King Crimson

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Distinguish Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist King Crimson were an English-based progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp (guitars), Michael Giles (drums), Greg Lake (bass, vocals), Ian McDonald (saxophone, flute, clarinet, keyboards) and Peter Sinfield (lyrics, illumination). Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the band's history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The band drew inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, blues, industrial, electronic, experimental music and new wave. They exerted a strong influence on the early 1970s progressive rock movement, including on contemporaries such as Yes and Genesis, and continue to inspire subsequent generations of artists across multiple genres.<ref name="rollingstone schizoid" /> The band has earned a large cult following, especially in the 21st century.<ref name="fanatics" /><ref name="New Court">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The band's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), remains their most commercially successful and influential release.<ref>Buckley 2003, p. 477, "Opening with the cataclysmic heavy-metal of "21st Century Schizoid Man", and closing with the cathedral-sized title track,"</ref> The next two albums, In the Wake of Poseidon and Lizard (both 1970), were recorded during a period of instability in the band's line-up, before a settled line-up of Fripp, Sinfield, Mel Collins, Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace recorded Islands in 1971. In mid-1972, Fripp disbanded this line-up, recruited new members Bill Bruford (formerly of Yes), John Wetton, David Cross and Jamie Muir, 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 (1973), Starless and Bible Black (1974), and Red (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 members Adrian Belew and Tony Levin. Drawing influence from African music, gamelan, post-punk and New York minimalism, this band lasted three years, resulting in the trio of albums Discipline (1981), Beat (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984). Following a decade-long hiatus, they reformed in 1994, adding Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn for a sextet line-up Fripp called "The Double Trio". The double trio participated in another three-year cycle of activity that included the album Thrak (1995). Fripp, Belew, Mastelotto and Gunn reunited in 2000 as a quartet,<ref name="stereogum2060790">Template:Cite web</ref> called "The Double Duo", releasing The Construkction of Light (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 of Porcupine Tree 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. 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:TOC limit

History

1967–1968: Giles, Giles and Fripp

Template:Main In August 1967, brothers Michael and Peter Giles, drummer and singer/bassist respectively and pro musicians in working bands since their mid-teens in Dorset, England, advertised for a "singing organist" to join a group they were forming.<ref name="allmusic ggfb">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Voyage-PT">Template:Cite web</ref> Fellow Dorset musician Robert Fripp – a guitarist who neither played organ nor sang – responded, and Giles, Giles and Fripp was born. The trio recorded several quirky singles and one eclectic album, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp. They hovered on the edge of success, and even made a television appearance, but were never able to make a commercial breakthrough.<ref name="allmusic ggfb" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 singer Judy Dyble, whose brief tenure with the group ended when the two split,<ref name="AMGBIO">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="InTheCourtOfKingCrimson">Template:Cite book Retrieved on 12 June 2009.</ref> and lyricist, roadie, and art strategist Peter Sinfield, with whom he had been writing songs – 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?"<ref name="TOGETHER">Template:Cite web</ref> Fripp, meanwhile, saw Clouds at the Marquee Club in London which spurred him to incorporate classically inspired melodies into his writing, and utilise improvisation to find new ideas.<ref name="CLOUDS">Template:Cite book Retrieved on 4 September 2007.</ref>

No longer interested in Peter Giles' more whimsical pop songs, Fripp recommended that his old friend, fellow guitarist and singer Greg Lake could join to replace either Peter or Fripp himself. Peter Giles later called it one of Fripp's "cute political moves".<ref name="InTheCourtOfKingCrimson" /> 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' position as bassist and singer.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref><ref name=AMGBIO />

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.<ref name=AMGBIO /><ref name=epitaph>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> 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, 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".<ref name="uncut kc6974">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Sinfield q&a1">Template:Cite interview</ref> According to Fripp, King Crimson is a synonym for Beelzebub, which is an anglicised form of the Arabic phrase "B'il Sabab", meaning "the man with an aim", to which he related.<ref name="vrvr fripp">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="AIM">Template:Cite web</ref>

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, McDonald suggested the group purchase a Mellotron keyboard, and this became a key component of the early Crimson sound.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> 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".<ref name="BBC Prog Rock">Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Template:Listen King Crimson's first live performance was at the Speakeasy Club in London on 9 April 1969 (with Yes guitarist Peter Banks among the audience).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Their big breakthrough came on 5 July 1969 by playing as a support act at the Rolling Stones' free concert in Hyde Park, London before an estimated 500,000 people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=AMGBIO />

The debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, was released in October 1969 on Island Records. Fripp would later describe it as having been "an instant smash" and "New York's acid album of 1970" (notwithstanding Fripp and Giles' assertion that the band never used psychedelic drugs).<ref name=epitaph /> Who guitarist and composer Pete Townshend called the album "an uncanny masterpiece."<ref name="sandiegouniontribune kc2017" /> The album contains Sinfield's gothic lyrics and its sound was described as having "dark and doom-laden visions".<ref name="AMGCOURT">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Its opening track "21st Century Schizoid Man" was described as "proto-metal" and the song's lyrics criticise the military involvement of the United States in Southeast Asia.<ref name="rollingstone schizoid">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Pitchfork itcotck">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="fosters kc2017">Template:Cite news</ref> 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, folk, jazz, military music (partially inspired by McDonald's stint as an army musician) and free improvisation.<ref name="rollingstone schizoid" /><ref name="Pitchfork itcotck" /><ref name="fosters kc2017" /><ref name="sandiegouniontribune kc2017" />

After playing shows across England, the band toured the US with various pop and rock acts. Their first show was at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. While the band found success and critical acclaim,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> creative tensions were already developing.<ref name=AMGBIO /> 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.<ref name="InTheCourtOfKingCrimson" /> 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.Template:Sfn McDonald later said he "was probably not emotionally mature enough to handle it" and made a "rash decision to leave without consulting anyone".<ref name="rs mcdonald obit"/> The original lineup played their last show at the Fillmore West in San Francisco on 14 December 1969, a little over one year after forming.<ref name=epitaph /> Live recordings of the band from 1969 were released in 1997 on Epitaph 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.<ref name="RF's diary 2001-03-11">Template:Cite web</ref> As well as guitar, Fripp took on keyboard duties, while Sinfield expanded his creative role to operating synthesizers.

Following McDonald and Giles' departure, Lake, unsure of the band's future without them, began discussions with Keith Emerson of the Nice 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 to sing the material as a session musician, but Fripp decided against this idea after listening to his Empty Sky album.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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. On the resulting In the Wake of Poseidon 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 was brought in to provide the vocal on the song.<ref name="poseidon TLV">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The sessions also included Michael and Peter Giles on drums and bass respectively,<ref name="poseidon TLV"/><ref>New Musical Express 28 February 1970: "Giles played on the session because he and another ex-member, Ian McDonald, have not yet been replaced in the group"</ref> saxophonist Mel Collins (formerly of the band Circus)<ref>Disc magazine 21 March 1970: "New King Crimson addition...flautist Mel Collins from Circus."</ref> and jazz pianist Keith Tippett.<ref name="allaboutjazz Sailors"/>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="ls sid islands">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="allaboutjazz Sailors" />

Fripp and Sinfield wrote the third album, Lizard, 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and two members of Tippett's band, Mark Charig on cornet, and Nick Evans on trombone. Robin Miller (on oboe and cor anglais) also appeared, while Jon Anderson of Yes 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.<ref name="InTheCourtOfKingCrimson" /><ref name="allaboutjazz Sailors" /> The album contains Sinfield's "phantasmagorical" lyrics, including "Happy Family" (an allegory of the break-up of the Beatles),<ref name="allmusic lizard" /> and the title track, a suite which took up the entire second side, describing a medieval/mythological battle and its outcome.Template:Sfn

Released in December 1970, Lizard reached No. 29 in the UK and No. 113 in the US. Described retrospectively as an "outlier",<ref name="allmusic lizard">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="ls sid islands" /> 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.<ref name=AMGBIO /><ref name="InTheCourtOfKingCrimson" /> With Sinfield not being a musician and Fripp having seemingly given up on the band, Collins was left to search for new members.<ref name="ls sid islands" />

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 of Roxy Music and even one of the band's managers, John Gaydon.<ref name="ls sid islands" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The position eventually went to Raymond "Boz" Burrell.<ref name=AMGBIO /> John Wetton was invited to join on bass, but declined in order to join Family instead.<ref name="aspicoflove" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rick Kemp (later of Steeleye Span) rehearsed with the band, but declined the final offer to formally join.<ref name="allaboutjazz Sailors">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref>

