Quotes:
"Making a comeback is one of the most difficult things to do with dignity."
Greg Lake
| Quotes By: Greg Lake |
| Artist: Greg Lake |
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Followers:
Performed Songs By:
Worked With:
Carl Palmer,
Eddie Offord ,
Tristian Margetts ,
Michael Giles,
Mel Collins,
Keith Emerson,
Bill Bruford
Formal Connection With:
- Born: November 10, 1947, Bournemouth, Dorset, England
- Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
- Genres: Rock
- Instrument: Bass, Vocals, Guitar
- Representative Albums: "From the Beginning: Retrospective," "From the Underground: The Official Bootleg," "Nuclear Attack"
Biography
As a singer and instrumentalist, Greg Lake has had his greatest success and influence in the progressive rock outfit Emerson, Lake & Palmer and, before that, as a founding member of the original King Crimson. He has also been reasonably popular as a solo artist working in more of a hard-rock idiom.As a boy, growing up in a poverty stricken part of the seaside resort town of Bournemouth, he got his first guitar for his twelfth birthday, as a gift from his mother, and began taking lessons from a local teacher named Don Strike, one of whose other students was Robert Fripp, who became close friends with Lake. Around the time he was 12 years old, Lake also wrote a folk-style song that played a major part in his future, entitled "Lucky Man."
Lake learned to read music and also to play pieces by Paganini, among other classical composers, but his aspirations lay with emulating the sound of his favorite band of the era, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, and their lead guitarist, Hank B. Marvin. Lake passed through a succession of groups, including a local quartet called Unit Four, in which he played guitar and sang. He and Unit Four guitarist David Genes later formed the Time Checks, and, still later--around 1967--with another Unit Four member, John Dickinson, was a member of a band called the Shame, who cut a single in 1968. He also sang on a record by a band called the Shy Limbs.
In 1968, Lake succeeded Mick Taylor as a member of an outfit called the Gods, whose other members included future Uriah Heep founders Ken Hensley (keyboards, vocals) and Lee Kerslake (drums), and it was there that his songwriting first blossomed. He left the band just before they began to record, having been approached by his boyhood friend Robert Fripp to join the outfit that he was putting together out of a failed trio called Giles, Giles & Fripp--Lake joined the quintet (Fripp on lead guitar, Ian McDonald on keyboards, saxes, and flute, Michael Giles on drums, and Peter Sinfield as lyricist) as lead singer and bassist.
King Crimson proceeded to carve out a name for themselves unique in the history of rock music as the leading progressive rock band of their era. Their first album, In The Court of the Crimson King, became the standard for serious progressive rock albums. Lake, along with the others, was suddenly a star. That first line-up of the band only lasted a year--by December of 1969, Giles and McDonald were tired of touring and opted out, and Lake refused to continue working with the group, although he stayed around long enough to sing on their second album, In the Wake of Poseidon (1970).
At the suggestion of Tony Stratten-Smith, Lake was approached by keyboard player Keith Emerson, who was in the process of putting together a new group after three years with his current band, the Nice. The latter group's main fault was its lack of a real lead singer, and Emerson saw in Lake--whose voice had dominated In The Court of the Crimson King--the solution to that problem. The two eventually recruited drummer Carl Palmer and formed progressive rock's first supergroup, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, who were a success from their self-titled first album, released in 1970, which closed with Lake's old song "Lucky Man." The latter became one of the group's few successful singles, one of their rare attempts to compete on AM radio--it also turned Lake into one of the most familiar voices in progressive rock, rivaling such figures as the Moody Blues' Justin Hayward. Lake's production experience as a member of King Crimson (who had produced their own debut album) also served ELP in good stead, and his songwriting became the creative nucleus for the group's first three studio albums.
ELP dominated the charts and the field of progressive rock right up until 1977, by which time the entire genre of "art rock" was beginning to lose popularity. The stresses between the trio caused them to split up after a tour in 1979, and Lake embarked on a solo career. Lake organized a new band with ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore on lead guitar, Rory Gallagher alumnus Ted McKenna on drums, and ex-Joe Cocker/Gerry Rafferty keyboard player Tommy Eyre, and recorded Lake's first solo album, Greg Lake (1981).
The sound on that record was very different from ELP, as it was dominated by guitars, rather than keyboards, and featured Lake singing in a harder, more aggressive style. On tour he covered material going back to the King Crimson days, but he also regaled audiences with pumping versions of the new songs. A second album, Manoeuvers, followed in 1983, but by that time the creative and commercial bloom were both off of the rose, and Lake took his first break from music. He appeared in 1985 as the lead singer of Asia during that group's tour, but he didn't remain with the band.
In 1986, he reteamed with Emerson and drummer Cozy Powell as Emerson, Lake & Powell, and recorded an album for Mercury Records, which wass followed by a world tour. After a stint with ex-Asia member Geoff Downes and King Crimson drummer Michael Giles in a group called Ride The Tiger, Lake reteamed with Emerson and Palmer for a film that was never finished, which led to their first new album in 13 years, Black Moon (1992).
