When King Crimson mastermind Robert Fripp leaked curious details of BEAT in spring 2024, more than a few eyebrows were raised. The project celebrates King Crimson’s 80s albums Discipline (1981), Beat (1982) and Three Of A Perfect Pair (1984). It found Adrian Belew and Tony Levin reconnecting for a very special North American tour, with guitar god Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey. Prog caught up with Belew and Levin before just before the quartet gathered for their first rehearsal.
Think of King Crimson and the mind’s eye usually wanders to the band’s 1969 masterpiece In The Court Of The Crimson King, or maybe one of their 70s classics. However, the early 80s was a time when Fripp cosied up alongside Adrian Belew, a former Frank Zappa, David Bowie and Talking Heads cohort; Tony Levin, who had spent the 70s undertaking everything from jazz to pop; and Bill Bruford, originally part of their early 70s line-up. It was a time to reinvent the wheel.
Things were so fresh and new that, according to Belew, it wasn’t even supposed to be called King Crimson. “Originally, Robert called me when I was touring Europe with Talking Heads, and in that phone call, he said that he and Bill Bruford would like to start a band with me. They weren’t sure who the bass player would be, and it wasn’t called King Crimson. Robert wanted to call it Discipline.”
Eventually, a bass player was settled upon in the form of Tony Levin. Looking back, he says: “It was a fascinating collection of musicians back in 1980, or at the beginning of 1981 when we got together to rehearse.”
“I knew Robert’s playing very well,” he continues. “I played with him with Peter Gabriel and on Robert’s solo album, Exposure [1979]. I didn’t know Adrian and Bill; I wasn’t even an expert on the history of King Crimson. But
I got in this room in downtown New York to rehearse and see about maybe forming a band. I heard three extraordinary players who are not only great musicians, but when you think about it, each one is utterly unique on his instrument.”
Things might have been tentative at first, but natural chemistry took hold, leading to the realisation that while the new incarnation might be different from the 70s, the new collection of musicians needed to call themselves King Crimson.
“With Tony, now we had two Americans,” Belew recalls. “We started playing together; we holed up for about six weeks in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing to do but try to learn and write new stuff. Eventually Tony and I said, ‘We really don’t love the name Discipline.’ It implies something different; maybe it’s not a very friendly term in America.
“One day Robert walked in and said, ‘Whatever we call this band, it has the spirit of King Crimson.’ And I stood up and said, ‘Let’s call it King Crimson.’ Because that meant a lot to me, King Crimson; I knew all of their previous work and always felt that they were a band on a very high level. I would be proud to be in that band.”
Levin recalls feeling the same way, though he knew the bar would have to be raised. “I quickly saw that my work was cut out with this combination. I thought, ‘If I’m going to keep up with these guys, I have to not only give my best to the music but also explore my voice.’”
We were together so much in that incarnation… There wasn’t too much going off the rails. We just reacted to the music
Tony Levin
History shows that Fripp, Belew, Levin and Bruford did find their voice. The result was a trio of records that, while not on the tip of some prog fans’ tongues and completely out of place in the 80s, have found a steady following over the years.
“I think the original King Crimson stuff attracted a certain audience,” Belew says. “It was very English in its approach: the lyrics were very floral and they were large, epic arrangements. But our thing was completely different: very modern, new wave and African-influenced. And the singer wasn’t going to sing in that same style because I’m not English; it would be stupid.”
Levin laughs and adds, “We were together so much in that incarnation that we co-composed the pieces in a room together. There wasn’t too much going off the rails and experimentation; we just reacted to the music.”
It’s been 40 years since Three Of A Perfect Pair concluded King Crimson’s 80s era, and just as many years since the foursome played their final shows. Fripp has kept at it and Levin weaved his way in and out of Crimson, recalling those years as “a great place for research and development, and trying ideas that just would not work with any other band.”
Belew has kept busy too – but not so busy that he wasn’t interested in reliving the glory days of 80s Crimson. In 2019, he got the itch to celebrate his time alongside Fripp, leading him to call his old bandmate. “I realised that the 40th anniversary of King Crimson, when I joined it in 1981, was just a couple of years away. I felt like we should do something to celebrate it – even if we just did some shows, not even a whole tour.”
