Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 10, 2026

Fire Dances

Fire Dances is the fourth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 15 July 1983 by E.G. via Polydor Records. It was the band's first album to feature new bass player Paul Raven, recorded at Basing Street Studios in London between February and March 1983. According to Paul Ferguson the band's drug use contributed to the original mix of the album being "tinny".

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Jul 10, 2026
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Fire Dances
Studio album by
Killing Joke
Released15 July 1983
RecordedFebruary–March 1983
StudioBasing Street, London
Genre
Length39:25
LabelE.G., Polydor
ProducerKilling Joke, John Porter
Killing Joke chronology
Revelations
(1982) 		Fire Dances
(1983) 		Night Time
(1985)
Singles from Fire Dances
  1. "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)"
    Released: 17 June 1983

Fire Dances is the fourth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 15 July 1983 by E.G. via Polydor Records.1 It was the band's first album to feature new bass player Paul Raven, recorded at Basing Street Studios in London between February and March 1983.2 According to Paul Ferguson the band's drug use contributed to the original mix of the album being "tinny".3

Release

Fire Dances was released in July 1983 by E.G. Records. It entered number 29 in the UK Albums Chart, on 23 July 1983.4

The album was remastered and reissued in 2008, with eight bonus tracks: the non-album single "Me or You?", an alternate version of "Dominator" (B-side to "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)"), an unreleased early version of "The Gathering" and four tracks from a John Peel session from 1983.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star5
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStarStar6
MusicHound RockStarStarHalf star8
SelectStarStar9
PopMatters8/107
SoundsStarHalf star10

Fire Dances was generally well received by music critics. NME called it "their best [album] yet, and also likely to be their biggest."11 PopMatters and Trouser Press both qualified the album as "superb",712 with the latter describing the album's mood as "brighter" and "more joyous" than previous records.12

Track listing

All tracks are written by Killing Joke (Jaz Coleman, Paul Ferguson, Paul Raven and Geordie Walker).

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."The Gathering"3:11
2."Fun and Games"4:05
3."Rejuvenation"4:01
4."Frenzy"3:46
5."Harlequin"3:57
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Feast of Blaze"3:35
2."Song and Dance"5:13
3."Dominator"4:28
4."Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)"3:19
5."Lust Almighty"3:50
2008 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Me or You?"3:11
12."Wilful Days"5:01
13."Dominator" (Alternate Version)5:33
14."The Gathering" (Original Version)3:25
15."Dominator" (John Peel Session, 12/07/83)5:40
16."Frenzy" (John Peel Session, 12/07/83)3:40
17."Wilful Days" (John Peel Session, 12/07/83)6:00
18."Harlequin" (John Peel Session, 12/07/83)3:56

Personnel

Killing Joke
Technical
  • John Porter – co-producer on "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)", "Me or You" and "Wilful Days"
  • Nigel Mills – recording engineer, mixing

Charts

Year Chart Peak
position
1983 UK Albums Chart 294
References

References

  1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 17.
  2. Fire Dances (Reissue liner notes). Killing Joke. Virgin Records. 2008.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, p. 87-88. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN 978-1912587407.
  4. "Killing Joke | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  5. Jeffries, David. "Fire Dances – Killing Joke | Albums, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  6. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  7. Begrand, Adrien (30 April 2008). "Fun & Games: Killing Joke in the Mid-'80s | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  8. Holtje, Steve (1999). "Killing Joke". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (loan required). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 629–630. ISBN 978-1-57859-061-2 – via the Internet Archive.
  9. Perry, Neil (July 1991). "Killing Joke". Select. p. 86.
  10. Robertson, Sandy (9 July 1983). "Killing Joke: Fire Dances". Sounds. p. 25.
  11. Snow, Mat (20 August 1983). "He Man and All That Jaz: Killing Joke". NME. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  12. Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
External links