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King Crimson are an English
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
band formed in London in 1968 by
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 ...
,
Michael Giles Michael Rex Giles (born 1 March 1942) is an English drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, best known as one of the co-founders of King Crimson in 1968. Prior to the formation of King Crimson, he was part of the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles a ...
,
Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 â€“ 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...
, Ian McDonald and
Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (27 December 1943 – 14 November 2024) was an English poet and songwriter. He was best known as a co-founder and lyricist of King Crimson. Their debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the fi ...
. Guitarist and leader Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the band's long history. The band drew inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
, heavy metal,
gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
,
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, industrial,
electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...
, and
experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
. As Greg Lake said in his interview with Gibson, King Crimson wanted to get a more European and original sound, different from the type of rock 'n' roll popular in those years. They also exerted a strong influence on the early 1970s progressive rock movement, including on contemporaries such as
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
and
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
, and continue to inspire subsequent generations of artists across multiple genres. The band has earned a large
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
, especially in the 21st century. The band's debut album, ''
In the Court of the Crimson King ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' (subtitled ''An Observation by King Crimson'') is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969, by Island Records. Often regarded as the first true progre ...
'' (1969), remains their most commercially successful and influential release. The next two albums, ''
In the Wake of Poseidon ''In the Wake of Poseidon'' is the second studio album by English progressive rock group King Crimson, released in May 1970 by Island Records in Europe, Atlantic Records in the United States, Philips Records in Australia, and Vertigo Records in ...
'' and ''
Lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
'' (both 1970), were recorded during a period of instability in the band's line-up, before a stable group with Fripp, Sinfield,
Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...
,
Boz Burrell Raymond "Boz" Burrell (1 August 1946 – 21 September 2006) was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for being the vocalist and bassist of King Crimson from 1971 to 1972 and the original bassist of B ...
and Ian Wallace recorded ''
Islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...
'' in 1971. In mid-1972, Fripp disbanded this line-up, recruited new members
Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...
(formerly of
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
),
John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Although he was left-handed, he was known for his skilled right-handed bass playing as well as his booming baritone voice. He was a member ...
,
David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director. Cross is best known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show with Bob and David'' (1995–1998), his role as Ian Hawk ...
and
Jamie Muir William James Graham Muir (4 July 1945 – 17 February 2025) was a Scottish painter and musician, best known for his work as the percussionist in King Crimson from 1972 to 1973, appearing prominently on their fifth album '' Larks' Tongues in As ...
, and changed the group's musical approach, drawing from European free improvisation and developing ever more complex compositions. The band reached what some saw as a creative peak on ''
Larks' Tongues in Aspic ''Larks' Tongues in Aspic'' is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock group King Crimson, released on 23 March 1973 through Island Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. This album is the debut o ...
'' (1973), ''
Starless and Bible Black ''Starless and Bible Black'' is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released in March 1974 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. It features most of the personne ...
'' (1974), and ''
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
'' (1974). King Crimson disbanded at the end of 1974. After seven years of inactivity, King Crimson was recreated in 1981 with Fripp, Bruford and new American members
Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual approach to the instrument, his ...
and
Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...
. Drawing influence from African music,
gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
,
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
and New York
minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
, this band lasted three years, resulting in the trio of albums ''
Discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...
'' (1981), ''
Beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
'' (1982) and '' Three of a Perfect Pair'' (1984). Following a decade-long hiatus, they reformed in 1994, adding
Pat Mastelotto Lee Patrick Mastelotto (born September 10, 1955) is an American rock drummer and record producer. He has been a member of King Crimson, Stick Men, Mr. Mister and O.R.k., as well as working as a session drummer with XTC, The Pointer Sisters an ...
and
Trey Gunn Trey Gunn (born December 13, 1960) is an American musician, known for being in the progressive rock band King Crimson from 1994 to 2003. He plays Warr Guitar and Chapman Stick instruments. Biography A native Texan who now resides in New Mexi ...
for a sextet line-up Fripp called "The Double Trio". The double trio participated in another three-year cycle of activity that included the EP/mini album '' Vrooom'' (1994) and the album '' Thrak'' (1995). Fripp, Belew, Mastelotto and Gunn reunited in 2000 as a quartet, called "The Double Duo", releasing ''
The Construkction of Light ''The Construkction of Light'' (stylised as ''the construKction of light'') is the twelfth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in May 2000 by Virgin Records. It is the first of two studio albums to feature the "double duo" line-up ...
'' (2000) and '' The Power to Believe'' (2003). After another hiatus, the band reformed for a 2008 tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of their 1968 formation, with
Gavin Harrison Gavin Richard Harrison (born May 28, 1963) is an English musician. He is best known for playing with the progressive rock bands Porcupine Tree (2002–2010; 2021–present), King Crimson (2008, and 2014–2021) and The Pineapple Thief (2016†...
of
Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...
being added, and Levin returning in place of Gunn. Following another hiatus (2009–2012), during which Fripp was thought to be retired, King Crimson came together again in 2013, this time as a septet (and, later, octet) with an unusual three-drumkit frontline, and new singer and secondary guitarist
Jakko Jakszyk Michael "Jakko" Jakszyk ( , born Michael Lee Curran, 8 June 1958) is an English musician, record producer, and actor. He has released several solo albums as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as lead singer and se ...
. This version of King Crimson toured from 2014 to 2021. After the band's final show in 2021, Fripp commented that King Crimson had "moved from sound to silence"; in 2025, however, Jakszyk broke the news of a new upcoming studio album containing material written during this last phase of the band's work and being recorded by the final line-up.


History


1967–1968: Giles, Giles and Fripp

In August 1967, brothers
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
and Peter Giles, drummer and singer/bassist respectively and pro musicians in working bands since their mid-teens in
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, England, advertised for a "singing organist" to join a group they were forming. Fellow Dorset musician
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 ...
 â€“ a guitarist who neither played organ nor sang â€“ responded, and
Giles, Giles and Fripp Giles, Giles and Fripp were an English rock group, formed in Bournemouth, Dorset in August 1967. It featured brothers Michael Giles on drums and vocals and Peter Giles on bass guitar and vocals, and Robert Fripp on guitar. The band's music s ...
was born. The trio recorded several quirky singles and one eclectic album, ''
The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp ''The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp'' is a 1968 album from the English group Giles, Giles and Fripp. The music shows a varied mix of psychedelic pop, folk, jazz and classical influences. The songs on each LP side are connected wi ...
''. They hovered on the edge of success, and even made a television appearance, but were never able to make a commercial breakthrough. Attempting to expand their sound, the three recruited Ian McDonald on keyboards, reeds and woodwinds. McDonald brought along two new participants: his then-girlfriend, former
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
singer
Judy Dyble Judith Aileen Dyble (pronounced ''Die-bull''; 13 February 1949 – 12 July 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, most notable for being a vocalist and a founding member of Fairport Convention and Trader Horne. In addition, she and Ian McDona ...
, whose brief tenure with the group ended when the two split, Retrieved on 12 June 2009. and lyricist, roadie, and art strategist
Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (27 December 1943 – 14 November 2024) was an English poet and songwriter. He was best known as a co-founder and lyricist of King Crimson. Their debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the fi ...
, with whom he had been writing songs â€“ a partnership initiated when McDonald had said to Sinfield (regarding his band Creation), "Peter, I have to tell you that your band is hopeless, but you write some great words. Would you like to get together on a couple of songs?" Fripp, meanwhile, saw
Clouds In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may c ...
at the
Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End. It was the location of the first ...
in London which spurred him to incorporate classically inspired melodies into his writing, and utilise improvisation to find new ideas. Retrieved on 4 September 2007. No longer interested in Peter Giles's more whimsical pop songs, Fripp recommended that his old friend, fellow guitarist and singer
Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 â€“ 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...
could join to replace either Peter or Fripp himself. Peter Giles later called it one of Fripp's "cute political moves". According to Michael Giles, his brother had become disillusioned with the band's lack of success and departed before Fripp suggested Lake to fill Peter Giles's position as bassist and singer.


1968–1970: Original lineup and ''In the Court of the Crimson King''