During the middle- and late-1990's, Lake has continued to work with Emerson and Palmer, while pursuing his solo work as well. The latter has included a 1994 tour of the United States. He had also done a considerable amount of charitable work on behalf of missing children, and his song "Daddy," written in response to one such case, which ended tragically, achieved national exposure as a theme for a television series devoted to the plight of missing children. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
| Discography: Greg Lake |
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| Greg Lake | |
|---|---|
 Greg Lake in concert, Llandudno, Wales, 2005
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gregory Stuart Lake |
| Born | 10 November 1947 Poole, Dorset, England |
| Genres | Progressive rock, Rock |
| Occupations | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass, Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | Manticore, Chrysalis |
| Associated acts | Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, Asia |
| Website | http://www.greglake.com/ |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Jazz Bass, Alembic Inc, Gibson Ripper, Wal bass | |
Greg Lake (born Gregory Stuart Lake, 10 November 1947, Poole, Dorset, England) is an English bass guitarist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer, best known as a founding member of King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Contents |
Biography
1960s: Early life, The Gods and King Crimson
Born in Poole, Dorset, England, Lake was interested in music at a young age, and wrote what would become one of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's biggest hits, "Lucky Man", while he was still at school. Greg joined a band called Teak And The Smokey who were all from Poole and had some success as a popular group in and around Dorset, also spending 6 months in Europe and Spain touring. In 1968, Lake was a member of a band called The Gods along with future members of Uriah Heep. Lake left the band in the summer of 1968 before they released their debut album.
Lake had an old school friend, Robert Fripp, who had recently moved to London. His group Giles, Giles, and Fripp were looking for a new direction after their debut album failed to garner sufficient critical attention. Fripp invited Lake to join the new group, to be named King Crimson, in November, 1968. Although both Fripp and Lake were primarily guitarists, Fripp said to Lake (concerning King Crimson) something to the effect of "If you don't play bass, it'll never get off the ground," so Lake switched to playing bass guitar.
For King Crimson's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, Lake also contributed as songwriter and singer. The album was originally to be produced by Tony Clarke who was then the producer for the Moody Blues. However, after the first day, Clarke walked out, as he had difficulty understanding what the band were trying to create. Lake assumed the role of producer. Although the album credits the whole band as producers, it was primarily Lake who produced it.[1]
King Crimson went on a North American tour with The Nice, who were on their farewell tour. It was after this tour in April 1970 that Lake left the band to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer along with Keith Emerson from The Nice on keyboards and Carl Palmer from Atomic Rooster and Crazy World of Arthur Brown on drums and percussion. Despite his official departure from King Crimson, Lake agreed to help with the completion of King Crimson's second album In the Wake of Poseidon.
1970s: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
ELP were hugely successful in the 1970s (with album sales totalling over thirty million), and significantly contributed to the evolution of progressive rock. Lake contributed to many of ELP's songs but was particularly noticeable for his guitar-oriented and soulful tunes such as "Lucky Man" (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), "The Sage" (Pictures at an Exhibition), "From the Beginning" (Trilogy), "Still... You Turn Me On" (Brain Salad Surgery) and "C'est la vie" (Works Volume I). Lake became popularly known for his UK Christmas number two single, "I Believe in Father Christmas" in 1975 which was later included on the ELP album Works Volume II.
In 1973, Lake founded Manticore Records and signed several very talented musicians such as Italy's PFM and Banco, and King Crimson / Emerson, Lake & Palmer lyricist Pete Sinfield. Having produced albums, on which he also played, for both King Crimson and ELP, Lake briefly produced albums for other artists, including Spontaneous Combustion (1972), Stray Dog (1973) and Keith Christmas (1974). His only other foray into production appears to be The Kings Singers (1987) & (2005). [2]
1980s: Asia and solo career
After the break-up of ELP, Lake toured briefly with the group Asia in 1983 as a temporary replacement for John Wetton, as well as releasing two solo albums and conducting a tour in the early 1980s. The albums were Greg Lake (1981) and Manoeuvres (1983), both of which featured ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore In 1986 he, Emerson and Cozy Powell released the album "Emerson, Lake and Powell" -- basically an ELP reunion with Powell replacing Palmer who was then drumming in the band Asia.
1990s: Emerson, Lake & Palmer again
Emerson, Lake & Palmer subsequently reunited in the early 1990s and played the progressive rock circuit, especially in outdoor summer concerts, and released two new studio albums. In 1998, the members of ELP had a rather acrimonious falling-out and Lake left the band.
2000s: Recent work and Greg Lake band
Keith Emerson's 2004 memoirs "Pictures of an Exhibitionist" give an unflattering portrait of Lake, and not surprisingly Lake has said that he will never reunite with ELP in the future[citation needed]. He has not been especially visible on the music scene since then, though he did tour as a member of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band in 2001. In late 2003 he played bass on The Who's "Real Good Looking Boy".
