Editing King Crimson (section)

=== 1981–1984: ''Discipline'', ''Beat'', ''Three of a Perfect Pair'' and second hiatus ===
[[File:-Possible Productions knotwork- by Steve Ball.svg|left|thumb|upright|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 music|new wave]] band [[The League of Gentlemen (band)|The League of Gentlemen]]), Fripp decided to form a new "first division" rock group, but had no intentions of it being King Crimson.{{sfn|Tamm|1990|p=10-73-110}}

Having recruited Bill Bruford as drummer, Fripp asked singer and guitarist [[Adrian Belew]] to join,<ref name="AMGADRIAN">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000498577/biography|title=Adrian Belew|access-date=29 August 2007|website=AllMusic|last=Prato|first=Greg|archive-date=7 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307224156/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000498577/biography|url-status=live}}</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.{{sfn|Tamm|1990|p=29-111}} 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",{{sfn|Tamm|1990|p=111}} 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 (nightclub)|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>{{cite web |url=https://www.dgmlive.com/diaries/Robert%20Fripp/dgm-hq-the-degree-to-210916 |title=Robert Fripp's Diary: DGM HQ. |first=Robert |last=Fripp |date=7 September 2005 |website=dgmlive.com |access-date=24 February 2021 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224043931/https://www.dgmlive.com/diaries/Robert%20Fripp/dgm-hq-the-degree-to-210916 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Mick |last=Brown |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/robert-fripps-discipline-the-lounge-lizards-her-majestys-theatre-london |title=Robert Fripp's Discipline, the Lounge Lizards: Her Majesty's Theatre, London |work=The Guardian |date=11 May 1981 |access-date=24 February 2021 |archive-date=21 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421043221/https://rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/robert-fripps-discipline-the-lounge-lizards-her-majestys-theatre-london |url-status=live }}</ref> By October 1981, the band had opted to change their name to King Crimson.<ref name=AMGBIO />

{{listen|filename=King Crimson - The Sheltering Sky.ogg|title="The Sheltering Sky" (1981)|description=An excerpt of "The Sheltering Sky" (1981), showing [[gamelan]] influences, Bruford's use of an African [[slit drum]], and Fripp and Belew's use of a guitar synthesiser, a staple of much of their 1980s albums.}}