The first incarnation of King Crimson—Fripp, Michael Giles, Lake, McDonald and Sinfield—was formed on 30 November 1968 with rehearsals beginning on 13 January 1969. Sinfield coined the band's name in "a moment of pressured panic". Sinfield had already used the term "crimson king" in a set of lyrics before his involvement with Giles, Giles and Fripp. Sinfield insisted that the name wasn't
Beelzebub Ba'al Zabub , Ba'al Zvuv or Beelzebub ( ; ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ''), also spelled Beelzebul or Belzebuth, and occasionally known as the Lord of the Flies, is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted ...
, prince of demons, and that a "crimson king" was any ruler during whose reign there were "societal rumblings" and "sort of the dark forces of the world". According to Fripp, King Crimson is a
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
for
Beelzebub Ba'al Zabub , Ba'al Zvuv or Beelzebub ( ; ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ''), also spelled Beelzebul or Belzebuth, and occasionally known as the Lord of the Flies, is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted ...
, which is an
anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...
form of the
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
phrase "B'il Sabab", meaning "the man with an aim", to which he related. At this early point, McDonald was the primary composer, with vital contributions from Fripp and Lake, while Sinfield wrote all the lyrics on his own, and also designed and operated the band's unique stage lighting, being credited with "words and illumination" on the album sleeve. Inspired by
the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...
, McDonald suggested the group purchase a
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
keyboard, and this became a key component of the early Crimson sound. Sinfield described the original Crimson thus: "If it sounded at all popular, it was out. So it had to be complicated, it had to be more expansive chords, it had to have strange influences. If it sounded, like, too simple, we'd make it more complicated, we'd play it in 7/8 or 5/8, just to show off". King Crimson's first live performance was at
the Speakeasy Club The Speakeasy Club, also known as The Speak, was a club situated at 48 Margaret Street, London, Margaret Street, London, England, and was a popular late-night meeting place for the music industry from 1966 to June 1978. The club took its name and ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on 9 April 1969 (with
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
guitarist
Peter Banks Peter William Brockbanks (15 July 1947 – 7 March 2013), known professionally as Peter Banks, was an English guitarist. He was the original guitarist in the rock bands Yes (band), Yes, Flash (band), Flash, and Empire; he was also a guitarist f ...
among the audience). Their big breakthrough came on 5 July 1969 by playing as a support act at
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
' free concert in
Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a , historic Listed building#Heritage protection, Grade I-listed urban park in Westminster, Greater London. A Royal Parks of London, Royal Park, it is the largest of the parks and green spaces that form a chain from Kensington P ...
, before an estimated 500,000 people. The debut album, ''
In the Court of the Crimson King ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' (subtitled ''An Observation by King Crimson'') is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969, by Island Records. Often regarded as the first true progre ...
'', was released in October 1969 on
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
. Fripp would later describe it as having been "an instant smash" and "New York's
acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...
album of 1970" (notwithstanding Fripp and Giles's assertion that the band never used psychedelic drugs).
The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
guitarist and composer
Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
called the album "an uncanny masterpiece". The album contains Sinfield's gothic lyrics and its sound was described as having "dark and doom-laden visions". Its opening track "
21st Century Schizoid Man "21st Century Schizoid Man" is a song by the progressive rock band King Crimson, released in October 1969 as the opening track on their debut album ''In the Court of the Crimson King''. Often regarded as the group's signature song, it was describ ...
" was described as "
proto-metal Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...
" and the song's lyrics criticise the military involvement of the United States in Southeast Asia. In contrast to the blues-based hard rock of the contemporary British and American scenes, King Crimson presented a more Europeanised approach that blended antiquity and modernity. The band's music drew on a wide range of influences provided by all five group members. These elements included classical music, the psychedelic rock spearheaded by
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
,
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, military music (partially inspired by McDonald's stint as an army musician) and
free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of ...
. After playing shows across England, the band toured the US with various pop and rock acts. Their first show was at
Goddard College Goddard College was a Private college, private college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle. The college offered undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With predecessor ins ...
in
Plainfield, Vermont Plainfield, a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States was incorporated in 1867. The population was 1,236 at the 2020 census. Plainfield is the location of Goddard College. Geography Plainfield is located at . According to the United ...
. While the band found success and critical acclaim, creative tensions were already developing. Giles and McDonald, still striving to cope with King Crimson's rapid success and the realities of touring life, became uneasy with their musical direction. Although he was neither the dominant composer nor the frontman, Fripp was very much the group's driving force and spokesman, leading them into progressively darker and more intense musical areas. McDonald and Giles, now favouring a lighter and more nuanced romantic style, became increasingly uncomfortable with their position and resigned after the conclusion of the US tour in January 1970. To keep the band together, Fripp offered to resign himself, but McDonald declared that King Crimson was "more (him) than them" and that he and Giles should therefore be the ones to leave. McDonald later said he "was probably not emotionally mature enough to handle it" and made a "rash decision to leave without consulting anyone". The original lineup played their last show at the
Fillmore West The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore ...
in San Francisco on 14 December 1969, a little over one year after forming. Live recordings of the band from 1969 were released in 1997 on ''
Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
'' and in 2010 on the '' In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)'' box set.


1970–1971: ''In the Wake of Poseidon'' and ''Lizard''

King Crimson spent 1970 in a state of flux with various lineup changes, thwarted tour plans, and difficulties in finding a satisfactory musical direction while Fripp was learning and developing as a songwriter during the writing process of the next three albums. As well as guitar, Fripp took on keyboard duties, while Sinfield expanded his creative role to operating synthesizers. Following McDonald and Giles's departure, Lake, unsure of the band's future without them, began discussions with
Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 194411 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He be ...
of
the Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music. Keyboardist Keith Emerson, bassist Lee Jackson (bassist), Lee Jackson, guitarist David O'List, and drummer Ian Hague ori ...
about possibly forming a new band together. With Fripp and Sinfield planning for recording the second King Crimson album, and Lake's position uncertain, the band's management booked
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
to sing the material as a session musician, but Fripp decided against this idea after listening to his '' Empty Sky'' album. Lake agreed to stay with the band until Emerson had completed remaining commitments with the Nice, at which point he left to form
Emerson, Lake and Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) of King Crimson, ...
. On the resulting ''
In the Wake of Poseidon ''In the Wake of Poseidon'' is the second studio album by English progressive rock group King Crimson, released in May 1970 by Island Records in Europe, Atlantic Records in the United States, Philips Records in Australia, and Vertigo Records in ...
'' album, Lake provided all the lead vocals except on "Cadence and Cascade", as he left before he was able to complete this track. Fripp's old school friend
Gordon Haskell Gordon Haskell (27 April 1946 – 15 October 2020) was an English musician and songwriter. A pop, rock, jazz, country and blues vocalist, guitarist, and bassist, he was a school friend of King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. The two first worke ...
was brought in to provide the vocal on the song. The sessions also included Michael and Peter Giles on drums and bass respectively, saxophonist
Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...
(formerly of the band Circus) and jazz pianist
Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "...spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporar ...
. Upon its release in May 1970, ''In the Wake of Poseidon'' reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 31 in the US. It received some criticism from those who thought it sounded too similar to their first album. With no set band to perform the new material, Fripp and Sinfield brought Mel Collins and Gordon Haskell on board (with Haskell doubling as lead vocalist and bassist and Collins quadrupling as saxophonist, flautist, occasional keyboard player, and backing vocalist), and Andy McCulloch joined as drummer. Fripp and Sinfield wrote the third album, ''
Lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
'', themselves – with Haskell, Collins and McCulloch having no say in the direction of the material. In addition to the core band, several session musicians contributed to the ''Lizard'' recording, including the returning Keith Tippett, who was offered to be a member of the new lineup, but due to other commitments preferred to continue working with the band as an occasional guest musician, and two members of Tippett's band,
Mark Charig Mark Charig (born 22 February 1944 in London) is a British trumpeter and cornetist. He was particularly active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he played in settings as diverse as Long John Baldry's group, Bluesology, Soft Machine, and K ...
on
cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...
, and Nick Evans on
trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
. Robin Miller (on
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
and
cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...
) also appeared, while
Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...
of
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
was brought in to sing a section of the album's title track, "Prince Rupert Awakes", which Fripp and Sinfield considered to be outside Haskell's natural range and style. ''Lizard'' featured stronger jazz and chamber-classical influences than previous albums. The album contains Sinfield's " phantasmagorical" lyrics, including "Happy Family" (an allegory of the break-up of
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
), and the title track, a suite which took up the entire second side, describing a medieval/mythological battle and its outcome. Released in December 1970, ''Lizard'' reached No. 29 in the UK and No. 113 in the US. Described retrospectively as an "outlier", the album had been made by a group in disagreement over method and taste. The more rhythm-and-blues-oriented Haskell and McCulloch both found the music difficult to relate to, and tedious and confusing to record. Collins disliked how his parts were composed, while both Fripp and Haskell detested Sinfield's lyrics. This lineup of the band did not survive much longer than the ''Lizard'' recording sessions. Haskell quit the band acrimoniously during initial tour rehearsals after refusing to sing live with distortion and electronic effects on his voice, and McCulloch departed soon after. With Sinfield not being a musician and Fripp having seemingly given up on the band, Collins was left to search for new members.


1971–1972: ''Islands''

