King Crimson will end when Robert Fripp decides to retire.
The 72-year-old guitarist is the only member of the band to have played in every line-up of the prog rock band since it was formed in the late 1960s until now, with the eight-piece group being fronted by Jakko Jakszyk.
Fripp is preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut LP ‘In the Court of the Crimson King’ – which is being reissued as a deluxe version – by performing 50-plus concerts all over the globe, but although the members have changed over the past five decades he insists King Crimson will cease to exist once he is done with performing.
Speaking at a media day attended by BANG Showbiz to announce King Crimson’s 50th anniversary shows, the musician was asked: "Can King Crimson be King Crimson without Robert Fripp?"
Which prompted the matter of fact reply from Fripp: "No."
The next question was: "So when you stop performing, is that the end of King Crimson as a band?"
Which Fripp answered with a straightforward: "Yes."
Despite insisting the legacy of King Crimson will end with him, the ‘Moonchild’ songwriter spilled that he did once consider replacing himself in the band with Genesis’ Steve Hackett back in 1974 when he decided he no longer wanted to tour and, instead, wanted to study the spiritual teachings of J.G. Bennett and G.I. Gurdjieff.
He revealed: "I was overwhelmed with the sheer terror and stupidity of the professional life in which I was involved. But I felt responsible to the other members of the band, the roadies and the music."
Explaining he talked to fellow co-founder, saxophonist Ian McDonald, about rejoining the outfit, he added: "My thinking was that this would give a lineage from the first King Crimson so that the projected next step in King Crimson would have authority. I then thought it would be relatively straightforward for King Crimson to get another guitarist, ideally Steve Hackett."
However, it never happened when Fripp was told by management that they were "not interested in King Crimson without Robert".
And Fripp insists break-ups and line-up changes is what keeps King Crimson going.
He said: "What are the recurrent characteristics of King Crimson? King Crimson regularly breaks up. Have you noticed that? This has to do with the nature of the creative process. There are points which you can anticipate when the process is likely to go off course or go wrong. And when you get to that point, to maintain the original or intended trajectory of that process, you need a redirection.
As well as the tour and reissue of ‘In the Court of the Crimson King’ a documentary about the legendary band, entitled ‘Cosmic F*Kc’, is coming in late 2019.
Directed by Toby Amies, the film includes archive footage and interviews with King Crimson members past and present about their unique music and influence on the rock genre.
Robert Fripp says King Crimson will end with him
