King Crimson
Formed
13 January 1969, London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Disbanded
8 December 2021
Members
Robert Fripp (guitar, keyboards), Ian McDonald (saxophone, flute, keyboards, 1969), Greg Lake (bass, vocals, 1969-70), Michael Giles (drums, 1969-70), Peter Sinfield (lyrics, 1969-71), Gordon Haskell (bass, vocals, 1970), Andy McCulloch (drums, 1970), Mel Collins (saxophone, flute, 1970-72, 2013-21), Boz Burrell (bass, vocals, 1971-72), Ian Wallace (drums, 1971-72), Jamie Muir (percussion, 1972-73), John Wetton (bass, vocals, 1972-74), David Cross (violin, viola, flute, keyboards, 1972-74), Bill Bruford (drums, percussion, 1972-97), Tony Levin (bass, 1981-99, 2003-21), Adrian Belew (guitar, vocals, 1981-2013), Trey Gunn (bass, Chapman stick, Warr Guitar, 1994-2003), Pat Mastelotto (drums, percussion, 1994-2021), Gavin Harrison (drums, 2007-21), Bill Rieflin (drums, keyboards, 2013-20), Jakko M. Jakszyk (vocals, guitar, 2013-21), Jeremy Stacey (drums, keyboards, 2016-21)
Related Artists
21st Century Schizoid Band, Asia, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, Centipede, The Crimson ProjeKCt, Dizrhythmia, Robert Fripp String Quintet, Fission Trip, Giles, Giles and Fripp, Gordian Knot, The Human Experimente, The Kings of Oblivion, Alexis Korner & Snape, KTU, Greg Lake's Ride the Tiger, The League of Crafty Guitarists, The League of Gentlemen, ProjeKct Four, ProjeKct One, ProjeKct Six, ProjeKct Three, ProjeKct Two, The Rad Dance ProjeKct, Renaissance, The Shortlist, Shy Limbs, Slow Music, The Soundtracks, Stick Men, Sunday All Over the World, The Tangent, TU, Ultimate Zero, U.K.
Also Known As
Discipline, ProjeKct X
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Ellison
"King Crimson are one of the few prog bands whom one can actually call 'progressive', using the dictionary definition of the term. Once Robert Fripp figured out that the psychedelic trappings of their first four albums didn't suit them very well, he set about making them over as a much grittier, earthier outfit. In the 1980s they became a poly-rhythmic machine, following a path laid down by Talking Heads' Remain in Light and adding its own peculiar angularity. In the 1990s and beyond, they've adopted sort of a nu-metal outlook, although not without throwing in flashbacks to the mid-1970s and 1980s eras. Every listener tends to prefer one era or the other, of course. But no era has come close to being completely dismissed the way that the 'pop' eras of Yes and Genesis have been, by certain sections of their fanbases. If any 'progressive' band, other than Pink Floyd, were taken seriously by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, King Crimson would have been inducted during their first year of eligibility."
RYM Rough Guide for King Crimson
Biography
With a new lineup, Fripp, Sinfield, Collins, future Bad Company bassist Boz Burrell and drummer Ian Wallace, the band toured in 1971 for the first time since 1969. Islands was released later that year. The 1972 USA tour resulted in the poor quality live album Earthbound (released by Robert Fripp to get the band out of their record deal). The band officially broke up following the tour.
It wasn't long before King Crimson returned, though. Fripp almost instantly put together a new lineup featuring bassist/vocalist John Wetton, drummer Bill Bruford, violinist David Cross, percussionist Jamie Muir, and lyricist Richard Palmer-James. This lineup brought a harder edged and more improvisational sound to the table, quickly recording 1973's Larks' Tongues in Aspic and 1974's Starless and Bible Black (for which Muir quietly exited the band) to much fanfare. Things were quick to turn sour, though, with Cross departing after the 1974 tour. Fripp brought back both Mel Collins and Ian McDonald for 1974's Red, one of the band's most acclaimed releases. With this, the band broke up again, although Bruford and Wetton went on to become founding members of the supergroup U.K..
In 1981, Robert Fripp decided to create a new project called Discipline, for which he recruited singer/guitarist Adrian Belew, bassist Tony Levin, and a returning Bill Bruford on drums. The resulting album ended up being released under the King Crimson name, although its title retained the project's original name. Discipline introduced a more 80s oriented sound and was hailed as a triumphant return by many fans. This would be one of the longer lasting King Crimson lineups, putting out two more records (Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair) before breaking up once again in 1984 (following a tour which would later be documented on the Absent Lovers live album).
There was no action in the KC camp for an extended timespan, the closest being in 1989 when Fripp, his wife Toyah Wilcox and future KC bassist Trey Gunn started a project called Sunday All Over The World.
In 1991, Fripp invited David Sylvian to become the lead singer for King Crimson. Although Sylvian declined the offer, he and Fripp formed a duo project Fripp/Sylvian, which also featured Trey Gunn and drummer Jerry Marotta. On tour Pat Mastelotto played the drums, as can be heard on the live album Damage. The Fripp/Sylvian tour led directly into the reformation of King Crimson of 1994. The 80s lineup reunited, with the addition of bassist Trey Gunn and drummer Pat Mastelotto. This "double trio" lineup released Thrak in 1995.
Looking for new musical ideas and searching for King Crimson's next direction, the members started to work in smaller sub-groups, the ProjeKcts over the next few years. However, Levin and Bruford both ended up leaving before too long, reducing them to a four-piece for 2000's The ConstruKction of Light. That same four-piece lineup produced The Power to Believe in 2003. At the end of that year, Trey Gunn left the band, and Tony Levin returned to the lineup.
In 2007, Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison joined the band as a second drummer. This formation toured the USA in 2008, but no new studio recordings were released.
21st Century Schizoid Band, a band with King Crimson alumni plus Jakko M. Jakszyk toured the world performing the 1960s and 70s repertoire of King Crimson. Another splinter group, The Crimson ProjeKCt, with Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, and Pat Mastelotto, primarily focused on repertoire from the early 1980s through to the mid-90s.
In 2011, A Scarcity of Miracles: A King Crimson ProjeKct, a collaboration from Jakko M. Jakszyk, Robert Fripp, and Mel Collins, with Gavin Harrison and Tony Levin was released. Although officially not a King Crimson album, it was a hint of things to come. This lineup with drummers Bill Rieflin and Pat Mastelotto was later announced as the new formation for a 2014 USA tour. The new lineup never recorded a new studio album, but focused on reworking old material. The live repertoire included songs from the run of albums between In the Court of the Crimson King and Red, as documented on several live albums like Radical Action (To Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind) and Meltdown: Live in Mexico. Most of the material wasn't performed in over 40 years. In 2016 Rieflin took a sabbatical from the band, to be replaced by Jeremy Stacey. After returning Rieflin became a fulltime keyboardist until his death in 2020. The band played their final concert December 2021.
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