After a search for a drummer to replace McCulloch, Ian Wallace was secured. Fripp was re-energised by the addition of a new member, and he joined Collins and Wallace to audition singers and bassists. Vocalists who tried out included
Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...
of
Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...
and even one of the band's managers,
John Gaydon Virgin EG Records (formerly E.G. Records until 1991) was a British artist management company and independent record label, mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s. The initials stood for its founders, David Enthoven and John Gaydon. The pair ...
. The position eventually went to Raymond "Boz" Burrell.
John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Although he was left-handed, he was known for his skilled right-handed bass playing as well as his booming baritone voice. He was a member ...
was invited to join on bass, but declined in order to join
Family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
instead.
Rick Kemp Frederick Stanley 'Rick' Kemp (born 15 November 1941) is an English bass player, guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Projects In the 1960s, he shot to prom ...
(later of
Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, ...
) rehearsed with the band, but declined the final offer to formally join. Fripp decided to teach Boz to play bass rather than continue the labored auditions. Though he had not played bass before, Burrell had played enough acoustic guitar to assist him in learning the instrument quickly. Wallace was able to further instruct Burrell in functioning on the instrument in a rhythm section. With a lineup now complete, King Crimson began touring in May 1971, the first time they had played live since the original lineup's last show on 14 December 1969. The concerts were well received, but the musical differences between Fripp and the rest of the group, and the somewhat wilder lifestyles of Collins, Wallace and Burrell, alienated the drug-free Fripp, who began to withdraw socially from his bandmates, creating further tension. In 1971, the new King Crimson formation recorded ''
Islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...
''. Sinfield, who favoured a softer approach, took lyrical inspiration from
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
's ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'', musical inspiration from jazz players like
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
and
Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2, 1930 – April 16, 2023) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For six decades, he was one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. He was a NEA Jazz Ma ...
, and a sun-drenched trip to
Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
and
Formentera Formentera (, ) is a Spanish island located in the Mediterranean Sea, which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain) together with Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza. Formentera is the smallest and most southerly island of the ...
. ''Islands'' featured the instrumental "Sailor's Tale", with a droning Mellotron and Fripp's banjo-inspired guitar solo; the raunchy blues-rocker "Ladies of the Road", a tribute to
groupies A groupie is a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is used mostly describing young women, an ...
which featured Wallace and Collins singing Beatles-esque backing vocals; and "Song of the Gulls", which was developed from an earlier Fripp instrumental ("Suite No. 1" from Giles, Giles & Fripp's 1968 album), and would be the only time the band would utilize an orchestra. Burrell disliked Sinfield's lyrics and one of the band members allegedly called ''Islands'' as "an airy-fairy piece of shit". Released in December 1971, ''Islands'' charted at No. 30 in the UK and No. 76 in the US. Following a tour of the United States in December 1971, Fripp informed Sinfield that he could no longer work with him, and asked him to leave the band. In January 1972, the remaining band broke up acrimoniously in rehearsals, owing partially to Fripp's refusal to play a composition by Collins. He later cited this as "quality control", with the idea that King Crimson would perform the "right" kind of music. In order to fulfil touring contracts in the United States in 1972, King Crimson reformed with the intention of disbanding immediately after the tour. Recordings from various North American dates between January and February 1972 were released as ''
Earthbound ''EarthBound'', originally released in Japan as is a 1994 role-playing video game, role-playing video game developed by Ape, Inc., Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the second e ...
'' in June of that year. The album was noted for its playing style that occasionally veered towards
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
, and Burrell's
scat singing Originating in vocal jazz, scat singing or scatting is vocal Musical improvisation, improvisation with Non-lexical vocables in music, wordless vocables, Pseudoword#Nonsense syllables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, t ...
on the improvised pieces, but was criticised for its sub-par sound quality. Further, better-quality, live recordings from this era would be released in 2002 as '' Ladies of the Road'' and in 2017 on the ''
Sailors' Tales (1970–1972) ''Sailors' Tales (1970–1972)'' is the seventh of the major box set releases from English progressive rock group King Crimson, released in 2017 by Discipline Global Mobile and Panegyric Records. Covering the period between the band's highly s ...
'' box set. By this time, the musical rift between Fripp and the rest of the band had grown very wide. Wallace, Burrell and Collins favoured improvised
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
and funk. Fripp would later describe the 1971–1972 lineup as more of a
jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts and live albums substantially feature improvisational "jam session, jamming". Typically, jam bands will play variations of pre-existing songs, extending them to musical improvisation, improvise ove ...
than an "improvising" band, an opinion with which Wallace disagreed. Personal relations actually improved during the tour to the point where most of the band decided to continue on, however Fripp opted to part company with the other three, restructuring King Crimson with new musicians, as he felt the other members wouldn't be fully engaged in the musical direction he had in mind.


1972–1975: ''Larks' Tongues in Aspic'', ''Starless and Bible Black'', ''Red'' and hiatus

The next incarnation of King Crimson was radically different from the previous configurations. Fripp's four new recruits were free-improvising percussionist
Jamie Muir William James Graham Muir (4 July 1945 – 17 February 2025) was a Scottish painter and musician, best known for his work as the percussionist in King Crimson from 1972 to 1973, appearing prominently on their fifth album '' Larks' Tongues in As ...
, drummer
Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...
, who left
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
at a commercial peak in their career in favour of the "darker" Crimson, bassist and vocalist
John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Although he was left-handed, he was known for his skilled right-handed bass playing as well as his booming baritone voice. He was a member ...
(who left
Family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
), and violinist, keyboardist and flautist
David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director. Cross is best known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show with Bob and David'' (1995–1998), his role as Ian Hawk ...
, whom Fripp had met when he was invited to a rehearsal of Waves, a band Cross was working in. Most of the musical compositions were collaborations between Fripp and Wetton, who each composed segments independently and fitted together those which they found compatible. Event occurs at 4:34-13:48. With Sinfield gone, the band recruited Wetton's friend
Richard Palmer-James Richard William Palmer-James (born 11 June 1947) is an English guitarist, songwriter and lyricist. He may be best known as one of the founding members of Supertramp (playing guitar and songwriter); writing lyrics for several songs by the pro ...
(from the original
Supertramp Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending p ...
) as their new lyricist. Unlike Sinfield, Palmer-James was not an official member of King Crimson, playing no part in artistic decisions, visual ideas, or sonic directions; his sole contributions to the group were his lyrics, sent via mail from his home in Germany. Following a period of rehearsals, King Crimson resumed touring on 13 October 1972 at the Zoom Club in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, with the band's penchant for improvisation (and Muir's startling stage presence) gaining them renewed press attention. In January and February 1973, King Crimson recorded ''
Larks' Tongues in Aspic ''Larks' Tongues in Aspic'' is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock group King Crimson, released on 23 March 1973 through Island Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. This album is the debut o ...
'' in London which was released that March. The band's new sound was exemplified by the album's two-part title track – a significant change from what King Crimson had done before, the piece emphasised the sharp instrumental interplay of the band, and drew influence from modern classical music, noisy free improv, and even heavy metal riffing. The record displayed Muir's unusual approach to percussion, which included a self-modified drum kit, assorted toys, a
bullroarer The bullroarer, ''rhombus'', or ''turndun'' is an ancient ritual musical instrument and a device historically used for communicating over great distances. It consists of a piece of wood attached to a string, which when swung in a large circle ...
,
mbira Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal Tine (structural), tines, played by holding the instrument ...
, gongs, balloons,
thunder sheet A thunder sheet is a thin sheet of metal used to produce sound effects for musical or dramatic events. The device may be shaken, causing it to vibrate, or struck with a mallet. It is also known as a thunder machine, though this can also refer ...
and chains. On stage, Muir also employed unpredictable, manic movements, bizarre clothing, and fake blood capsules (occasionally spit or applied to the head), becoming the sole example of such theatrical stage activity in the band's long history. The album reached No. 20 in the UK and No. 61 in the US. After a period of further touring, Muir departed in 1973, quitting the music industry altogether. Muir told King Crimson's management that he had decided a musician's life was not for him, and he had chosen to join a Scottish Buddhist monastery. He offered to serve a period of notice which the management declined. Instead of reiterating Muir's decision, the management informed the band and the public that Muir had sustained an onstage injury caused by a gong landing on his foot. With Muir gone, the remaining members reconvened in January 1974 to produce ''
Starless and Bible Black ''Starless and Bible Black'' is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released in March 1974 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. It features most of the personne ...
'', released in March 1974, which earned them a positive ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' review. Though most of the album was recorded live during the band's late 1973 tour, the recordings were carefully edited and overdubbed to sound like a studio record, with "The Great Deceiver", "Lament" and the second half of "The Night Watch" the only tracks recorded entirely in the studio. The album reached No. 28 in the UK and No. 64 in the US. Following the album's release, the band began to divide once more, this time over performance. Musically, Fripp found himself positioned between Bruford and Wetton, who played with such force and increasing volume that Fripp once compared them to "a flying brick wall", and Cross, whose amplified acoustic violin was consistently being drowned out by the rhythm section, leading him to concentrate more on Mellotron and an overdriven electric piano. An increasingly frustrated Cross began to withdraw both musically and personally, with the result being that he was voted out of the group following the band's 1974 tour of Europe and America. In July 1974, Fripp, Bruford, and Wetton began recording ''
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
''. Before recording began, Fripp, now increasingly disillusioned with the music industry, turned his attention to the works of English mystic J. G. Bennett and had a spiritual experience in which "the top of my head blew off". Most of the album had been developed during live improvisations before Fripp retreated into himself and "withdrew his opinion", leaving Bruford and Wetton to direct the recording sessions. The album contains one live track, "Providence", recorded on 30 June 1974 with Cross playing violin. Several guest musicians (including former members Ian McDonald and Mel Collins) contributed to the album. Released on 6 October 1974, ''Red'' went to No. 45 in the UK and No. 66 in the US.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
called it "an impressive achievement" for a group about to disband, with "intensely dynamic" musical chemistry between the band members. Two months before the release of ''Red'', King Crimson's future looked bright (with talks regarding founder member Ian McDonald rejoining the group). However, Fripp wished not to tour as he felt increasingly disenchanted by the group and the music industry. He also felt the world was going to drastically change by 1981 and that he had to prepare for it. Despite a band meeting while touring the US in which Fripp expressed a desire to end the band, the group did not formally disband until 25 September 1974 and later Fripp announced that King Crimson had "ceased to exist" and was "completely over for ever and ever". It was later revealed that Fripp had attempted to replace himself with McDonald and
Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English guitarist who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis (band), Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three l ...
of
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
, but this idea was rejected by the managers. Following the band's disbanding, the live album ''
USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
'' was released in May 1975, formed of recordings from their 1974 North American tour. It received some positive reviews, including "a must" for fans of the band and "insanity you're better off having". Issues with the tapes rendered some of Cross's playing inaudible, so
Eddie Jobson Edwin Jobson (born 28 April 1955) is an English musician who has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K. and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976–77. Noted for his key ...
of Roxy Music was hired to perform violin and keyboard overdubs in a studio; further edits were also made to allow the music to fit on a single LP. More live recordings from the 1972–1974 era would be issued as ''
The Night Watch ''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' (), is a 1642 painting ...
'' in 1997, and as part of the box sets '' The Great Deceiver'' (1992), '' Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1972–1973)'' (2012), '' The Road to Red (1974)'', and '' Starless (1973–1974)'' (both 2014). Between 1975 and 1981, King Crimson were completely inactive.


