John Peel took notice of us right from the start. He played us on his show on numerous occasions. It certainly brought us to the publics attention, as he did with so many bands of the time. Looking back, TOH was never played on BBC Radio bar John Peel. We were on the ‘banned/non-playable’ notice sent round to the other DJs and radio show producers. The regime was trying to protect itself from the reality going on outside its front door.
Kirk Brandon / Theatre of Hate interview, Louder Than War, 2016
Kirk Brandon formed THEATRE OF HATE in 1980 after the split of THE PACK with ex-members of THE STRAPS, THE EPILEPTICS and CRSIS. The lineup for this session is: Kirk Brandon (vocals), Stan Stammers (bass), Luke Rendall (drums), John Boy (saxophone), Steve Guthrie (guitar).
Two of the songs - "Rebel Without a Brain" and "My Own Invention" - were released as a single in April 1981. The other two - "The Wake" and "63" - made it to their debut LP, Westworld, released in February 1982.