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HISTORICAL FACTS: King crimson person - The Untold Story

“He may be alluding to life, the universe or a balance sheet, for all the listener knows”: The 1980 album that brought George Orwell, Casio calculators and a pop producer into the realm of prog

Inspired by King Crimson and T. Rex, and led by a quickly-disillusioned synth pioneer, this band didn’t want your name – just your number

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“It was my first studio job. I wiped a Robert Fripp guitar section. He wasn’t happy”: A world-class producer recalls shaky start to his career

After the baptism of fire that was King Crimson’s Lizard, he worked on Tangerine Dream’s Rubycon, Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage and dozens of Van Morrison records

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“I loved working with bands like Opeth and Marillion. I was starting to get a name for myself. But my New Year resolution was to learn to say ‘no’”: In 2009 this notorious workaholic was trying to do less. His career suggests it didn’t go that way

After over two decades making music, his main band had recently achieved global recognition and he’d just launched his debut solo album. Did he ever really slow down?

Metal Hammer

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Watch King Crimson 80s affiliate band Beat perform Elephant Talk live

Adrian Belew, Danny Carey, Tony Levin and Steve Vai have just released Beat Live on Blu-ray, vinly and CD

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"A little more restraint in the number of extra notes would help let things shine": Camel break out the complexity but fail to enthral on Mirage

Mirage: a flute-heavy mix of symphonic sweep, jazz fusion and melodic subtlety

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Electronic drumming pioneers: 11 trailblazing players who raised the bar for electronic and hybrid drumming

The drummers, past and present, who embraced technology to revolutionize music and the gear we play

MusicRadar

“My hand started getting numb and it would stay numb from the moment that I woke up, all the way until soundcheck. It was a little scary”: Adrian Belew reflects on having his left hand repaired – and how his playing is recovering

Belew was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome during his BEAT tour alongside Steve Vai, Tony Levin, and Danny Carey

Guitar World

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“We started out as a Pink Floyd tribute and evolved from that. Artists who claim to be original are lying through their teeth”: Airbag’s Bjørn Riis used classic prog inspirations to chart a nervous breakdown

His fifth solo album Fimbulvinter was inspired by Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, Black Sabbath and others. He aimed to sound like them without ripping them off

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“I love change. That’s what one should do with music. But I know it’s cost me a lot of fans… the music business rewards repetition”: Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Blue Öyster Cult DNA lies within Mike Scott and the Waterboys

It might not be obvious in his songs but it’s clear in his progressive attitude – he wants other musicians to get better so he can aim to outdo them

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Soundgarden's Kim Thayil names the rock and metal bands he believes should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the legendary prog band he can't believe hasn't been inducted already

"I don’t think realistically I would see myself in the same club as the Beatles or the Stones or Zeppelin!"

Metal Hammer

“They can steal pretty much everything. They haven’t figured out a way of stealing the live experience. And they still have to pay for that!” Adrian Belew on survival, orchestra music and Frank Zappa

Now touring with King Crimson offshoot Beat, the Bowie, Shatner and Hancock collaborator has long been confident that the future is secure on the road – which pleases him because he loves it

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“Clever flurries of musical activity keeping multiple balls in the air. Then it all goes, against expectations, a bit King Crimson”: A prog band won last year’s Mercury Prize. Did you notice?

English Teacher might sound like another cookie-cutter post-punk NME-frendly group, but debut album This Could Be Texas proves they’re about as progressive as it gets

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Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox promised fans a new version of a King Crimson classic but gave them bunny rabbits

The wild internet genius of Frippcox strikes again

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“The concept of cool and uncool is completely gone, which is good and bad… people are unashamedly listening to Rick Astley. You’ve got to draw a line somewhere!” Mogwai and the making of prog-curious album The Bad Fire

Stuart Braithwaite found himself unexpectedly inspired by King Crimson on his band’s 11th record – and the influence of Pink Floyd could appear on their next