1981–1984: ''Discipline'', ''Beat'', ''Three of a Perfect Pair'' and second hiatus

In the late autumn of 1980, having spent several years on spiritual pursuits and then gradually returning to music (playing guitar for
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
,
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
and Daryl Hall, pursuing an experimental solo career, leading instrumental New wave music, new wave band The League of Gentlemen (band), The League of Gentlemen), Fripp decided to form a new "first division" rock group, but had no intentions of it being King Crimson. Having recruited Bill Bruford as drummer, Fripp asked the American singer and guitarist
Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual approach to the instrument, his ...
to join, the first time Fripp would actively seek collaboration with another guitarist in a band and therefore indicative of Fripp's desire to create something unlike any of his previous work. After touring with Talking Heads, Belew agreed to join and also become the band's lyricist. Bruford's suggestion of his bassist Jeff Berlin was rejected as Fripp thought his playing was "too busy", so auditions were held in New York: on the third day, Fripp left after roughly three auditions, only to return several hours later with
Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...
(who got the job after playing a single chorus of "Red").Bruford, Bill "Bill Bruford – the Autobiography", Jawbone Press, 2009 Fripp later confessed that, had he known that Levin (whom Fripp had played with in
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
's group) was available and interested, he would have selected him without holding auditions. Fripp named the new quartet Discipline, and they went to England to rehearse and write new material. They made their live debut at Moles (nightclub), Moles Club in Bath, Somerset on 30 April 1981, and completed a short tour supported by the Lounge Lizards. By October 1981, the band had opted to change their name to King Crimson. In 1981, King Crimson recorded ''
Discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...
'' with producer Rhett Davies who had previously worked with Belew on Talking Heads' ''Remain in Light'' and with Fripp on Brian Eno's ''Another Green World'' and ''Before and After Science''. The album displayed a very different version of the band, with newer influences including
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
, new wave music, new wave, funk,
minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
, Punctualism, pointillism, world music and African percussion. With a sound described in ''Rolling Stone Album Guide#Fourth edition, The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'' as having a "jaw-dropping technique" of "knottily rhythmic, harmonically demanding workouts". The title track "Discipline" was described as a postminimalist rock song. Fripp intended to create the sound of a "rock
gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
", with an interlocking rhythmic quality to the paired guitars that he found similar to Indonesian gamelan ensembles. Fripp concentrated on playing complex picked arpeggios, while Belew provided an arsenal of guitar sounds that "often mimic animal noises". In addition to bass guitar, Levin used the Chapman Stick, a ten-string two-handed tapping, hybrid guitar and bass instrument which he played in an "utterly original style". Bruford experimented with cymbal-less acoustic kits and a Simmons SDS-V electronic drum kit. The band's songs were shorter in comparison to previous King Crimson albums, and very much shaped by Belew's pop sensibilities and quirky approach to writing lyrics. Though the band's previous taste for improvisation was now tightly reined in, one instrumental ("The Sheltering Sky") emerged from group rehearsals; while the noisy, half-spoken/half-shouted "Indiscipline" was a partially written, part-improvised piece created in order to give Bruford a chance to escape from the strict rhythmic demands of the rest of the album. Released in September 1981, ''Discipline'' reached No. 41 in the UK and No. 45 in the US. In June 1982, King Crimson followed ''Discipline'' with ''
Beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
'', the first King Crimson album recorded with the same band lineup as the album preceding it. ''Beat'' is the only album where Fripp had no involvement in the original mixing; Davies and Belew undertook production duties. The album had a linked theme of the Beat Generation and its writings, reflected in song titles such as "Neal and Jack and Me" (inspired by Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac), "Heartbeat (King Crimson song), Heartbeat" (inspired by Carolyn Cassady's "Heart Beat: My Life with Jack and Neal"), "The Howler" (inspired by Allen Ginsberg's "Howl (poem), Howl") and "Waiting Man" (inspired by William Burroughs). The album contained themes of life on the road, existential angst and romanticism. While ''Beat'' was more accessible, it had the improvised "Requiem", which featured Frippertronics, a guitar technique invented by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp using a tape loop system. Recording ''Beat'' was faced with tension with Belew suffering high stress levels over his duties as front man, lead singer, and principal songwriter. On one occasion, he clashed with Fripp and ordered him out of the studio. As ''Beat'' reached No. 39 in the UK and No. 52 in the US, King Crimson resumed touring. "Heartbeat" was released as a single which peaked at No. 57 on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock (chart), Mainstream Rock chart. Around this time the band released the VHS ''The Noise: Live in Frejus'', a document of a show played at the Arena, Frejus, France on 27 August 1982, co-headlining with Roxy Music (whose set from the same show was also released on VHS as ''The High Road''). The VHS was later re-released as part of the ''Neal and Jack and Me (album), Neal and Jack and Me'' DVD in 2004. King Crimson's next album, '' Three of a Perfect Pair'', was recorded in 1983 and released in March 1984. Having encountered difficulty in both writing and determining a direction for the album, the band chose to record and call the album's first half a "left side" – four of the band's poppier songs plus an instrumental – and the second half a "right side" – experimental work, improvisations that drew influence from industrial music, plus the third part of the "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" series of compositions. The stress during the writing process and the tension between the band members manifested in both lyrical content and music, and the result is a "nerve-racking" album. The 2001 remaster of the album included the "other side", a collection of remixes and improvisational out-takes plus Levin's humorous song, "The King Crimson Barbershop". ''Three of a Perfect Pair'' peaked at No. 30 in the UK and No. 58 in the US, with "Three of a Perfect Pair (song), Three of a Perfect Pair" and "Sleepless (King Crimson song), Sleepless" being released as singles. A VHS document of the ''Three of a Perfect Pair'' tour, ''Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan'', was released later in 1984 (and later also included on the ''Neal and Jack and Me'' DVD). The last concert of the ''Three of a Perfect Pair'' tour, at the Spectrum (Montreal), Spectrum in Montreal, Canada on 11 July 1984, was recorded and released in 1998 as ''Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal''. Further live recordings of the 1980s band would be released in 2016 as part of the ''On (and off) The Road (1981–1984)'' box set. Despite their conflict, the musicians remained professional on stage. Following the 1984 tour, Fripp dissolved King Crimson for the second time, exactly ten years after dissolving the previous group. Bruford and Belew expressed some frustration over this; Belew recalled the first he had heard of the split was when he read about it in a report in ''Musician'' magazine.


1994–1999: The Double Trio, ''Vrooom'', ''Thrak'' and the ProjeKcts

In the summer of 1991, Belew met with Fripp in England to express an interest in reviving King Crimson. One year later, Fripp established his Discipline Global Mobile (DGM) record label with producer David Singleton. Subsequently, DGM would be the primary home for Fripp's work, with larger album releases distributed to bigger record companies (initially Virgin records), and smaller releases handled by DGM. This afforded Fripp and his associates greater creative freedom and more control over all aspects of their work. In late 1991, Fripp asked former Japan (band), Japan singer David Sylvian to join the new King Crimson band, but Sylvian declined the offer, though the two collaborated as Sylvian/Fripp. In June 1993, Fripp began to assemble a larger version of the band, joined by Belew and Levin from the 1980s quartet, Chapman Stick player
Trey Gunn Trey Gunn (born December 13, 1960) is an American musician, known for being in the progressive rock band King Crimson from 1994 to 2003. He plays Warr Guitar and Chapman Stick instruments. Biography A native Texan who now resides in New Mexi ...
(a veteran of Fripp's Guitar Craft courses) and drummer Jerry Marotta, with whom Fripp had played with
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
. After Sylvian/Fripp's closing concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in December 1993, a tour that Marotta didn't participate in, Fripp decided to ask the tour's drummer
Pat Mastelotto Lee Patrick Mastelotto (born September 10, 1955) is an American rock drummer and record producer. He has been a member of King Crimson, Stick Men, Mr. Mister and O.R.k., as well as working as a session drummer with XTC, The Pointer Sisters an ...
, formerly of Mr. Mister, to join instead of Marotta. Bruford wound up being the last of the 1980s group to return to the band. Fripp explained that he had a vision of a "Double Trio" with two drummers while driving along the Chalke Valley one afternoon in 1992. Bruford later said he lobbied Fripp last minute because he believed that Crimson was very much "his gig", and that Fripp had come up with a philosophical explanation for utilizing both Mastelotto and himself later. One of the conditions Fripp imposed upon Bruford if he were to return was to give up all creative control to Fripp. Following rehearsals in Woodstock, New York, the group released the extended play, EP '' Vrooom'' in October 1994. This revealed the new King Crimson sound, which featured the interlocking guitars of the 1980s mixed with the layered, heavier feel of the 1970s period. There was also a vague influence from the industrial music of that time. Many of the songs were written or finalised by Belew, and displayed stronger elements of 1960s pop than before; in particular, a The Beatles, Beatles influence. Bruford would refer to the band as sounding like "a dissonant The Shadows (band), Shadows on steroids". As with previous lineups, new technology was utilised, including MIDI (extensively used as an effects filter by Belew and Gunn, and which Fripp used to replace Frippertronics with an upgraded digital version of itself called "Soundscapes") and the versatile Warr Guitar, Warr tap guitar with which Gunn replaced his Stick in 1995. King Crimson toured the album from 28 September 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina; portions of these concerts were released on the double live CD set ''B'Boom: Live in Argentina'' in 1995. In October and December 1994, King Crimson recorded their eleventh studio album, '' Thrak''. Formed mostly of revised versions of the tracks from ''Vrooom'', plus new tracks, the album was described by ''Q'' magazine as having "jazz-scented rock structures, characterised by noisy, angular, exquisite guitar interplay" and an "athletic, ever-inventive rhythm section", while being in tune with the sound of alternative rock of the mid-1990s. Examples of the band's efforts to integrate their multiple elements could be heard on the accessible (but complex) songs "Dinosaur" and "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream", the more straightforward ballad "One Time", as well as "Radio I" and "Radio II"- a pair of Fripp's Soundscapes instrumentals. King Crimson resumed touring in 1995 and into 1996; dates from October and November 1995 were recorded and released on the live album ''Thrakattak'' in May 1996, which is an hour of improvised music integrating sections from performances from the "THRAK" tour in the United States and Japan, mixed and arranged by Fripp's DGM partner, engineer David Singleton. A more conventional live recording from the period was later made available as the double CD release ''Vrooom Vrooom'' (2001), while a full 1995 concert was released on VHS in 1996 as ''Live in Japan'' and re-released on DVD in 1999 as ''Déjà Vrooom''. The double trio would be further honored by the ''THRAK (box set), Thrak (1994–1997)'' box set in 2015. Writing rehearsals began in May 1997 in Nashville, Tennessee. Fripp was dissatisfied with the quality of the new music being developed by the band; Longstanding friction and disagreements between himself and Bruford led to the latter deciding to leave King Crimson for good. The resulting bad atmosphere and the lack of workable material almost broke the band up altogether. Instead, the six members opted to work in four smaller groups (or "fraKctalisations", as Fripp called them) known as ProjeKcts. This enabled the group to continue developing ideas and searching for a new direction without the practical difficulty (and expense) of convening all six musicians at once. From 1997 to 1999, the first four ProjeKcts played live in the United States and the United Kingdom, and released recordings that showed a high degree of free improvisation, with influences ranging from jazz, industrial, techno and drum and bass. These have been collectively described by music critic J. D. Considine as "frequently astonishing" but lacking in melody. After Bruford had played four dates with Projekct One in December 1997, he left King Crimson to resume working with his own jazz group Earthworks (band), Earthworks.


