Theatre of Hate

Gothic post-punks Theatre of Hate came together in Britain during 1980 under the direction of singer and songwriter Kirk Brandon, who had previously fronted the Pack. The initial roster featured guitarist Simon Werner, bassist Jonathan Werner and drummer Jim Walker. The band quickly earned acclaim as one of the period’s standout live performers and issued its first release, the concert LP He Who Dares Wins Live at the Warehouse Leeds, in 1981. Shortly afterward Brandon disbanded the existing lineup and recruited guitarist Billy Duffy, bassist Stan Stammers, saxophonist John Lennard and drummer Nigel Preston—who was soon succeeded by Luke Rendle—for a fresh configuration. A second live document, Live at the Lyceum, appeared in 1982, after which the group, now billed as Theatre of Pain, worked with producer Mick Jones of the Clash on its first proper studio album, Westworld. The record climbed into the UK Top 20 and yielded the Top 40 single “Do You Believe in the Westworld?” Late in 1982 He Who Dares Wins Live in Berlin surfaced, yet internal fractures were already surfacing; Duffy departed to establish the Cult, and a second studio effort, Aria of the Devil, was completed but never issued. In 1983 Brandon launched his next project, Spear of Destiny.