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.<ref name="ls sid islands" />

In 1971, the new King Crimson formation recorded Islands. Sinfield, who favoured a softer approach, took lyrical inspiration from Homer's Odyssey, musical inspiration from jazz players like Miles Davis and Ahmad Jamal, and a sun-drenched trip to Ibiza and Formentera.<ref name="uncut kc6974" /><ref name="rockerilla2010">Template:Cite interview</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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 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<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>), and would be the only time the band would utilize an orchestra.<ref name="allaboutjazz Sailors" />Template:Sfn Burrell disliked Sinfield's lyrics and one of the band members allegedly called Islands as "an airy-fairy piece of shit".<ref name="DGM EB"/>Template:Sfn

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.<ref name="uncut kc6974" /><ref name="rockerilla2010" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In January 1972, the remaining band broke up acrimoniously in rehearsals, owing partially to Fripp's refusal to play a composition by Collins.<ref name="ls sid islands" /> He later cited this as "quality control", with the idea that King Crimson would perform the "right" kind of music.<ref name="InTheCourtOfKingCrimson" />

In order to fulfil touring contracts in the United States in 1972, King Crimson reformed with the intention of disbanding immediately after the tour.<ref name="ls sid islands" /> Recordings from various North American dates between January and February 1972 were released as Earthbound in June of that year. The album was noted for its playing style that occasionally veered towards funk, and Burrell's scat singing on the improvised pieces, but was criticised for its sub-par sound quality.<ref name="EBOUND">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BBCMUSIC">Template:Cite web</ref> 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) 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 and funk. Fripp would later describe the 1971–1972 lineup as more of a jam band 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.<ref name="DGM EB">Template:Cite web</ref>

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

Template:Quote box The next incarnation of King Crimson was radically different from the previous configurations. Fripp's four new recruits were free-improvising percussionist Jamie Muir, drummer Bill Bruford, who left Yes at a commercial peak in their career in favour of the "darker" Crimson,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> bassist and vocalist John Wetton (who left Family), and violinist, keyboardist and flautist David Cross, whom Fripp had met when he was invited to a rehearsal of Waves, a band Cross was working in.<ref name=AMGBIO /><ref name="LTIA TLV">Template:Cite web</ref>

Most of the musical compositions were collaborations between Fripp and Wetton, who each composed segments independently and fitted together those which they found compatible.<ref name=BoffomuInt>Template:Cite web Event occurs at 4:34-13:48.</ref> With Sinfield gone, the band recruited Wetton's friend Richard Palmer-James (from the original Supertramp) as their new lyricist.<ref name=AMGBIO /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following a period of rehearsals, King Crimson resumed touring on 13 October 1972 at the Zoom Club in Frankfurt,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with the band's penchant for improvisation (and Muir's startling stage presence) gaining them renewed press attention.<ref name="LTIA TLV" />

Template:Listen In January and February 1973, King Crimson recorded Larks' Tongues in Aspic in London which was released that March.<ref name="LARKS">Template:Cite web</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> mbira, gongs, balloons, thunder sheet 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.<ref name="mdm Perfect Pair" /><ref name="aspicoflove">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="abj LTIAcomplete">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref> 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.<ref name="RollingStone149">Template:Cite interview</ref><ref name="aspicoflove"/><ref name="LTIA TLV"/>

File:King crimson 1974 press photo.jpg

King Crimson in 1974. From left: John Wetton, David Cross, Robert Fripp, and Bill Bruford

With Muir gone, the remaining members reconvened in January 1974 to produce Starless and Bible Black, released in March 1974, which earned them a positive Rolling Stone review.<ref name="AMGSABB">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=RSSABB>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=InTheCourtOfKingCrimson /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Robert Fripp 2.jpg

Fripp performing at the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, 25 April 1974

In July 1974, Fripp, Bruford, and Wetton began recording Red.<ref name=AMGBIO /> 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".Template:Sfn 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.<ref name="RedTLV">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Released on 6 October 1974,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Red went to No. 45 in the UK and No. 66 in the US. AllMusic called it "an impressive achievement" for a group about to disband,<ref name="RED">Template:Cite web</ref> with "intensely dynamic" musical chemistry between the band members.<ref name="newrsguide">Template:Cite book</ref>