1999–2003: The Double Duo, ''The Construkction of Light'' and ''The Power to Believe''

In October 1999, King Crimson reconvened. Tony Levin was busy working as a session musician and decided to take a hiatus from the group, so the remaining members (Fripp, Belew, Gunn and Mastelotto) formed the "Double Duo" to write and record ''
The Construkction of Light ''The Construkction of Light'' (stylised as ''the construKction of light'') is the twelfth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in May 2000 by Virgin Records. It is the first of two studio albums to feature the "double duo" line-up ...
'' in Belew's basement studio and garage near Nashville. Fripp was inspired by Tool (band), Tool's album ''Undertow (Tool album), Undertow'' during the writing process of ''The Construkction of Light''. Released in May 2000, the album reached No. 129 in the UK. Most of the pieces were metallic, harsh and Industrial music, industrial in sound. They featured a distinct electronic texture, a heavily processed electric drum sound from Mastelotto, Gunn taking over the bass role on Warr Guitar, and a different take on the interlocking guitar sound that the band had pioneered in the 1980s. With the exception of an industrial blues (sung by Belew through a voice changer under the pseudonym of "Hooter J. Johnson"), the songs were dense and complex. The album contains the Larks' Tongues in Aspic (instrumental)#Part IV, fourth installment of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". It received a negative reception for lacking new ideas. The band recorded an album of improvised instrumentals at the same time, and released them under the name ProjeKct X, on the CD ''Heaven and Earth (ProjeKct X album), Heaven and Earth''. King Crimson toured to support both albums, including double bill shows with Tool (band), Tool. The tour was documented on the live album ''Heavy ConstruKction'' in 2000 and the ''Heaven & Earth (box set), Heaven & Earth (1997–2008)'' box set in 2019. Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and his band supported Crimson on some live shows. On 9 November 2001, King Crimson released a limited edition live EP called ''Level Five'', featuring three new pieces: "Dangerous Curves", "Level Five" and "Virtuous Circle", plus versions of "The Construkction of Light" and ProjeKct's "The Deception of the Thrush", followed by an unlisted track called "ProjeKct 12th and X" after one minute of silence. A second EP followed in October 2002, ''Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With''. This featured eleven tracks (including a live version of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part IV"). Half of the tracks were processed vocal snippets by Belew, and the songs themselves varied between Soundscapes, gamelan, heavy metal and blues. The double duo lineup released King Crimson's thirteenth album, '' The Power to Believe'', in March 2003. Fripp described it as "the culmination of three years of Crimsonising". The album incorporated, reworked and retitled versions of "Deception of the Thrush" ("The Power to Believe III"); tracks from their previous two EPs; and an extract from a Fripp Soundscape with added instrumentation and vocals. ''The Power to Believe'' reached No. 162 in the UK and No. 150 in the US. King Crimson toured in 2003 to support the album; recordings from it were used for the live album ''EleKtrik: Live in Japan''. 2003 also saw the release of the DVD ''Eyes Wide Open (King Crimson album), Eyes Wide Open'', a compilation of the band's shows Live at the Shepherds Bush Empire (London, 3 July 2000) and Live in Japan (Tokyo, 16 April 2003). In November 2003, Gunn left the group to pursue solo projects and was replaced by the returning Tony Levin. The band reconvened in early 2004 for rehearsals, but nothing developed from these sessions. They went on another hiatus. At this point, Fripp was publicly reassessing his desire to work within the music industry, often citing the unsympathetic aspects of the life of a touring musician, such as "Parasocial interaction, the illusion of intimacy with celebrities". On 21 September 2006, former King Crimson member
Boz Burrell Raymond "Boz" Burrell (1 August 1946 – 21 September 2006) was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for being the vocalist and bassist of King Crimson from 1971 to 1972 and the original bassist of B ...
died of a heart attack, followed by another former member, Ian Wallace, who died of esophageal cancer on 22 February 2007.


2008: 40th Anniversary tour and third hiatus

A new King Crimson formation was announced in 2007: Fripp, Belew, Levin, Mastelotto, and a new second drummer,
Gavin Harrison Gavin Richard Harrison (born May 28, 1963) is an English musician. He is best known for playing with the progressive rock bands Porcupine Tree (2002–2010; 2021–present), King Crimson (2008, and 2014–2021) and The Pineapple Thief (2016†...
. In August 2008, after a period of rehearsals, the five completed the band's 40th Anniversary Tour. The setlists featured no new material, drawing instead from the existing mid '70s era/''Discipline''-era/Double Trio/Double Duo repertoire. Additional shows were planned for 2009, but were cancelled due to scheduling clashes with Belew. King Crimson began another hiatus after the 40th Anniversary Tour. Belew continued to lobby for reviving the band, and discussed it with Fripp several times in 2009 and 2010. Among Belew's suggestions was a temporary reunion of the 1980s line-up for a thirtieth anniversary tour: an idea declined by both Fripp and Bruford, the latter commenting "I would be highly unlikely to try to recreate the same thing, a mission I fear destined to failure." In December 2010, Fripp wrote that the King Crimson "switch" had been set to "off" since October 2008, citing several reasons for this decision. In August 2012, Fripp announced his retirement from the music industry, leaving the future of King Crimson uncertain.


