Sunday was yet another normal day in the Willcox/Fripp household, as King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and post-punk's very own Toyah Willcox once again took to YouTube to delight the nation. Yes, the pair's Sunday Lockdown Lunch performance was back, for the 845th week in a row.
This time, the boisterous couple were joined by a mystery figure dressed as some kind of weird, gold-faced baphomet/gimp hybrid on second guitar, before proceeding to put a somewhat delirious spin on Iron Maiden's 1983 smash Number Of The Beast. There is a wind machine, and Willcox appears to be wearing BBQ gloves.
There are also some carrots.
The mystery third figure appears to be known as "Sidney Jake", who also starred in last week's rendition of ZZ Top's Gimme All Your Lovin'. But who is he? Does he live with the Fripp-Willcox's? Is that his own guitar? What do those tattoos mean? Doesn't it get hot in that suit? We could explore all these question, and more, but we simply can't be bothered.
One day this will all be over.
"I’m blown away by the original guitarists on these tracks," Fripp told Rolling Stone last month, referring to the songs the duo have covered. "Phenomenal development and playing primarily since the late Seventies and early Eighties, Van Halen onwards. Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, the Metallica boys…
"The originators of the riffs are phenomenal players. I go back, listen to the original versions on record, see live performances, look at different interpretations and guitar covers on YouTube. Then I have to honour the spirit of the music while making it my own."
Recently, the duo have covered Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze, Motorhead's Ace Of Spades, Alice Cooper’s Poison and Motley Crue’s Girls Girls Girls.