The Island’s alt-rock band, Killing Morton, have released a new single, ‘Militia’, inspired by animal rights activist, Barry Horne.
Leaning heavily on Manic Street Preachers for musical and lyrical influence, the song documents animal rights 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. In 1994 Horne and Animal Rights Militia targeted several High Street stores throughout the country using homemade 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.
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 4 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 1990’s 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.”
Militia, is Killing Morton’s first release since the 2021 EP Disinformed, Now Smile and was recorded at Hungry Hound Productions with Stuart Heath. A video for the single is available to watch on YouTube.
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. 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.