2014–2021: The Seven-Headed Beast and Three Over Five lineups

Prior to Fripp's retirement announcement, a band called Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins (and subtitled "A King Crimson ProjeKct") had released an album called ''A Scarcity of Miracles'' in 2011. The band featured guitarist and singer
Jakko Jakszyk Michael "Jakko" Jakszyk ( , born Michael Lee Curran, 8 June 1958) is an English musician, record producer, and actor. He has released several solo albums as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as lead singer and se ...
(who'd previously performed King Crimson material with 21st Century Schizoid Band), Fripp and former Crimson saxophonist
Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...
as the main players/composers, with Tony Levin playing bass and Gavin Harrison playing drums. At one point, Fripp referred to the band as "P7" (ProjeKct Seven). Unusually for a ProjeKct, it was based around "finely crafted" and "mid-paced" original songs derived from improvised sessions. In September 2013, Fripp announced King Crimson's return to activity with a "very different reformation to what has gone before: seven players, four English and three American, with three drummers". He cited several reasons to make a comeback, varying from the practical to the whimsical: "I was becoming too happy. Time for a pointed stick." The new line-up drew from both the previous lineup (retaining Fripp, Levin, Harrison and Mastelotto) and the ''Scarcity of Miracles'' project (Jakszyk and Collins), with Guitar Craft alumnus and former R.E.M./Ministry (band), Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin as the seventh member. Adrian Belew was not asked to take part, thus ending his 32-year tenure in King Crimson: Jakszyk took his place as singer and second guitarist. This version of the group took on the nickname of "the Seven-Headed Beast". This drastically revamped King Crimson had no plans to record in the studio, focussing instead on playing "reconfigured" versions of past material in live concerts. Looking back later at this King Crimson phase, Tony Levin would comment "we were instructed/advised by Robert Fripp to look at the older classic King Crimson material as if we had written it. And so we did that with a lot of older material that the band had done before the '80s. We didn't actually cover that much of the '80s material outside of a few songs." For the most part, this approach would remain consistent for the remainder of the band's lifetime. In early 2014, and for the first time since 1974, the band's repertoire included songs from the run of albums between ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' and ''Larks' Tongues in Aspic'' as well as reviving song material from ''Red''. No Adrian Belew-era songs were included in the setlist, although some instrumentals from the period were played (including items from ''THRAK'' and ''The Power to Believe''). Some material from ''A Scarcity of Miracles'' (the title track, plus "The Light of Day") was also incorporated into the band's repertoire. After rehearsing in England, King Crimson toured North America from 9 September to 6 October. Recordings from the Los Angeles dates were released as ''Live at the Orpheum'': this included new King Crimson instrumental music in the shape of "Banshee Legs Bell Hassle" and "Walk On: Monk Morph Chamber Music". Tours across Europe, Canada, and Japan followed in the later half of 2015. Brand-new songs mainly written by Fripp and Jakszyk were debuted at the concerts, as well as drum showcases. A live recording from the Canadian leg of the tour was released at the end of February 2016 as ''Live In Toronto (King Crimson album), Live In Toronto'', which included new songs "Radical Action (To Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind)" and "Meltdown". A European tour was planned for 2016. Following Rieflin's decision to take a break from music, drummer Jeremy Stacey of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds was called in place for dates from September. A further live album, ''Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind'', was released in September 2016, drawing from 2015 concert dates of Japan, Canada and France preceding Rieflin's departure and Stacey's arrival. A 4-disc set aimed at documenting the band's shuffling and evolving live setlist, it included one performance of every song the band presented onstage during the tour, and concert footage mostly recorded in Takamatsu, on 19 December 2015. On 7 December 2016, founding King Crimson member
Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 â€“ 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...
died of cancer. Another former King Crimson member,
John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Although he was left-handed, he was known for his skilled right-handed bass playing as well as his booming baritone voice. He was a member ...
, died of colon cancer on 31 January 2017. On 3 January 2017, Bill Rieflin returned to King Crimson. Since the band wished to retain Jeremy Stacey, King Crimson became an octet with four drummers, which Fripp initially referred to as the "Double Quartet Formation". Later on, Rieflin shifted his group role and became King Crimson's first full-time keyboard player, with Fripp rechristening the lineup the "Three Over Five" (or "Five Over Three") Formation. On 2 June 2017, King Crimson released a new live EP named ''Heroes'', featuring a cover of the
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
"Heroes" (David Bowie song), song of the same name. The EP was intended as a tribute to Bowie, for whom Fripp had provided distinctive guitar work on the albums ''"Heroes" (David Bowie album), "Heroes"'' (1977) and ''Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)'' (1980). The video to King Crimson's version of "Heroes" won "Video of the Year" at the 2017 Prog (magazine), Progressive Music Awards. Shortly afterwards, King Crimson embarked on the first leg of a North American tour, from 11 June until 19 July. On 3 September, Robert Fripp said that his differences with Adrian Belew had been resolved and that there were "no current plans for (him) to come out with the current formation" but "the doors to the future are open". Belew confirmed this, adding "it means I may be back in the band in the future at some point". On 14 October 2017, King Crimson released another contemporary live album, ''Live in Chicago (King Crimson album), Live in Chicago'', recorded on tour in June of the same year. As had been the case with its two predecessors, it included new music in the absence of a new studio album (in this case "Bellscape & Orchestral Werning", "The Errors" and "Interlude"). It also documented the return to the live set of material from the long-neglected 1970 album ''Lizard'' (in the form of "Cirkus", which the band had begun adding to their sets in 2016, and the second half of the title suite), as well as new arrangements of some Belew-era songs. On 13 October 2017, it was announced that Bill Rieflin would be unable to join the Three Over Five Formation on the 2017 Autumn tour in the U.S. He was temporarily replaced by Seattle-based Guitar Craft, Crafty Guitarist Chris Gibson. During 2018, King Crimson performed the extensive 33-date Uncertain Times tour through the UK and Europe between 13 June and 16 November. Although the band continued their "no new studio album" policy, April 2018 saw the full release of another live album, ''Live in Vienna (King Crimson album), Live in Vienna'', presenting the complete concert in Vienna on 1 December 2016. The album was originally scheduled for worldwide release in 2017, but was postponed in lieu of ''Live in Chicago''; however, it was only released in Japan in September 2017, with a bonus disc with recordings from the band's tour there in December 2015. The worldwide release added a performance of "Fracture", plus three pieces drawn from the nightly Fripp-composed introductory soundscapes with improvisations by Collins and Levin: these pieces were arranged and realised by David Singleton, reflecting similar work he'd performed for ''Thrakattak'' twenty years earlier. On 20 October 2018, a further live album/video was released, ''Meltdown: Live in Mexico City'', recorded during dates in July 2017. On 6 April 2019, it was announced at a press conference that Rieflin would take another break from King Crimson to attend to family matters, his place on keyboards for the 2019 50th anniversary tour taken by Theo Travis, better known as a saxophonist, Soft Machine member and occasional duo collaborator with Robert Fripp. Although Travis joined the band for rehearsals, Fripp said on 2 May that the band had decided that it was no longer possible to have other musicians deputising for Rieflin and for this reason were "proceed(ing) as a Seven-Headed Beast" without Travis. Rieflin's parts were divided among other band members, with Fripp, Stacey, Jakszyk and Collins adding keyboards to their on-stage rigs, and Levin once again using the synthesizer he used during the '80s tours. Soon after on 11 June, King Crimson's entire discography was made available to stream online on all the major streaming platforms, as part of the band's 50th anniversary celebration. On 24 March 2020, Bill Rieflin died of cancer. In the same year, King Crimson collaborator
Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "...spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporar ...
died after several years of illness on 14 June, and former bassist and singer
Gordon Haskell Gordon Haskell (27 April 1946 – 15 October 2020) was an English musician and songwriter. A pop, rock, jazz, country and blues vocalist, guitarist, and bassist, he was a school friend of King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. The two first worke ...
died from lung cancer on 15 October. King Crimson toured North America and then Japan in 2021. Recordings from dates on the American leg of the tour were released as the "official bootleg" live album ''Music Is Our Friend: Live in Washington and Albany'', featuring music from across the band's lifetime plus two new Tony Levin cadenzas.


2022 - ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' documentary; end of band activity

Following the 2021 tour dates, King Crimson ceased activity, although without expressly announcing a breakup. Reasons cited were practical ones involving the old age of several of the members plus the rising cost of services during COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic, with no band intentions for any more tours. On 9 February 2022, founding King Crimson member Ian McDonald died of cancer. In March 2022, the documentary film ''In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50, In the Court of the Crimson King'' was premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival. Directed by Toby Amies and filmed between 2019 and 2021, it covered live and backstage activity by the then-current band but also featured a historical overview plus contributions from Crimson alumni Ian McDonald, Michael Giles, Bill Bruford, Adrian Belew and Trey Gunn (as well as prolonged interview footage with the late Bill Rieflin). Amies described the film's development as follows: "What began as a traditional documentary about the legendary band King Crimson as it turned fifty, mutated into an exploration of time, death, family, and the transcendent power of music to change lives; but with jokes." As of 2022, no King Crimson activity was planned for the future, excepting ongoing archive/curatorial matters. Levin said in a late 2022 interview that, "the sense I got from Robert [Fripp] was that it's over. Maybe King Crimson will speak to him in the future in some way, and will revive its head with who-knows-what line up?" At a post-screening Q&A session for ''In the Court of the Crimson King'', Fripp referred to the seven-member 2021 lineup of King Crimson as "the final incarnation" of the band. Asked if there could ever be a lineup that did not include him, he answered negatively, stating "I see the whole. I see the music. I see the musicians. I see the audience and I see the music industry [...] and you have to engage with all of that to have the overview. So that's the quick answer".


Possible future activity/upcoming studio album

The 2021 retirement of King Crimson's "Seven-Headed Beast" line-up - and Fripp's subsequent statement that the band had finished - left a certain amount of written/performed King Crimson music unrecorded in the studio, although some of that material had appeared on live recordings from the time. New original songs performed in concert by the band had included "Meltdown", "Radical Action", "Radical Action II", "The Errors", and more.Versions of two Fripp/Jakszyk songs originally intended for King Crimson ("Uncertain Times" and "Separation") had also emerged on Jakszyk's 2020 solo album ''Secrets and Lies'', with participation from Fripp, Harrison, Levin and Collins. Following the most recent retirement of the band, Jakko Jakszyk hinted, suggested and ultimately stated that this material will see formal release as a studio album (the band's first in over twenty years since the release of The Power to Believe in 2003). In August 2021, Jakszyk referred to the existence of "about forty to fifty minutes' worth of new (King Crimson) stuff, a number of songs I've co-written with Robert and some instrumental things he's written. During the lockdown Gavin suggested, 'Why don't we record these things so we've at least got studio recordings of this material?' That doesn't mean we're going to make a new album or it's ever gonna come out, but we have started this process." In a November 2024 interview with ''Louder Sound'', Jakszyk was questioned about the band's future and mentioned the possibility of new studio recordings being released, stating: "The honest answer is, you'll have to ask Robert. It's all in his hands. He's retired a million times before, but he is 78. One of the things we have been doing of late is recording studio versions of the new material [only previously played live]. We've used the live recordings as a template, and I've done guitars, overdubs and backing vocals. Whether that comes out as a King Crimson album or whether it lies in the vaults, I don't know." Eight months later, in a July 2025 interview with ''Goldmine'' magazine, Jakszyk stated that "as we speak, we're doing a King Crimson studio album" and confirmed that it featured the most recent band line-up. He cautioned "when that will come out and what format or how — that's beyond my brief. But yeah, we've been doing it piecemeal, and then a couple of months ago, the management said, 'Can we?' So, yeah. I've been recording that with a view to it coming out in some format at some point. But who knows when?... There also are future plans for some live film of us playing in various places. There's an ongoing thread. Whether that ever means we'll ever play live again, I don't know, especially after Robert's recent [heart attack]." He confirmed that the new album would feature the studio versions of new songs performed by the band between 2014 and 2021, and that "some other bits and pieces will emerge from putting it together. I think so." This news suggests that despite Fripp's 2021 announcement, King Crimson may still be active (albeit as a studio project). In a DGM homepage and Facebook posting on 11 July 2025, while suggesting the possibility of "an album the very sound of which no-one has ever heard before. A sound driven by the three drummers," David Singleton both clarified and cautioned speculation about the album. He commented that "it is true that [the three] drummers have now recorded studio versions of their parts – separately, so that there is perfect separation. So there is indeed the seed of a new recording. Whether it is an album, whether it sees the light of day, whether it is something else is unknown. As is the outcome of any creative process. So yes, recordings have taken place. We are building a new studio, and when it is complete I am looking forward to seeing what may, or may not, exist. Getting excited about the possibility of a new album, as has been happening in some quarters, is however somewhat premature. Carts before horses." No release date or name has yet been given regarding this project, and Fripp himself has not commented on the rumours other than drawing attention to Singleton's comments.