On 22 October 2005 Lake began touring the UK with a brand new "Greg Lake Band", to positive reviews. The band comprised David Arch on keyboards, Florian Opahle on guitar, Trevor Barry on bass, and Brett Morgan on drums. A double DVD was released by Warner Bros/Classic Pictures early 2006. The Greg Lake Band was ready for a new tour on September 2006 with rumours of a new album in the pipeline, although this tour was cancelled at the last minute due to "management troubles"[citation needed].
Lake performed "Karn Evil 9" with the Trans Siberian Orchestra at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island, New York on December 20, 2006, at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey on December 21, 2006 and at the Quicken Loans Arena, aka the Q in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 30, 2007 at the end of both the 3:00pm and 7:30pm shows.
Lake played "Lucky Man" with Jethro Tull at their show at the Royal Festival Hall in London on 28 May, 2008. In November 2008, U2 recorded Greg Lake's 'I Believe in Father Christmas' to mark the launch of (RED)Wire [1].
In 2009, Lake performed on the song "Nutrocker" on Trans-Siberian Orchestra's album Night Castle.
Discography
The Shame Singles
- Don't Go Away Little Girl/Dreams Don't Bother Me (1967)
Shy Limbs Singles
- Reputation / Love (1968)
King Crimson Studio Albums
- In the Court of the Crimson King (October 1969); US #28 UK #3 Gold
- In the Wake of Poseidon (May 1970); US #31 UK #4
- Epitaph (1997, recorded 1969)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer Studio Albums
| Year | Title | Billboard album 200[3] | UK Top 100[4] | RIAA[5] | BPI[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Emerson, Lake & Palmer | 18 | 4 | Gold | - |
| 1971 | Tarkus | 9 | 1 | Gold | - |
| 1972 | Trilogy | 5 | 2 | Gold | - |
| 1973 | Brain Salad Surgery | 11 | 2 | Gold | Gold |
| 1977 | Works, Vol. 1 | 12 | 9 | Gold | Gold |
| 1977 | Works, Vol. 2 | 37 | 20 | Gold | - |
| 1978 | Love Beach | 55 | 48 | Gold | Silver |
| 1992 | Black Moon | 78 | - | - | - |
| 1994 | In the Hot Seat | - | - | - | - |
Emerson, Lake & Palmer Live albums
| Year | Title | Billboard album 200[3] | UK Top 100[4] | RIAA[5] | BPI[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Pictures at an Exhibition | 10 | 3 | Gold | Silver |
| 1974 | Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends... Ladies and Gentlemen, Emerson, Lake & Palmer | 4 | 5 | Gold | - |
| 1979 | In Concert | 73 | - | - | - |
| 1993 | Live at the Royal Albert Hall | - | - | - | - |
| 1993 | Works Live | - | - | - | - |
| 1997 | Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 | - | - | - | - |
| 1997 | Live in Poland | - | - | - | - |
| 1997 | King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Greatest Hits Live | - | - | - | - |
| 1998 | Then & Now | - | - | - | - |
| 2001 | The Original Bootleg Series from the Manticore Vaults: Volume One | - | - | - | - |
| 2001 | The Original Bootleg Series from the Manticore Vaults: Volume Two | - | - | - | - |
| 2002 | The Original Bootleg Series from the Manticore Vaults: Volume Three | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | The Original Bootleg Series from the Manticore Vaults: Volume Four | - | - | - | - |
Solo discography
Albums
- 1981 Greg Lake US #62; UK #62
- 1983 Manoeuvres
- 1995 King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Greg Lake In Concert
- 1997 The Greg Lake Retrospective: From The Beginning
- 1998 From The Underground: The Official Bootleg
- 2000 Live
- 2002 Nuclear Attack
- 2007 Greg Lake (Compilation)
References
- Forrester, George, Martyn Hanson and Frank Askew. Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Show That Never Ends, A Musical Biography. (2001) Helter Skelter Publishing ISBN 1-900924-17-X.
External links
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Mentioned in
- Alive & Acoustic (1999 Album by Various Artists)
- The Best of Progressive Rock [Center Stage] (1999 Album by Various Artists)
- Greg Lake: Welcome Backstage (Music Film)
- From the Underground: The Official Bootleg (1998 Album by Greg Lake)
- Legends of Rock: Progressive Rockers (1999 Album by Various Artists)
- Legends of Rock: Classic Rock Heroes (1999 Album by Various Artists)
- The Time-Life Treasury of Christmas: Holiday Memories (2002 Album by Various Artists)
- Triad (1974 Album by Spontaneous Combustion)
- Ringo and His New All-Starr Band (2002 Music Film)
- Greg Lake (1981 Album by Greg Lake)
- Manoeuvres (1983 Album by Greg Lake)
- The Manticore Special (1998 Album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
- Welcome Backstage (2005 Album by Greg Lake)
- Triad/Spontaneous Combustion (1997 Album by Spontaneous Combustion)