In 1981, King Crimson recorded ''[[Discipline (King Crimson album)|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 music|new wave]], funk, [[Minimalist music|minimalism]], [[Punctualism|pointillism]], world music and African percussion.{{sfn|Tamm|1990|p=116}}<ref name="AMGDISCIPLINE">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000196148|title=Discipline|access-date=29 August 2007|website=AllMusic|last=Prato|first=Greg|archive-date=4 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151204113205/http://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000196148|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Josef |last=Woodard |date=20 May 1993 |title=ROBERT FRIPP : Pioneering Progressive Rock Guitar Guru Returns |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-20-vl-37632-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205000807/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-20-vl-37632-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |first=Sid |last=Smith |date=2019-06-10 |title=King Crimson |url=https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/king-crimson |magazine=Record Collector |access-date=2022-06-07 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406195451/https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/king-crimson |url-status=live }}</ref> With a sound described in ''[[Rolling Stone Album Guide#Fourth edition|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' as having a "jaw-dropping technique" of "knottily rhythmic, harmonically demanding workouts".<ref name="newrsguide" /> The title track "Discipline" was described as a [[postminimalist]] rock song.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/discipline-mt0034682436 |title=King Crimson Discipline |first=Rick |last=Anderson |access-date=2022-05-20 |website=allmusic.com |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520163920/https://www.allmusic.com/song/discipline-mt0034682436 |url-status=live }}</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.{{sfn|Tamm|1990|p=117}} Fripp concentrated on playing complex picked arpeggios, while Belew provided an arsenal of guitar sounds that "often mimic animal noises".<ref name="nytimes84">{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Palmer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/20/arts/king-crimson-despite-upheaval-the-band-plays-on.html |title=King Crimson: Despite Upheaval, The Band Plays On |work=The New York Times |date=20 May 1984 |access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406193945/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/20/arts/king-crimson-despite-upheaval-the-band-plays-on.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Joe |last=Banks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/apr/26/king-crimson-10-of-the-best |title=King Crimson – 10 of the best |work=theguardian.com |date=26 Apr 2017 |access-date=24 February 2021 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112032846/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/apr/26/king-crimson-10-of-the-best |url-status=live }}</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">{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Palmer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/01/arts/why-robert-fripp-resurrected-king-crimson.html |title=Why Robert Fripp Resurrected King Crimson |work=The New York Times |date=1 November 1981 |access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=14 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714180318/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/01/arts/why-robert-fripp-resurrected-king-crimson.html |url-status=live }}</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 (King Crimson album)|Beat]]'', the first King Crimson album recorded with the same band lineup as the album preceding it.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Jim |last1=Fitzsimons |first2=Douglas |last2=Arthur |date=2014-08-29 |title=Never Found in the '80s: King Crimson |url=https://www.tampabay.com/never-found-in-the-80s-king-crimson/2195254/ |newspaper=Tampa Bay Times |access-date=2022-02-18 |archive-date=18 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218074450/https://www.tampabay.com/never-found-in-the-80s-king-crimson/2195254/ |url-status=live }}</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>{{Cite web |first=Robert |last=Fripp |url=https://www.dgmlive.com/diaries/Robert%20Fripp/bredonborough-rising-at-shopping-for-210916 |title=Robert Fripp's Diary: Bredonborough. |date=12 June 2013 |website=dgmlive.com |access-date=22 February 2021 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924085508/https://www.dgmlive.com/diaries/Robert%20Fripp/bredonborough-rising-at-shopping-for-210916 |url-status=live }}</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 (King Crimson song)|Heartbeat]]" (inspired by [[Carolyn Cassady]]'s "Heart Beat: My Life with Jack and Neal"), "The Howler" (inspired by [[Allen Ginsberg]]'s "[[Howl (poem)|Howl]]") and "Waiting Man" (inspired by [[William Burroughs]]). The album contained themes of life on the road, [[existential angst]] and romanticism.<ref>{{cite news |first=Boo |last=Browning |date=29 July 1982 |title=Homage to the Gurus of Beat |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/07/29/homage-to-the-gurus-of-beat/e11eccef-a822-4ebf-94a3-397d7439e6c8/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=22 February 2021 |archive-date=22 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222110003/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/07/29/homage-to-the-gurus-of-beat/e11eccef-a822-4ebf-94a3-397d7439e6c8/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Palmer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/14/arts/the-pop-life-013588.html |title=The Pop Life |work=The New York Times |date=14 July 1982 |access-date=22 February 2021 |archive-date=22 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222103116/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/14/arts/the-pop-life-013588.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/heartbeat-mt0033427434 |title=King Crimson Heartbeat |first=Greg |last=Prato |access-date=22 February 2021 |website=allmusic.com |archive-date=22 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222200749/https://www.allmusic.com/song/heartbeat-mt0033427434 |url-status=live }}</ref> While ''Beat'' was more accessible,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/king-crimson-beat-three-of-a-perfect-pair-album-review |title=King Crimson - Beat/Three Of A Perfect Pair album review |first=Mike |last=Barnes |access-date=22 February 2021 |website=loudersound.com |date=26 September 2016 |archive-date=23 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923153539/https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/king-crimson-beat-three-of-a-perfect-pair-album-review |url-status=live }}</ref> it had the improvised "Requiem", which featured [[Frippertronics]], a guitar technique invented by [[Brian Eno]] and Robert Fripp using a [[tape loop]] system.{{sfn|Tamm|1990|p=9-120}}

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>{{cite web |first=Sid |last=Smith |url=https://www.dgmlive.com/news/Beat%2038%20years%20old |title=Happy Birthday Beat |date=18 June 2020 |website=Dgmlive.com |access-date=21 Apr 2021 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420173934/https://www.dgmlive.com/news/Beat%2038%20years%20old |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="beat1982">{{cite web |url=https://www.dgmlive.com/news/it-was-on-this-date-in-1982 |title=It Was On This Date In 1982 |first=Sid |last=Smith |date=18 June 2014 |website=dgmlive.com |access-date=22 February 2021 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303015726/https://www.dgmlive.com/news/it-was-on-this-date-in-1982 |url-status=live }}</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)|Mainstream Rock]] chart. Around this time the band released the VHS ''The Noise: Live in Frejus'', a document of a show played at the Arena, [[Frejus]], France on 27 August 1982, co-headlining with Roxy Music (whose set from the same show was also released on VHS as ''The High Road''). The VHS was later re-released as part of the ''[[Neal and Jack and Me (album)|Neal and Jack and Me]]'' DVD in 2004.

