Josef K

Josef K

Josef K are a Scottish post-punk band from Edinburgh. They form in 1979 and are active until 1981. The line-up includes Paul Haig, Malcolm Ross, Ron Torrance and David Weddell, with Haig on guitar, vocals and songwriting, Ross on guitar and violin, Weddell on bass, and Torrance on drums. The band is named after the protagonist of Franz Kafka’s novel The Trial.

Career

The band begins as TV Art, formed by Paul Haig and his childhood friend Ronnie Torrance, then joined by Malcolm Ross and later David Weddell after an earlier bass player, Gary McCormack, leaves. They change their name after being asked at short notice to open for Adam and the Ants at Clouds Ballroom in July 1979. Their first release is the single “Romance”/“Chance Meeting” on Steven Daly’s Absolute label in December 1979, and they then sign to Postcard Records, where they release a run of singles in 1980 and 1981.

Josef K record their debut album, Sorry for Laughing, at Castle Sound Studios in Pencaitland in 1981, but it is shelved because the band dislikes the clean production. Only a few copies circulate at the time. They then record The Only Fun in Town in Belgium over two days, aiming for a more live sound. It is their only album released while the band is together. Their final performance takes place in August 1981, after which they split. Their last single, “The Farewell Single”, appears in 1982 on Les Disques du Crépuscule and includes the Peel session track “The Missionary”.

Style and influence

Musically, Josef K combine post-punk guitars with funk and disco rhythms. They are influenced by Pere Ubu, Television, Talking Heads, The Voidoids and Subway Sect. Their lyrics and image are more downbeat and austere than those of Orange Juice, their labelmates, and they are also compared to Joy Division, but with a less dark sound. Haig’s writing draws on Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Knut Hamsun, and “It’s Kinda Funny” is inspired by the death of Ian Curtis.

The band adopts an anti-rock stance: most members avoid drink and most drugs, they do not do encores, do stage banter or sign autographs. They become influential on later bands including The June Brides, The Wedding Present, Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads and The Rapture. “Sorry for Laughing” is later covered by Propaganda and by Nouvelle Vague. Josef K recordings are reissued by labels including Creation, Domino and LTM Recordings, and remastered editions of The Only Fun in Town appear on Les Disques du Crépuscule. Their history is featured in the documentary Big Gold Dream, with Malcolm Ross appearing as an interviewee.

After the band

After Josef K, Paul Haig pursues a long solo career and releases albums on his Rhythm of Life label between 1984 and 2008. Malcolm Ross joins Orange Juice, then plays with Aztec Camera and Blancmange before starting a solo career. Ross and Weddell later work together again in Magic Clan. Ronnie Torrance joins Boots for Dancing and later forms The Happy Family with Nick Currie, also known as Momus.