"King's Lead Hat" is a song written by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

, released in 1977 as the fifth track from his album ''

Before and After Science ''Before and After Science'' is the fifth solo studio album by English musician Brian Eno, originally released by Polydor Records in December 1977 in the United Kingdom and by Island U.S. soon after. Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, it is th ...

''. The title is an anagram of "

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

". On 27 January 1978 a remixed version of the song was released as a single. Rock critic

Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist and critic. He wrote for ''Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines and was also a performing musician. The music critic Jim DeRogatis called ...

described the song "King's Lead Hat" as a track that emphasises "Eno's affinities with new wave in its rushed mechanical rhythms". Eno would later produce Talking Heads' second, third and fourth albums, including ''

Remain in Light ''Remain in Light'' is the fourth studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cass ...

'' (1980). Guitarist

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session mu ...

, a frequent collaborator with Eno, performs a solo on the track.

B-side

"R.A.F.", a collaboration with Snatch, is a non-album track that uses samples of Baader-Meinhoff terrorists recorded from a German telephone announcement. R.A.F. stands for "

Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (, ; RAF ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang ( ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970 and active until 1998, considered a terrorist organisat ...

Personnel

Musicians *

– voices, piano, rhythm guitar, metallics * Paul Rudolph – bass *

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801 and Quiet Sun. ...

– rhythm guitar *

– guitar solo *

Andy Fraser Andrew McIan Fraser (3 July 1952 – 16 March 2015) was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist and co-composer for the rock band Free, which he helped found in 1968 when he was 15. He also founded the rock band Sharks af ...

– drums Production * Brian Eno – producer * Rhett Davies – producer,

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

Conny Plank Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was involv ...

– engineer

Cover versions

* 1980 –

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...

, B-side to " Passing Strangers" single * 2003 –

The Dirtbombs The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and Soul music, soul, while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup. The Dirtbombs we ...

, bonus track on early editions of '' Dangerous Magical Noise''

References

1977 songs Brian Eno songs British new wave songs Songs written by Brian Eno Talking Heads Anagrams {{1970s-rock-song-stub