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.Template:Sfn<ref name="RedTLV" /> Despite a band meeting while touring the US in which Fripp expressed a desire to end the band,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref name=AMGBIO /><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref> It was later revealed that Fripp had attempted to replace himself with McDonald and Steve Hackett of Genesis, but this idea was rejected by the managers.<ref name="rskc2019" /><ref name="innerviewskc1" />

Following the band's disbanding, the live album USA was released in May 1975, formed of recordings from their 1974 North American tour. It received some positive reviews,<ref name=BBCMUSIC /> including "a must" for fans of the band and "insanity you're better off having".<ref name=ActonGazette>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Cashbox>Template:Cite news</ref> Issues with the tapes rendered some of Cross' playing inaudible, so Eddie Jobson 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> More live recordings from the 1972–1974 era would be issued as The Night Watch 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

File:-Possible Productions knotwork- by Steve Ball.svg

Later versions of Discipline featured this knotwork design by Steve Ball.

In the late autumn of 1980, having spent several years on spiritual pursuits and then gradually returning to music (playing guitar for David Bowie, Peter Gabriel and Daryl Hall, pursuing an experimental solo career, leading instrumental new wave band The League of Gentlemen), Fripp decided to form a new "first division" rock group, but had no intentions of it being King Crimson.Template:Sfn

Having recruited Bill Bruford as drummer, Fripp asked singer and guitarist Adrian Belew to join,<ref name="AMGADRIAN">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.Template:Sfn 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",Template:Sfn 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 (who got the job after playing a single chorus of "Red").<ref name=brufordautobiography>Bruford, Bill "Bill Bruford – the Autobiography", Jawbone Press, 2009</ref> Fripp later confessed that, had he known that Levin (whom Fripp had played with in Peter Gabriel'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 Club in Bath, Somerset on 30 April 1981, and completed a short tour supported by the Lounge Lizards.<ref name="Discipline Long View" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By October 1981, the band had opted to change their name to King Crimson.<ref name=AMGBIO />

In 1981, King Crimson recorded Discipline 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, new wave, funk, minimalism, pointillism, world music and African percussion.Template:Sfn<ref name="AMGDISCIPLINE">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> With a sound described in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide as having a "jaw-dropping technique" of "knottily rhythmic, harmonically demanding workouts".<ref name="newrsguide" /> The title track "Discipline" was described as a postminimalist rock song.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fripp intended to create the sound of a "rock gamelan", with an interlocking rhythmic quality to the paired guitars that he found similar to Indonesian gamelan ensembles.Template:Sfn Fripp concentrated on playing complex picked arpeggios, while Belew provided an arsenal of guitar sounds that "often mimic animal noises".<ref name="nytimes84">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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".<ref name="nyt doubletrio"/><ref name="kc On (And Off)"/><ref name="nytimes 1981">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="InTheCourtOfKingCrimson" /> 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, the first King Crimson album recorded with the same band lineup as the album preceding it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Beat is the only album where Fripp had no involvement in the original mixing; Davies and Belew undertook production duties.<ref name="beat1982" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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" (inspired by Carolyn Cassady's "Heart Beat: My Life with Jack and Neal"), "The Howler" (inspired by Allen Ginsberg's "Howl") and "Waiting Man" (inspired by William Burroughs). The album contained themes of life on the road, existential angst and romanticism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While Beat was more accessible,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it had the improvised "Requiem", which featured Frippertronics, a guitar technique invented by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp using a tape loop system.Template:Sfn

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="beat1982">Template:Cite web</ref> 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. 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 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,Template:Sfn 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.<ref name="nytimes84" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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".<ref name="toapp 30th">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Three of a Perfect Pair peaked at No. 30 in the UK and No. 58 in the US, with "Three of a Perfect Pair" and "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 in Montreal, Canada on 11 July 1984, was recorded and released in 1998 as Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="kc On (And Off)">Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Quote box 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref>

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.<ref name="RFD 95 band">Template:Cite interview</ref> 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.<ref name="allmusic fripp">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Pat Mastelotto in conversation (Copenhagen, Denmark - 27 05 2000).jpg

Percussionist Pat Mastelotto joined the band as part of the "Double Trio" line-up, alongside Trey Gunn.

