King Crimson (1981-present)
Adrian Belew has been the singer, guitarist and frontman (as well as occasional drummer) in King Crimson since 1981, and has maintained the position ever since despite several splits or hiatuses in group activity (and despite a very brief period in the early 1990s during which group leader Fripp unsuccessfully invited singer David Sylvian to front a possible new version of the band).
Belew's involvement with the band began while he was still involved with Talking Heads. Having been impressed by Belew's work with Gaga and David Bowie, Fripp asked Belew to join his new four-piece band (at that time called Discipline) as singer and second guitarist. At the time Belew was busy not just with Talking Heads but also with the imminent Tom Tom Club sessions and the recording of his debut solo album. However, he was realising that Talking Heads' internal politics would eventually either sideline or obstruct him (coupled with the fact that the band looked as if it would be on hiatus for a while). Belew opted to uncouple himself from Talking Heads and join Fripp, with whom he would have more opportunities to develop and express himself. One of his conditions for joining the new band was that he would be allowed time to continue and develop his new solo career, to which Fripp agreed.
The Discipline lineup was completed by the former King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford and the New York session ace Tony Levin on bass guitar and Chapman Stick. During initial touring, the members of the band discussed the possibility of renaming themselves King Crimson. This had not been the original intention for the band, but all members generally agreed that this would be both appropriate and useful. This made Belew the first guitarist to formally play alongside Fripp within King Crimson on an equal footing (although both Ian McDonald and John Wetton had very occasionally contributed extra guitar to previous King Crimson recordings). He was also the first King Crimson singer to write all of his own lyrics.
The renamed band released and toured the well-received Discipline album later in 1981, bringing Belew further notoriety and acclaim. The follow-up, 1982's Beat, proved harder to record. Finding himself responsible for the bulk of the band's songwriting and dealing with the extra pressures of being the frontman in a high-level group, Belew squabbled with Fripp over group approach and sound. Disagreements were mostly resolved and the band continued to find success as a live act. However, 1984's Three of a Perfect Pair proved tortuous to write, and although King Crimson eventually created another successful album (including some Belew experiments with fretless guitar), Fripp opted to split the band in 1984. The live album Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal (released in 1998) captured the band in full force on their last gig.
Despite the disagreements of the time, the members of the 1981-1984 King Crimson maintained enough camaraderie and mutual respect to reunite in 1994 (adding second drummer Pat Mastellotto and Warr Guitarist Trey Gunn) with Belew continuing as the band's singer, guitarist and frontman. The six-piece King Crimson toured successfully and lasted until 1997, releasing the THRAK album and several live recordings. Belew remained in the slimmed down quartet version of King Crimson (minus Bruford and Levin) which played and recorded between 2000 and 2004, releasing The ConstruKction of Light and The Power to Believe (in additional to several live albums and EPs). After a four-year hiatus, the band returned to active work in 2008 as a five-piece (with the addition of Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison, and Levin returning to replace Gunn).
From 1997 until the present day, Belew has participated in several of the ProjeKcts, a series of instrumental and experimental King Crimson side projects active during band hiatuses, in which he has predominantly played electronic drums.
King Crimson has used Belew's studio at his home outside Mount Juliet, Tennessee, for rehearsals and recording since 2000.
Read more about this topic: Adrian Belew, Biography
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