King Crimson, red hair dye and a singing Jack Russell: the boisterous memoir of Jakko Jakszyk

Word In Your Ear

This is an extraordinary story on many levels – about the power and sanctuary of music, about what it took for bands to get noticed in the ‘70s, about how a teenager obsessed with King Crimson eventually joined the band and about the struggles of “a rabid Henry Cow fan trying to get on Top of the Pops”. Jakko Jakszyk is a fabulous storyteller, both in his memoir ‘Who’s the Boy With The Lovely Hair?’ and on this podcast with the two of us. Among the highlights …

… two things musicians need to know.

… why the divisive appeal of music and comedy is so similar.

… life in a band where “Stravinsky meets the Barron Knights”.

… “Who’ll be the singing Jack Russell?” Doing voice-overs as a piece of toast and a baked potato with a Yorkshire accent.

... the quaint Englishness of Soft Machine, Caravan and King Crimson and why they were like “a holiday resort no-one knew about”.

… why there are even more idiots in advertising than the music business.

… the rigours of the Melody Maker Folk Rock Contest, aged 17, judged by Tommy Vance, Bob Harris and Brian May of Queen.

… the militant wing of the Adrian Belew Fan Club.

… Dave Robinson’s sage advice after telling him he was “unfashionably heterosexual”.

... why Robert Fripp is more Miles Davis than Frank Zappa and the longest audition in history.

…the complications of the King Crimson reunion caused by one person who shall remain nameless – “though let’s call him Greg Lake”.

… “two screaming lead guitars and a trumpet, what could possibly go wrong?”

… and working with Pete Sinfield, Peter Hawkins, Sam Brown and Nigel Planer.

Order Jakko’s book here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lovely-Unlikely-Memoir-Jakko-Jakszyk/dp/1838491864

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