Love Like Blood by Killing Joke

Album: Night Time (1985)

Charted: 16

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Songfacts®:

In this song, Killing Joke lead singer Jaz Coleman sings about approaching love with the same passion as a soldier in battle. In his Songfacts interview, Coleman said: "The song itself was a distillation of everything that we hold dear, and one must aspire to walk and talk what you write about in your songs - actually live it."
Works by the Japanese author Yukio Mishima were an inspiration for this song, specifically his 1967 book The Samurai Ethic and Modern Japan. "I loved the warrior principal," Jaz Coleman told us. "To freedom with blood, if you like."
This was the biggest hit for Killing Joke, and their only chart entry in Germany (#24), Holland (#5) and New Zealand (#6). The group built up a dedicated following in the UK but throttled their hit potential by refusing to do traditional promotion, antagonizing journalists and staying clear of lyrical and musical trends in pop music.
The video was directed by Peter Care, whose other work includes the videos for Bananarama's "Venus," ABC's "Near Me" and Fine Young Cannibals' "Good Thing."

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