Isle of Wight alt-rock band, Killing Morton, have released their new single, Militia, inspired by animal rights activist, Barry Horne – watch below.
Leaning heavily on Manic Street Preachers for musical and lyrical influence, the song documents animal right activist Barry Horne and the night in 1994 when he planted several detonators in shops in Newport and Ryde.
Known for his commitment to the Animal Liberation Front and Animal Rights Militia, Barry Horne was convicted multiple times for his animal rights activism in the 1980s and 1990s.
High Street shops targeted
In 1994, Horne and Animal Rights Militia targeted several high street stores throughout the country using home-made firebombs.
The attacks targeted Boots stores, Halfords, stores selling leather goods, and stores run by cancer research charities – all stores that sold products or had connections with animal testing and animal cruelty.
It is said the damage caused to the branch of Boots in Newport caused £2.8 million to repair.
Gorman: Fell down an Internet rabbit hole
Killing Morton singer and guitarist, Jack Gorman says,
“I have a hazy memory of seeing news coverage of the Boots fire on TV when I was four years old, or it might have been later when Barry Horne was convicted for it. It came back to me when I saw a user on the Isle of Wight Heritage Facebook group had posted pictures of the damage to the branch of Boots.
“I fell down an Internet rabbit hole of what Barry Horne, Animal Liberation Front etc were doing in the 1990s and of how many detonators Barry had planted in other shops in Newport and Ryde at the same time. It’s fortunate that no one was killed.”
Gorman: Sets the scene of the terror and violence caused
Jack continues,
“The song itself sets the scene of the terror and violence that was caused that night whilst alluding that although direct action is and was so destructive, it is better than not doing anything at all.”
Militia, is Killing Morton’s first release since the 2021 EP Disinformed, Now Smile and was recorded at Hungry Hound Productions with Stuart Heath.
Old VHS look for video
Jack says,
“The video was meant to be a super cheap and easy thing to do so that we had some video content for the single release. I’m not a fan of old-fashioned video filters on social media, but I used them on the footage I shot in my living room, and it made the video look like it was an old VHS tape of a small activist group presentation from the 90s, which works really well for the song.”
The band
Killing Morton formed in 2017 and released the debut single, Pips, in November 2018 and a second single, Mobscene, in June 2019.
The Disinformed, Now Smile EP was preceded by the singles Falsegods and Blinkers in 2020.
Live performances
The band have previously played a number of shows at Strings on the Isle of Wight, The Hobbit and Suburbia in Southampton and headlined The Edge Of The Wedge in Portsmouth.
Militia, and previous Killing Morton releases, are available to download and stream on all major music streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music. For the latest news, releases and gig announcements, head to Killing Morton’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
News shared by Jack, in his own words. Ed