Musical style

King Crimson have been described musically as
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
, art rock, and post-progressive, with their earlier works being described as proto-prog. Their music was initially grounded in the rock of the 1960s, especially the acid rock and psychedelic rock movements. The band played Donovan's "Get Thy Bearings" in concert, and were known to play
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in their rehearsals. However, for their own compositions, King Crimson (unlike the rock bands that had come before them) largely stripped away the
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
-based foundations of rock music and replaced them with influences derived from classical composers. The first incarnation of King Crimson played the ''Mars'' section of Gustav Holst's suite ''The Planets'' live and later the band used ''Mars'' as a foundation for the song "Devil's Triangle". As a result of this influence, ''
In the Court of the Crimson King ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' (subtitled ''An Observation by King Crimson'') is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969, by Island Records. Often regarded as the first true progre ...
'' is frequently viewed as the nominal starting point of the progressive rock movements. King Crimson also initially displayed strong
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
influences, especially on its signature track "
21st Century Schizoid Man "21st Century Schizoid Man" is a song by the progressive rock band King Crimson, released in October 1969 as the opening track on their debut album ''In the Court of the Crimson King''. Often regarded as the group's signature song, it was describ ...
". The band also drew on English folk music for compositions such as "Moonchild (King Crimson song), Moonchild" "'Moonchild', along with 'I Talk to the Wind', was the clearest link to the folk influences borne by King Crimson on its first album, the only one that included Ian McDonald and Michael Giles among the personnel. The first three minutes or so of 'Moonchild' – really, the three minutes that are all that most listeners remember well – comprise a delicate, folky poetic ballad." and "I Talk to the Wind". "King Crimson, it is not often noted, had some folk and folk-rock influences in their very early days (and the Giles, Giles & Fripp collaborations predating King Crimson). 'I Talk to the Wind' is the track that most reflects these folk influences and the influence of co-songwriter Ian McDonald (only a bandmember for the first album) in particular. Coming right after the assaultive jazz-prog rock of '21st Century Schizoid Man', the first track on their debut album in the Court of the Crimson King: An Observation by King Crimson, this gentle, subdued folky ballad was quite a contrast and served notice that King Crimson was more versatile than your average new band." In the 1972 lineup, Fripp's intention was to combine the music of
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
, Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók. The 1981 reunion of the band brought in even more elements, displaying the influence of funk, post-punk, new wave,
gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
music and late 20th century classical composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley. For its 1994 reunion, King Crimson reassessed both the mid-1970s and 1980s approaches in the light of new technology, intervening music forms such as electronica, drum'n'bass and techno; and further developments in industrial music, as well as expanding the band's ambient textural content via Fripp's Soundscapes looping approach. The 2013 version of the band returned, for the most part, to the band's 1960s and 1970s influences and repertoire but addressed them via current technology and rearrangements suited to a larger ensemble of more experienced musicians, while also incorporating the New Standard Tuning used by Fripp since 1984.


Compositional approaches

Several King Crimson compositional approaches remained constant throughout the band's lifetime. These included: * The use of a gradually building rhythmic motif. These include "The Devil's Triangle" (an adaptation and variation on the Gustav Holst piece ''Mars'' played by the original King Crimson, based on a complex pulse in time over which a skirling melody is played on a
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
), 1973's "The Talking Drum" (from ''
Larks' Tongues in Aspic ''Larks' Tongues in Aspic'' is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock group King Crimson, released on 23 March 1973 through Island Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. This album is the debut o ...
''), 1984's "Industry" (from '' Three of a Perfect Pair'') and 2003's "Dangerous Curves" (from '' The Power to Believe''). * An instrumental piece (often embedded as a break in a song) in which the band played an ensemble passage of considerable rhythmic and polyrhythmic complexity. An early example is the band's initial signature tune "
21st Century Schizoid Man "21st Century Schizoid Man" is a song by the progressive rock band King Crimson, released in October 1969 as the opening track on their debut album ''In the Court of the Crimson King''. Often regarded as the group's signature song, it was describ ...
", but the "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (instrumental), Larks' Tongues in Aspic" series of compositions (as well as pieces of similar intent such as "THRAK" and "Level Five") went deeper into polyrhythmic complexity, delving into rhythms that wander into and out of general synchronisation with each other, but with all 'finishing' together through polyrhythmic synchronisation. These polyrhythms were particularly abundant in the band's 1980s work, which contained gamelan-like rhythmic layers and continual overlaid staccato patterns in counterpoint. *The composition of difficult solo passages for individual instruments, such as the guitar break on "Fracture" on ''
Starless and Bible Black ''Starless and Bible Black'' is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released in March 1974 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. It features most of the personne ...
''. *The juxtaposition of ornate tunes and ballads with unusual, often dissonant noises (such as "Cirkus" from ''
Lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
'', "Ladies of the Road" from ''
Islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...
'' and "Eyes Wide Open" from '' The Power to Believe''). *The use of improvisation. *Ascending note structure (e.g. "Facts of Life" and "THRAK").


Improvisation

King Crimson incorporated improvisation into their performances and studio recordings from the beginning, some of which was embedded into pieces such as "Moonchild (King Crimson song), Moonchild", "Providence", "Requiem" and "No Warning", including passages of restrained silence, as with Bill Bruford's contribution to the improvised "Trio". Rather than using the standard jazz or rock "jamming" format for improvisation (in which one soloist at a time takes centre stage while the rest of the band lies back and plays along with established rhythm and chord changes), King Crimson improvisation consisted of musicians collectively making creative decisions and contributions as the music is being played. Individual soloing was largely eschewed; each musician was to listen to each other and to the group sound, to be able to react creatively within the group dynamic. Fripp has used the metaphor of "magic" to describe this process, in particular when the method works particularly well. Similarly, King Crimson's improvised music was varied in sound and the band has been able to release several box sets and albums consisting mostly or entirely of improvised music, such as the ''Thrakattak'' album, and the band's series of ProjeKcts. Occasionally, particular improvised pieces were recalled and reworked in different forms at different shows, becoming more and more refined and eventually appearing on official studio releases.


Influence and legacy

King Crimson have been influential both on the early 1970s progressive rock movement and numerous contemporary artists.
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
and
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
were directly influenced by the band's usage of the mellotron, and many King Crimson band members were involved in other notable bands: Bruford in
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
; Lake in Emerson, Lake & Palmer; McDonald in Foreigner (band), Foreigner; Burrell in Bad Company (band), Bad Company, and Wetton in U.K. (band), U.K. and Asia (band), Asia. Canadian rock band Rush (band), Rush's drummer Neil Peart credited the adventurous and innovative style of
Michael Giles Michael Rex Giles (born 1 March 1942) is an English drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, best known as one of the co-founders of King Crimson in 1968. Prior to the formation of King Crimson, he was part of the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles a ...
as an influence on his own approach to percussion. King Crimson's influence extends to many bands from diverse genres, especially of the 1990s and 2000s. Kurt Cobain, the frontman of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, had stated that the album ''
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
'' had a major influence on the sound of their final studio album ''In Utero''. Tool (band), Tool are known to be heavily influenced by King Crimson, with vocalist Maynard James Keenan joking on a tour with them: "Now you know who we ripped off. Just don't tell anyone, especially the members of King Crimson." Modern progressive, experimental, psychedelic and indie rock bands have cited them as an influence as well, including MGMT,The Fierce and the Dead, the Mars Volta, Primus (band), Primus, Black Country, New Road, Mystery Jets, Fanfarlo, Phish, and Anekdoten, who first practiced together playing King Crimson songs. Steven Wilson, the leader of
Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...
, was responsible for remixing King Crimson's back catalogue in surround sound and said that the process had an enormous influence on his solo albums, and his band was influenced by King Crimson. In November 2012 the Flaming Lips in collaboration with Stardeath and White Dwarfs released a track-by-track reinterpretation of ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' entitled ''Playing Hide and Seek with the Ghosts of Dawn''. Colin Newman, of Wire (band), Wire, said he saw King Crimson perform many times, and that they influenced him deeply. The seminal hardcore punk group Black Flag (band), Black Flag acknowledge Wetton-era King Crimson as an influence on their experimental period in the mid-1980s. Melvin Gibbs said that the Rollins Band was influenced most by King Crimson, using similar chords. Bad Religion cites the lyrics of "21st Century Schizoid Man" on their single "21st Century (Digital Boy)" and the name of their record label, Epitaph Records, Epitaph (founded by their guitarist Brett Gurewitz), comes from Epitaph (song), the song of the same name on Crimson's debut album. Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid considered
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 ...
as one of his guitar influences. King Crimson have frequently been cited as pioneers of progressive metal and as an influence on bands of this genre, including Dream Theater, Opeth, Mastodon (band), Mastodon, Between the Buried and Me, Leprous, Haken (band), Haken, The Ocean (band), the Ocean, Caligula's Horse (band), Caligula's Horse, Last Chance to Reason, and Indukti. Members of metal bands Mudvayne, Voivod (band), Voivod, Enslaved (band), Enslaved, Yob (band), Yob, Pyrrhon (band), Pyrrhon, and Pallbearer (band), Pallbearer have cited King Crimson as an influence. Heavy experimental and avant-garde acts like the Dillinger Escape Plan, Neurosis (band), Neurosis, Zeni Geva, Ancestors (band), Ancestors, and Oranssi Pazuzu all cite King Crimson's influence. Other artists affected by King Crimson include video game composer Nobuo Uematsu, noise music artist Masami Akita of Merzbow, jazz guitarist Dennis Rea of Land (band), Land, folktronica exponent Juana Molina, hip hop producer RJD2, hip hop and soul composer Adrian Younge, film director Hal Hartley, and folk-pop singer Ian Kelly (songwriter), Ian Kelly. ''Golden Wind (manga), Golden Wind'', the fifth part of the Japanese manga and anime franchise ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', has its main antagonist Diavolo possess a Stand known as King Crimson. Stephen King's ''The Dark Tower (series), The Dark Tower'' also has its main antagonist, the Crimson King, named after the band.


