so he could start up a drug dealing operation. The operation was short lived, but the money he made allowed him to buy the grand piano he wrote his first symphony on, making this one of the craziest music industry stories you will ever hear.