King Crimson

There have been three incarnations of King Crimson, each of them exploring the boundaries of music and further cementing their reputation as a foundation stone of progressive rock. The brainchild of influential guitarist Robert Fripp, they evolved from the trio Giles, Giles and Fripp, although most of their early material - including the title track of their first album 'In the Court of the Crimson King' - was written by Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. The band's big breakthrough came when they appeared on the bill of the free Rolling Stones concert at London's Hyde Park, creating great interest in their debut album, particularly the stand-out track '21st Century Schizoid Man'. With strong allusions to classical melodies and intense, complex arrangements, they sounded like no other band around at the time and their second album, 'In the Wake of Poseidon', enhanced their reputation and paved the way for others (despite internal disputes and regular personnel changes). They split in 1974, allowing Fripp to record solo and with League of Gentlemen, but in 1981 he reassembled King Crimson with a new line-up featuring Adrian Belew on vocals and Bill Bruford on drums, announcing their comeback with an acclaimed new album, 'Discipline'.

Two more albums, 'Beat' and 'Three of a Perfect Pair', followed but Fripp split the band for a second time in 1985. After further experiments with other outfits, he launched another new King Crimson in 1995 with the album 'Thrak'. Their partly-improvised jazz and progressive rock fusions continued anew with 'The ConstruKction of Light' in 2000 and 'The Power to Believe' in 2003. Another new line-up and tour to celebrate their 40th anniversary came in 2007, with new drummer Gavin Harrison taking on the helm, before taking another break.

In 2011, three former members of King Crimson started a new band under the name Jakszyk Fripp Collins (A King Crimson ProjeKct), but the venture was short-lived after Fripp announced his retirement from the industry just a year later. This did not last however, and he revealed his plans to reform King Crimson in 2013. They set out on a tour that saw them travel throughout England and then on to the US where they recorded a live album, 'Live at the Orpheum'. They also released 'Live in Toronto' for their Canadian fans. In 2017 they announced a brand new EP titled 'Heroes' as a tribute to the late David Bowie.