Related legacy/cover bands featuring former King Crimson members

Since the early 2000s, several bands containing former, recent or current King Crimson members have toured and recorded, performing King Crimson music. Active between 2002 and 2005, the 21st Century Schizoid Band reunited several former King Crimson members who had played on the band's first four albums. The band featured Ian McDonald,
Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...
, Peter Giles and
Michael Giles Michael Rex Giles (born 1 March 1942) is an English drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, best known as one of the co-founders of King Crimson in 1968. Prior to the formation of King Crimson, he was part of the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles a ...
(the latter subsequently replaced by Ian Wallace), and was fronted by
Jakko Jakszyk Michael "Jakko" Jakszyk ( , born Michael Lee Curran, 8 June 1958) is an English musician, record producer, and actor. He has released several solo albums as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as lead singer and se ...
, a decade prior to his own recruitment into King Crimson. The band engaged in several tours, played material from King Crimson's '60s and '70s catalogue, and recorded several live albums. The band disbanded upon Wallace's death in 2007. Since 2007, Tony Levin has led the trio Stick Men (prog band), Stick Men, which also features Pat Mastelotto. The band was initially completed by Chapman Stick player Michael Bernier, replaced in 2010 by touch guitarist and former Fripp student Markus Reuter. This band includes (and reinterprets) King Crimson compositions in their live sets. Reuter and Mastelotto also play together as a duo (previously called "Tuner"), within which they have been known to rework the mid-1980s King Crimson instrumental "Industry" live. Starting in 2023, Reuter, Mastelotto and
Trey Gunn Trey Gunn (born December 13, 1960) is an American musician, known for being in the progressive rock band King Crimson from 1994 to 2003. He plays Warr Guitar and Chapman Stick instruments. Biography A native Texan who now resides in New Mexi ...
revived the moniker "Tuner" (re-styled as "Tu-ner") to perform music from the Double Duo era of King Crimson, plus material from each of their respective solo and combined careers. Between 2011 and 2014, Stick Men and Adrian Belew's Power Trio band (Belew plus drummer Tobias Ralph and bass player Julie Slick) joined forces to play and tour as ProjeKcts#The Crimson ProjeKCt (2011–2014), The Crimson ProjeKCt, covering the music made during the '80s and '90s. Following the return of King Crimson in 2014, the Crimson ProjeKct name has been formally abandoned, but the Stick Men and the Power Trio have still performed together from time to time, usually under names like "Belew, Levin, Mastelotto and friends". During his solo career, including performances with the Power Trio, Adrian Belew has performed various versions of King Crimson songs. In March 2024, a new group performing the 1980s King Crimson repertoire was announced: this featured former members
Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual approach to the instrument, his ...
and
Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...
along with guitarist Steve Vai and drummer Danny Carey. Fripp and Bruford had both declined offers to join, but gave their blessings to the group. Fripp also suggested the eventual project name, "Beat" (after the 1982 album of the same name). The band went on to tour the United States during the latter half of 2024.


Band members

Current *
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 ...
– guitar, keyboards, Mellotron, electronics *
Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...
– saxophones, flute, bass flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, Mellotron, backing vocals *
Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...
– bass guitar, Chapman Stick, upright bass, synthesisers, backing vocals *
Pat Mastelotto Lee Patrick Mastelotto (born September 10, 1955) is an American rock drummer and record producer. He has been a member of King Crimson, Stick Men, Mr. Mister and O.R.k., as well as working as a session drummer with XTC, The Pointer Sisters an ...
– drums, percussion, programming *
Gavin Harrison Gavin Richard Harrison (born May 28, 1963) is an English musician. He is best known for playing with the progressive rock bands Porcupine Tree (2002–2010; 2021–present), King Crimson (2008, and 2014–2021) and The Pineapple Thief (2016†...
– drums, percussion *
Jakko Jakszyk Michael "Jakko" Jakszyk ( , born Michael Lee Curran, 8 June 1958) is an English musician, record producer, and actor. He has released several solo albums as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as lead singer and se ...
– lead vocals, guitar, flute, keyboards *Jeremy Stacey – drums, keyboards, backing vocals Former *
Michael Giles Michael Rex Giles (born 1 March 1942) is an English drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, best known as one of the co-founders of King Crimson in 1968. Prior to the formation of King Crimson, he was part of the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles a ...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals *
Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 â€“ 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...
– bass guitar, lead vocals * Ian McDonald – saxophone, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, keyboards, Mellotron, vibraphone, backing vocals *
Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (27 December 1943 – 14 November 2024) was an English poet and songwriter. He was best known as a co-founder and lyricist of King Crimson. Their debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the fi ...
– lyrics, lighting, synthesizer * Peter Giles – bass guitar *
Gordon Haskell Gordon Haskell (27 April 1946 – 15 October 2020) was an English musician and songwriter. A pop, rock, jazz, country and blues vocalist, guitarist, and bassist, he was a school friend of King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. The two first worke ...
– lead vocals, bass guitar *Andy McCulloch (drummer), Andy McCulloch – drums * Ian Wallace – drums, percussion, backing vocals *
Boz Burrell Raymond "Boz" Burrell (1 August 1946 – 21 September 2006) was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for being the vocalist and bassist of King Crimson from 1971 to 1972 and the original bassist of B ...
– bass guitar, lead vocals *
Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...
– drums, percussion *
John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Although he was left-handed, he was known for his skilled right-handed bass playing as well as his booming baritone voice. He was a member ...
– bass guitar, lead vocals *
David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director. Cross is best known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show with Bob and David'' (1995–1998), his role as Ian Hawk ...
– violin, viola, keyboards *
Jamie Muir William James Graham Muir (4 July 1945 – 17 February 2025) was a Scottish painter and musician, best known for his work as the percussionist in King Crimson from 1972 to 1973, appearing prominently on their fifth album '' Larks' Tongues in As ...
– percussion *
Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual approach to the instrument, his ...
– guitar, guitar synthesizer, lead vocals, drums and percussion *
Trey Gunn Trey Gunn (born December 13, 1960) is an American musician, known for being in the progressive rock band King Crimson from 1994 to 2003. He plays Warr Guitar and Chapman Stick instruments. Biography A native Texan who now resides in New Mexi ...
– Warr guitar, Chapman Stick, backing vocals, bass guitar *Bill Rieflin – keyboards, synthesizer, Mellotron, drums, percussion


Discography

* ''
In the Court of the Crimson King ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' (subtitled ''An Observation by King Crimson'') is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969, by Island Records. Often regarded as the first true progre ...
'' (1969) * ''
In the Wake of Poseidon ''In the Wake of Poseidon'' is the second studio album by English progressive rock group King Crimson, released in May 1970 by Island Records in Europe, Atlantic Records in the United States, Philips Records in Australia, and Vertigo Records in ...
'' (1970) * ''
Lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
'' (1970) * ''
Islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...
'' (1971) * ''
Larks' Tongues in Aspic ''Larks' Tongues in Aspic'' is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock group King Crimson, released on 23 March 1973 through Island Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. This album is the debut o ...
'' (1973) * ''
Starless and Bible Black ''Starless and Bible Black'' is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released in March 1974 by Island Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. It features most of the personne ...
'' (1974) * ''
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
'' (1974) * ''
Discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...
'' (1981) * ''
Beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
'' (1982) * '' Three of a Perfect Pair'' (1984) * '' Thrak'' (1995) * ''
The Construkction of Light ''The Construkction of Light'' (stylised as ''the construKction of light'') is the twelfth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in May 2000 by Virgin Records. It is the first of two studio albums to feature the "double duo" line-up ...
'' (2000) * '' The Power to Believe'' (2003)


Citations


General references

* *


External links


Discipline Global Mobile Live
*
Elephant Talk
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