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“It’s such a good party trick – ‘So you think you’re heavy? Listen to this song from 1969!’” Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson argues King Crimson are the gateway from metal to prog

Norwegian multi-instrumentalist explains what the genres have in common, buying a synth just to learn one Pink Floyd song, and discovering musical airplane engines via his wife

Guitar World

“I would say he’s underrated in the echelons of guitar. Honestly, there’s no-one close”: Steve Vai reveals what it’s like to work side by side with fellow Frank Zappa alum Adrian Belew on the BEAT tour

The two virtuosos have been flexing their distinct styles on the ongoing BEAT tour – which celebrates King Crimson's '80s repertoire – alongside bassist Tony Levin and Tool drummer Danny Carey

Guitar World

“I had a long vamp out and I played an extra few notes. David smiled and said, ‘Tony, in Pink Floyd you don’t do that extra couple notes until far later’”: Tony Levin on playing for Pink Floyd in the post-Roger Waters era

The session icon discusses working with David Gilmour – and reveals he was asked to tour with Pink Floyd after his session work on 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason

Guitar World

“My stock answer was, ‘No.’ Most people who approach me to do something like that are looking to relive the glory days of ’80s rock”: Why Steve Vai dropped his anti-supergroup stance to help revive some of King Crimson’s most celebrated work

BEAT has been celebrating King Crimson’s 1980s albums, with Adrian Belew and Steve Vai’s new guitar partnership at its core

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Prog writers to celebrate 55th anniversary of King Crimson's debut album with listening party

Sid Smith, Jo Kendall and Mike Barnes host A King Crimson Listening party in London this October

Guitar World

“I felt like Ken Parker had taken 20 years to eliminate all the things that normally go wrong with a Fender or Gibson”: Adrian Belew on how he persuaded the famed luthier to create his mind-bending signature Parker Fly

Belew is using his signature Parker Fly as his go-to guitar on the 65-date Beat Tour with Steve Vai, Tool drummer Danny Carey, and King Crimson alumnus Tony Levin

Louder

“Bands that went from beauty to absolute hideousness attracted me – Van der Graaf and King Crimson managed to create fragile music that was then utterly destroyed”: The roots of Tim Bowness’ Powder Dry

Struggling to express conviction, the serial band member and collaborator went it alone for his most experimental album to date… although he didn’t use the pedalboard Peter Hammill lent him

Guitar World

“It’s amazing to see Adrian Belew and Steve Vai playing together. My temptation is to pick up the camera! I have to remind myself to stick to my job playing bass”: For the King Crimson-channeling Beat tour, Tony Levin is a virtuoso among virtuosos

The bass icon on how he’s being challenged by parts he wrote, changing classic tracks –and when his Funk Fingers will make their next appearance

Louder

"A tightly convoluted blend of NY postpunk, art-rock and fusion": 80s' King Crimson shine brightly on Sheltering Skies

Enter the post-prog maelstrom

Louder

“It was an intimidating show.” King Crimson bassist Tony Levin recalls the only gig ever played by Mothers Of Invention spin-off band Aha, The Attack Of The Green Slimebeast, with a dance troupe, a body-painted Danny DeVito and an audience of two people

Aha, The Attack Of The Green Slimebeast, featuring Tony Levin and three members of The Mothers Of Invention, only ever played one show, but it was a memorable one, involving gunpowder, a sex toy and a near-naked Danny DeVito

Guitar World

“Seymour Duncan went to work. He dragged it through the grass. Put motor oil on it. Chipped it. Frank Zappa said, ‘If you wanted to ruin your guitar, Adrian, why didn’t you loan it to a friend?’” Adrian Belew’s number one Stratocaster has lived a life

Is this the first relic'ed guitar? Belew says so, and it's graced records by Zappa, Talking Heads, David Bowie and King Crimson. It has been on the cover of GW. It is still in service

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