In late 1991, Fripp asked former Japan singer David Sylvian to join the new King Crimson band, but Sylvian declined the offer, though the two collaborated as Sylvian/Fripp.<ref name="Fripp/sylvian" /> 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 (a veteran of Fripp's Guitar Craft courses<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref>) and drummer Jerry Marotta,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="mdm Perfect Pair" /><ref name="innverviews SP" /> with whom Fripp had played with Peter Gabriel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After Sylvian/Fripp's closing concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in December 1993,<ref name="Fripp/sylvian">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a tour that Marotta didn't participate in, Fripp decided to ask the tour's drummer Pat Mastelotto, formerly of Mr. Mister, to join instead of Marotta.<ref name="innverviews SP">Template:Cite interview</ref> Bruford wound up being the last of the 1980s group to return to the band.<ref name="mdm Perfect Pair">Template:Cite interview</ref> Fripp explained that he had a vision of a "Double Trio" with two drummers while driving along the Chalke Valley one afternoon in 1992.<ref name="nyt doubletrio">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="RFD 95 band" /> 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.<ref name=brufordautobiography />

Following rehearsals in Woodstock, New York, the group released the 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.<ref name="THRAK" />Template:Failed verification There was also a vague influence from the industrial music of that time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Many of the songs were written or finalised by Belew, and displayed stronger elements of 1960s pop than before; in particular, a Beatles influence.<ref name="allaboutjazz THRAK BOX">Template:Cite web</ref> Bruford would refer to the band as sounding like "a dissonant Shadows on steroids".<ref name=brufordautobiography /> 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")<ref name="allmusic fripp" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the versatile Warr tap guitar with which Gunn replaced his Stick in 1995.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref> 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.<ref name="THRAK">Template:Cite web</ref> 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,"<ref name=ThrakQmag>Template:Cite magazine</ref> while being in tune with the sound of alternative rock of the mid-1990s.<ref name=vox>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.<ref name="allaboutjazz THRAK BOX" />

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.<ref name="THRAKATTAK">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="vrvr fripp" /> 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 (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'n'bass.<ref name="allmusic projekcts">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="kche9708">Template:Cite web</ref> These have been collectively described by music critic J. D. Considine as "frequently astonishing" but lacking in melody.<ref name="newrsguide" /> 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.<ref name="kche9708" />

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

In October 1999, King Crimson reconvened.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 in Belew's basement studio and garage near Nashville.<ref name="kche9708" /><ref name="TPTB Portugal sid">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fripp was inspired by Tool's album Undertow during the writing process of The Construkction of Light.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Released in May 2000, the album reached No. 129 in the UK. Most of the pieces were metallic, harsh and industrial in sound.<ref name="stereogum2060790" /> 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.<ref name="kche9708" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="fanatics">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album contains the fourth installment of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". It received a negative reception for lacking new ideas.<ref name="TCOL">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="HE">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:King Crimson - Dour Festival 2003 (01).jpg

The band performing in 2003. Left to right: Trey Gunn, Adrian Belew, and Robert Fripp (Pat Mastelotto is hidden)

King Crimson toured to support both albums, including double bill shows with Tool.<ref name=TOOL>Template:Cite web</ref> The tour was documented on the live album Heavy ConstruKction in 2000 and the Heaven & Earth (1997–2008) box set in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and his band supported Crimson on some live shows.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 9 November 2001, King Crimson released a limited edition live EP called Level Five,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="kche9708" /><ref name="HAPPY">Template:Cite web</ref>

The double duo lineup released King Crimson's thirteenth album, The Power to Believe, in March 2003.<ref name="TPTB">Template:Cite web</ref> Fripp described it as "the culmination of three years of Crimsonising".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="kche9708" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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, 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The band reconvened in early 2004 for rehearsals, but nothing developed from these sessions. They went on another hiatus.<ref name="TPTB Portugal sid" /><ref name="AMGBIO" /> 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 "the illusion of intimacy with celebrities".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 21 September 2006, former King Crimson member Boz Burrell died of a heart attack,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> followed by another former member, Ian Wallace, who died of esophageal cancer on 22 February 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2008: 40th Anniversary tour and third hiatus