“I called Robert and asked what he thought. We talked for a good while, a good conversation. He said, ‘I’d like to think about it.’ The next day, he emailed me and gave me a list of reasons why he could not do it. He had a lot of plans at that time, so he declined. I called Bill Bruford, and he declined. So I knew I couldn’t do anything with the original four-piece band.”
Tony was my only choice as a bass player. With Tony, we had half the band; but we still needed a drummer
Adrian Belew
But Belew wasn’t done yet. If he couldn’t reunite 80s Crimson, he’d do the next best thing: call Steve Vai, Tony Levin and Danny Carey. “Since I was hot on the idea of King Crimson, I started brainstorming whether or not we could do it ourselves somehow. My first thought was, ‘We need someone who can cover Robert’s parts,’ which is pretty impossible to do.
“The only person I could think of was Steve Vai. I learned from an interview that Steve loved those records, and Robert in particular. I thought, ‘Maybe there’s a chance.’ I was in the grocery store parking lot, called Steve, and to my surprise, he was excited and confident that he could do it.”
Belew still needed to wait for Levin’s schedule to clear. “Things halted after Covid hit, and for two years nothing happened. But after five years, Tony was finally available. He was my only choice as a bass player. With Tony, we had half the band; but we still needed a drummer.”
Replacing Bruford – an idiosyncratic drummer with a penchant for a deep, jazzy pocket – would be no easy feat. “I knew Danny Carey should be the guy from the start,” Belew says. “Danny had told me he was a fan of those records and knew a ton about Bill’s playing, so I went to see him in Nashville. By then, I’d gotten the OK to ask him, and he just flipped out.
“He was so happy, but still needed to clear it with his family and Tool. Thankfully, Tool was taking some time away from touring and going into writing mode, and his family was very much into it, so there you go!”
The idea of any line-up besting Fripp, Belew, Levin and Bruford is hard to imagine. But Belew, Vai, Levin and Carey are pretty damn formidable. Still, 80s Crimson had inherent chemistry, and reimagining that won’t be easy – but Levin says they’re up to the challenge.
I’m surprised at how excited Steve is. He’s the one I was concerned about
Adrian Belew
“When good players get together, some kind of chemistry comes, for sure. I can’t say what it will feel like; I really can’t tell you until we get into a room. I’m experienced in that I’ve played in a lot of bands, but I’m wise enough to know I’ve got to hear this before judging. I can’t say, ‘This guy’s playing is going to be this way or that way.’ We’ll see.”
Belew says: “With this band, I’m not too worried about anything else from my seat, except that it’s a lot of songs to sing. So I’m already trying to physically get myself in peak shape, whatever that means. I’m working out and I’ve stopped having alcohol, and I started eating better. We’re gonna make sure this is 1,000 per cent.”
“Half of the excitement is not just playing this music,” Levin says, “I know it’ll be exciting and challenging. I expect to be kicked in the butt by the technical expertise of the three guys onstage with me – and that’s great.”
Taking their name from the original quartet’s second album, BEAT are gearing up for their North American shows, which open in San Jose, California on September 12 and are planned to conclude on November 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There’s talk of more, including European and UK dates, though nothing is finalised. But the big question on everyone’s mind right now is whether new music will manifest out of this thing.
“I believe that’s possible,” Belew says. “But there’s no way to know right now. I’m surprised at how excited Steve is. He’s the one I was concerned about because he does a lot of touring, but I think he’s starting to see that this is something he’d like to do more than less.
“Steve keeps telling me how beautiful the music is and what a challenge it is for him. But it’s one that he wants to do. And Danny’s in the same boat. Then there’s Tony and me, who would like to do this as much as possible.”
Are we just something that’s going to happen, some people will see it, and it’ll be done?
Adrian Belew
Levin notes: “One hopes. If I’ve learned anything about doing interviews, it’s not to predict because I’m wrong so often! So, one hopes; I hope there will be more stuff next year with this band, because it deserves that.”
For now, Belew, Vai, Levin and Carey are embarking on a journey to celebrate King Crimson’s 80s era as four musical titans doing something out of pure love and sharing utter joy through creation. New music – that’s far off,” Belew says.
“We first have to go out and see if we’re the real deal for the long term. Or are we just something that’s going to happen, some people will see it, and it’ll be done? I hope that doesn’t happen – I’d like to see us go around the world.”
