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King Crimson was formed in London in 1968. King Crimson has been influential both on the early 1970s progressive rock movement and numerous contemporary artists. The band has undergone numerous formations throughout its history, of which 22 musicians have been members. With lyrics for this song written by Peter Sinfield, the band consisted of Greg Lake – bass, lead vocals, Robert Fripp – guitar, and Michael Giles – drums. Attempting to expand their sound, the three recruited Ian McDonald on keyboards, reeds and woodwinds.

The contorted face on the cover of the album “In The Court Of The Crimson King” this is on would epitomise the opening track: “21st Century Schizoid Man”. A seven-minute cyclone of formidable psychedelic rock and free jazz, it positioned the group at the forefront of a fledgling scene termed “progressive rock”, which is characterised by extended instrumental sections and complex song structures.

The famous “In the Court of the Crimson King” album cover painted by Barry Godber portrays the ‘Schizoid Man,’ but the band didn’t plan it that way. Greg Lake explained:

I remember getting about halfway through the record and we realized we didn’t have an album cover. None of us knew anything at all about graphical art. But Pete (Sinfield) said, ‘I’ve got a friend who’s a graphic artist. He may be able to do something.’ So he said, ‘Okay, Pete. Give him a chance. See if he can come up with an idea for the album cover.’

And it just so happened on the day when he turned up we were recording ‘Schizoid Man.’ The door opened in the studio and there stood this young man. Pete called him over, said, ‘Come over, Barry, meet the band.’ As he walked over we realized he had a brown parcel under his arm wrapped up in string. After we’d said hello, he took a pair of scissors out of his pocket and he slit the string and tore off the paper parcel. And at our feet he dropped this album cover.

And, you know, the remarkable thing about it, apart from it is obviously a fantastic work of art, but we were actually staring into the face of Schizoid Man. The incredible thing was that we’d only recorded that song that very afternoon. There was no way that he could have possibly known or heard it, because we hadn’t heard it ourselves. And so it was an incredible coincidence.

A tragic development with that story was that young Barry, who did this, was only 21 years old at the time. And three days later he was walking down the street and he dropped dead of a heart attack.

Of course, we were stunned. We were absolutely stunned. And we just didn’t know what to do. But we loved the album cover, and we felt that it was a wonderful tribute to this very talented young man.

In August 1967, brothers Michael Giles (drums) and Peter Giles (bass), who had been professional musicians in various jobbing bands since their mid-teens in Dorset, England, advertised for a singing organist to join their new group. Fellow Dorset musician Robert Fripp – a guitarist who did not sing – responded and the trio formed the band Giles, Giles and Fripp. Finding themselves getting nowhere, despite an album deal with the Deram label, they invited ex-Fairport Convention vocalist Judy Dyble and her multi-instrumentalist boyfriend Ian McDonald to demo exploratory recordings. Lyricist Sinfield then came into the circle via McDonald, with whom he had already written.

By the end of the year, Judy Dyble and Peter Giles had gone their separate ways. Fripp then brought in college friend Greg Lake on bass and vocals, and in a basement under George’s Café in Fulham Palace Road, West London on January 13, 1969, King Crimson – named by Sinfield, riffing on aliases for Beelzebub – were formed.

As material gathered, McDonald’s uncle financed a van and tour equipment, and soon the band played their first live show at Change , a Newcastle club. Sinfield hopped on board to push faders up and down for the light show on a night that could have ended in a riot.

Sinfield recalls:

We got on stage,and they announced: ‘Here’s Giles, Giles and Fripp, who for some reason have changed their name to King Crimson. They’re not a soul band but we hope you enjoy them.’ They thought they’d booked King Curtis. That was a close shave! It was a terrific experience for us, and we went back home and carried on rehearsing.

“21st Century Schizoid Man” started to evolve as the band’s collective love of jazz, Fripp’s penchant for avant-classical music, McDonald’s army-band background, and Lake’s heavy rock leanings merged.

The lyrics of “21st Century Schizoid Man” consist chiefly of disconnected phrases which present a series of images. All three verses follow a set pattern in presenting these images. The first line of each verse presents two relatively vague images (e.g. “iron claw”, “death seed”). The second line is a single image, often more specific than the first two, and the third line approaches an actual sentence. The fourth and last line of each verse is the song’s title.

“Robert had already written these different sections,” says Giles “I started having fun suggesting things to join them up, such as the accelerando into the six-four riff. For the second ending I borrowed from something I’d heard by Duke Ellington.”

Lyrically, Sinfield was getting a feel for what the band’s music seemed to express.

It fitted with nastiness of the human condition and war and stuff,” he says. “I wanted the words to sound violent and aggressive. ‘Cat’s foot, iron claw…’ – it’s the world tearing itself to pieces.

The title itself was the last screw in the box. 

I remember leaning against the mantelpiece and I suddenly got it. ‘Schizoid’, that’s a good word. Twentieth… no, we’ll take it into the future – 21st Century Schizoid Man. I was damned pleased with that. Then Greg’s big bass riff became even more important, like a clarion call.

Relentless rehearsals coupled with explosive gigs at venues such as The Speakeasy – where Jimi Hendrix excitedly shook hands with Fripp and informed anyone within earshot of their greatness – earned Crimson a rep as one of the best live bands around, and “Schizoid Man” was their threatening tour de force. Within a few months they were in Wessex Studios in London recording their debut album, and on July 5, 1969, supported the Rolling Stones at their free concert in Hyde Park. Playing to a crowd estimated at 500,000, King Crimson opened with “21st Century Schizoid Man”.

Here’s a short clip from that concert:

Says Sinfield:

I say the words now and I’m shaking, I was doing the sound that day and very nervous. It had been played in clubs, and I’d seen it destroy other bands, who refused to go on after us. We didn’t speak much about it among ourselves beforehand. It didn’t matter if it was five-hundred thousand people or fifty people. We may have been a bit nervous and played things a bit too fast.

The reception the band received from the massive crowd was wild. That afternoon, Crimson were Kings.

“21st Century Schizoid Man” legacy in rock is incontestable. Fripp calls it “the first heavy metal song”. Ozzy Osbourne, Entombed and Voivod are among those who have recorded gnarly versions. “It’s a strong bit of work, from a time that was very creative, very free, no arguments,” says Michael Giles. “I’m amazed at how good it still sounds – and how edgy.”

The album reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 28 on the US Billboard 200, where it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album was reissued several times in the 1980s and 1990s using inferior copies of the master tapes. After the masters were located in 2003, a 40th-anniversary edition of the album was released in 2009 with new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes by Steven Wilson.

The album from which this song originated was named as one of Classic Rock magazine’s “50 Albums That Built Prog Rock”. In 2014, readers of Rhythm voted it the eighth greatest drumming album in the history of progressive rock. In 2015, Rolling Stone named “In The Court of the Crimson King” the second greatest progressive rock album of all time, behind Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”.

Partial writing credit is due to Jo Kendall/loudersound.com.