King Crimson's next album, ''[[Three of a Perfect Pair]]'', was recorded in 1983 and released in March 1984. Having encountered difficulty in both writing and determining a direction for the album, the band chose to record and call the album's first half a "left side" – four of the band's poppier songs plus an instrumental – and the second half a "right side" – experimental work, improvisations that drew influence from industrial music,{{sfn|Tamm|1990|p=119-120}}  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>{{cite web |url=https://www.dgmlive.com/in-depth/three-of-a-perfect-pair-the-long-view |title=Three Of A Perfect Pair - The Long View |first=Sid |last=Smith |date=May 2016 |website=dgmlive.com |access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=26 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226095530/https://www.dgmlive.com/in-depth/three-of-a-perfect-pair-the-long-view |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/kingcrimson/albums/album/174497/review/5943266/three_of_a_perfect_pair |title=Album Reviews: King Crimson – Three of a Perfect Pair |access-date=11 Mar 2021 |first=Parke |last=Puterbaugh |date=10 May 1984 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502023047/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/kingcrimson/albums/album/174497/review/5943266/three_of_a_perfect_pair | archive-date =2 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Geoffrey |last=Himes |date=29 June 1984 |title=King Crimson's 3 Pair |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/06/29/king-crimsons-3-pair/817091b4-a4f8-4377-88ba-2358fd4ebbb7/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828100146/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/06/29/king-crimsons-3-pair/817091b4-a4f8-4377-88ba-2358fd4ebbb7/ |url-status=live }}</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">{{cite web |url=https://shop.schizoidshop.com/king-crimson---three-of-a-perfect-pair---30th-anniversary-edition-p824.aspx |title=King Crimson - Three of a Perfect Pair - 30th Anniversary Edition |website=shop.schizoidshop.com |access-date=4 February 2021 |archive-date=28 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128062847/https://shop.schizoidshop.com/king-crimson---three-of-a-perfect-pair---30th-anniversary-edition-p824.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Ryan |last=Reed |date=3 Feb 2017 |title=King Crimson: Beat & Three of a Perfect Pair |url=https://relix.com/reviews/detail/king_crimson_beat_three_of_a_perfect_pair/ |work=Relix |access-date=26 February 2021 |archive-date=19 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919102208/https://relix.com/reviews/detail/king_crimson_beat_three_of_a_perfect_pair/ |url-status=live }}</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 (song)|Three of a Perfect Pair]]" and "[[Sleepless (King Crimson song)|Sleepless]]" being released as singles. A VHS document of the ''Three of a Perfect Pair'' tour, ''Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan'', was released later in 1984 (and later also included on the ''Neal and Jack and Me'' DVD). The last concert of the ''Three of a Perfect Pair'' tour, at the [[Spectrum (Montreal)|Spectrum]] in Montreal, Canada on 11 July 1984, was recorded and released in 1998 as ''[[Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://shop.schizoidshop.com/king-crimson---absent-lovers-p2.aspx |title=King Crimson - Absent Lovers |website=shop.schizoidshop.com |access-date=17 February 2021 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205121027/https://shop.schizoidshop.com/king-crimson---absent-lovers-p2.aspx |url-status=live }}</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)">{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/on-and-off-the-road-by-john-kelman.php |title=King Crimson: On (And Off) The Road |first=John |last=Kelman |date=13 Nov 2016 |website=[[All About Jazz]] |access-date=22 February 2021 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420191651/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/on-and-off-the-road-by-john-kelman.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Quote box
| style = padding:10px;
| quote = "Robert broke up the group, again, for the umpteenth time, dwelling at length, I suppose, on our lack of imagination, ability, direction and a thousand other things we were doubtless missing. I suppose this only because I remember not listening to this litany of failures. Might as well quit while you're ahead, I thought."
| source = —Bill Bruford on the band's 1984 disbanding.<ref name=brufordautobiography />
| width = 28%
| align = right
}}
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>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weigel |title=The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock |year=2017 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qdZDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT268 |pages=267–268 |isbn=9780393356021 |access-date=4 February 2021 |archive-date=4 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004144132/https://books.google.com/books?id=qdZDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT268#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite interview |first=Bill |last=Bruford |interviewer=Anil Prasad |interviewer-link=Anil Prasad |title=Bill Bruford - Ferocious Intensity |url=https://www.innerviews.org/inner/bruford2.html |date=1998 |work=Innerviews |quote=And it's certainly not me that precipitates these long pauses in King Crimson's career either—it's always Robert Fripp who wants to stop and have 10 years off. We do move along in a rather torturous manner. |access-date=7 Mar 2021 |archive-date=11 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211002655/https://www.innerviews.org/inner/bruford2.html |url-status=live }}</ref>