File:Adrian Belew (2006).jpg

Belew performing in 2006

A new King Crimson formation was announced in 2007: Fripp, Belew, Levin, Mastelotto, and a new second drummer, Gavin Harrison.<ref name="AMGBIO" /> 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.<ref name="kche9708" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Additional shows were planned for 2009, but were cancelled due to scheduling clashes with Belew.<ref name="2014 sid kc" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

King Crimson began another hiatus after the 40th Anniversary Tour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In December 2010, Fripp wrote that the King Crimson "switch" had been set to "off" since October 2008, citing several reasons for this decision.<ref name="PSEVEN" />

In August 2012, Fripp announced his retirement from the music industry, leaving the future of King Crimson uncertain.<ref name="cos2013">Template:Cite web</ref>

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 (who'd previously performed King Crimson material with 21st Century Schizoid Band), Fripp and former Crimson saxophonist Mel Collins 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).<ref name="PSEVEN">Template:Cite web</ref> Unusually for a ProjeKct, it was based around "finely crafted" and "mid-paced" original songs derived from improvised sessions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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".<ref name="cos2013" /> 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."<ref name="KCreturn">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=frippdiary24092013>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 drummer Bill Rieflin as the seventh member.<ref name=AMGBIO /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite web</ref> This version of the group took on the nickname of "the Seven-Headed Beast".<ref name="rskc2019">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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."<ref>"Interview: Adrian Belew & Tony Levin Talk BEAT And Their Legacy With King Crimson" - interview by Tyler King in SFSonic, 29 July 2024</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=2014Shows>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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, 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Uncertain Times Japan Tour 2018 Photo 2 (cropped).jpg

The band with its "Three Over Five" line-up following a show in Takamatsu, Japan on 7 December 2018. Top L–R: Collins, Levin, Rieflin, Jakszyk, Fripp. Bottom L–R: Mastelotto, Stacey, Harrison.

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 died of cancer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Another former King Crimson member, John Wetton, died of colon cancer on 31 January 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 3 January 2017, Bill Rieflin returned to King Crimson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 2 June 2017, King Crimson released a new live EP named Heroes, featuring a cover of the David Bowie 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" (1977) and Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The video to King Crimson's version of "Heroes" won "Video of the Year" at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Shortly afterwards, King Crimson embarked on the first leg of a North American tour, from 11 June until 19 July.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name="New Court" /><ref name="Belew9thMan">Template:Cite web</ref>

On 14 October 2017, King Crimson released another contemporary live 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 Crafty Guitarist Chris Gibson.<ref name="GibsonJoins">Template:Cite web</ref> During 2018, King Crimson performed the extensive 33-date Uncertain Times tour through the UK and Europe between 13 June and 16 November.<ref name="Uncertain Times tour">Template:Cite web</ref>

Although the band continued their "no new studio album" policy, April 2018 saw the full release of another live 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.<ref name="DGM1">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="rskc2019" /><ref name="innerviewskc1">Template:Cite interview</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="2019-keyboards">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 24 March 2020, Bill Rieflin died of cancer.<ref name="rsit">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In the same year, King Crimson collaborator Keith Tippett died after several years of illness on 14 June,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and former bassist and singer Gordon Haskell died from lung cancer on 15 October.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

King Crimson toured North America and then Japan in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2022: In the Court of the Crimson King documentary and 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 the pandemic, with no band intentions for any more tours.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

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."<ref>"King Crimson Touring the U.S. for the ‘Last Time’" - article by Gary Graff in Ultimate Classic Rock, 6 August 2021</ref> Versions of two Fripp/Jakszyk songs originally intended for King Crimson ("Uncertain Times" and "Separation") had already emerged on Jakszyk's 2020 solo album Secrets and Lies, with participation from Fripp, Harrison, Levin and Collins.<ref name=Kelman>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 9 February 2022, founding King Crimson member Ian McDonald died of cancer.<ref name="rs mcdonald obit">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In March 2022, the documentary film 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."<ref>"Watch the Trailer for New King Crimson Documentary In the Court of the Crimson King" - article by James Rettig in Stereogum, 2 February 2022</ref>

As of 2022, with the exception of archive/curatorial matters, King Crimson have ceased activity altogether, with no plans for the future.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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?"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 disagreed, 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".<ref>"Robert Fripp Talks Adrian Belew Rift at King Crimson Doc Showing" - article by Gary Graff in Ultimate Classic Rock, 25 October 25, 2022</ref>

Musical style

Template:Quotebox King Crimson have been described musically as progressive rock,<ref name="AMGBIO" /> art rock,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and post-progressive,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> with their earlier works being described as proto-prog.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and were known to play the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in their rehearsals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, for their own compositions, King Crimson (unlike the rock bands that had come before them) largely stripped away the blues-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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> As a result of this influence, In the Court of the Crimson King is frequently viewed as the nominal starting point of the progressive rock movements.<ref name="AU">Template:Cite web</ref> King Crimson also initially displayed strong jazz influences, especially on its signature track "21st Century Schizoid Man".<ref name="rollingstone schizoid" /><ref name=iTalkToTheWind /> The band also drew on English folk music for compositions such as "Moonchild"<ref name=Moonchild>Template:AllMusic "'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."</ref> and "I Talk to the Wind".<ref name=iTalkToTheWind>Template:AllMusic "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."</ref><ref name=Moonchild /> In the 1972 lineup, Fripp's intention was to combine the music of Jimi Hendrix, Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók.<ref name="RF's diary 2001-03-11"/><ref name="sandiegouniontribune kc2017"/>

The 1981 reunion of the band brought in even more elements, displaying the influence of funk, post-punk, new wave, gamelan music and late 20th century classical composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley.Template:Sfn<ref name="Discipline Long View">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="stereogum2060790" /> 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;<ref name="kche9708" /> 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.Template:Citation needed

Compositional approaches

Template:More citations needed section Several King Crimson compositional approaches remained constant throughout the band's lifetime. These included:

• The use of a gradually building rhythmic motif.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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 Template:Music time over which a skirling melody is played on a Mellotron), 1973's "The Talking Drum" (from Larks' Tongues in Aspic), 1984's "Industry" (from Three of a Perfect Pair) and 2003's "Dangerous Curves" (from The Power to Believe).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> An early example is the band's initial signature tune "21st Century Schizoid Man", but the "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.Template:Sfn
• The juxtaposition of ornate tunes and ballads with unusual, often dissonant noises (such as "Cirkus" from Lizard, "Ladies of the Road" from Islands 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", "Providence", "Requiem" and "No Warning",Template:Sfn including passages of restrained silence, as with Bill Bruford's contribution to the improvised "Trio".Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> such as the THRaKaTTaK album,<ref name="THRAKATTAK"/> and the band's series of ProjeKcts.<ref name="allmusic 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.<ref name="abj LTIAcomplete" /><ref name="kche9708" />

Influence and legacy

King Crimson have been influential both on the early 1970s progressive rock movement and numerous contemporary artists. Genesis and Yes were directly influenced by the band's usage of the mellotron,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="rollingstone schizoid" /> and many King Crimson band members were involved in other notable bands: Bruford in Yes; Lake in Emerson, Lake & Palmer; McDonald in Foreigner; Burrell in Bad Company, and Wetton in U.K. and Asia. Canadian rock band Rush's drummer Neil Peart credited the adventurous and innovative style of Michael Giles as an influence on his own approach to percussion.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref>

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, had stated that the album Red had a major influence on the sound of their final studio album In Utero.<ref name="sandiegouniontribune kc2017">Template:Cite news</ref> Tool are known to be heavily influenced by King Crimson,<ref name=TOOL /><ref name="EdJourn">Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name="TOOLNEWS">Template:Cite web</ref> Modern progressive, experimental, psychedelic and indie rock bands have cited them as an influence as well, including MGMT,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> the Mars Volta,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Primus,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Black Country, New Road,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mystery Jets,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fanfarlo,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Phish,<ref name="30 September 2013">Template:Cite web</ref> and Anekdoten, who first practiced together playing King Crimson songs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Steven Wilson, the leader of Porcupine Tree, 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and his band was influenced by King Crimson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Colin Newman, of Wire, said he saw King Crimson perform many times, and that they influenced him deeply.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The seminal hardcore punk group Black Flag acknowledge Wetton-era King Crimson as an influence on their experimental period in the mid-1980s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Melvin Gibbs said that the Rollins Band was influenced most by King Crimson, using similar chords.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 (founded by their guitarist Brett Gurewitz), comes from the song of the same name on Crimson's debut album.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid considered Robert Fripp as one of his guitar influences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

King Crimson have frequently been cited as pioneers of progressive metal<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and as an influence on bands of this genre, including Dream Theater,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Opeth,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mastodon,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Between the Buried and Me,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Leprous,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Haken,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Ocean,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Caligula's Horse,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Last Chance to Reason,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Indukti.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Members of metal bands Mudvayne,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Voivod,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Enslaved,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yob,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pyrrhon,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Pallbearer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> have cited King Crimson as an influence. Heavy experimental and avant-garde acts like the Dillinger Escape Plan,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Neurosis,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Zeni Geva,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ancestors,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Oranssi Pazuzu<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> all cite King Crimson's influence.

Other artists affected by King Crimson include video game composer Nobuo Uematsu,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> noise music artist Masami Akita of Merzbow,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> jazz guitarist Dennis Rea of Land,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> folktronica exponent Juana Molina,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> hip hop producer RJD2,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> hip hop and soul composer Adrian Younge,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> film director Hal Hartley,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and folk-pop singer Ian Kelly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 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, Peter Giles and Michael Giles (the latter subsequently replaced by Ian Wallace),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was fronted by Jakko Jakszyk, 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref>

Since 2007, Tony Levin has led the trio 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref> This band includes (and reinterprets) King Crimson compositions in their live sets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 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.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref>

Between 2011 and 2014, Stick Men and Adrian Belew's Power Trio band (Belew plus drummer Tobias Ralph and bass player Julie Slick)<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref> joined forces to play and tour as The Crimson ProjeKCt, covering the music made during the '80s and '90s.<ref name="2014 sid kc">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

During his solo career, including performances with the Power Trio, Adrian Belew has performed various versions of King Crimson songs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In March 2024, a new group performing the 1980s King Crimson repertoire was announced: this featured former members Adrian Belew and Tony Levin 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).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The band went on to tour the United States during the latter half of 2024.

Members

Template:Main Final lineup

• Robert Fripp – guitar, keyboards, Mellotron, electronics Template:Small
• Mel Collins – saxophones, flute, bass flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, Mellotron, backing vocals Template:Small
• Tony Levin – bass guitar, Chapman Stick, upright bass, synthesisers, backing vocals Template:Small
• Pat Mastelotto – drums, percussion, programming Template:Small
• Gavin Harrison – drums, percussion Template:Small
• Jakko Jakszyk – lead vocals, guitar, flute, keyboards Template:Small
• Jeremy Stacey – drums, keyboards, backing vocals Template:Small

Former members

• Peter Sinfield – lyrics, lighting, synthesizer Template:Small
• Michael Giles – drums, percussion, backing vocals Template:Small
• Greg Lake – bass guitar, lead vocals Template:Small
• Ian McDonald – saxophone, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, keyboards, Mellotron, vibraphone, backing vocals Template:Small
• Peter Giles – bass guitar Template:Small
• Gordon Haskell – lead vocals, bass guitar Template:Small
• Andy McCulloch – drums Template:Small
• Ian Wallace – drums, percussion, backing vocals Template:Small
• Boz Burrell – bass guitar, lead vocals Template:Small
• Bill Bruford – drums, percussion Template:Small
• John Wetton – bass guitar, lead vocals Template:Small
• David Cross – violin, viola, keyboards Template:Small
• Jamie Muir – percussion Template:Small
• Adrian Belew – guitar, guitar synthesizer, lead vocals, drums and percussion Template:Small
• Trey Gunn – Warr guitar, Chapman Stick, backing vocals, bass guitar Template:Small
• Bill Rieflin – keyboards, synthesizer, Mellotron, drums, percussion Template:Small

Discography

• In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
• In the Wake of Poseidon (1970)
• Lizard (1970)
• Islands (1971)
• Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973)
• Starless and Bible Black (1974)
• Red (1974)
• Discipline (1981)
• Beat (1982)
• Three of a Perfect Pair (1984)
• THRAK (1995)
• The ConstruKction of Light (2000)
• The Power to Believe (2003)

General references

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Discipline Global Mobile Live
• Template:Usurped
• Elephant Talk
• Template:Usurped
• Template:Discogs artist
• Template:IMDb name