Peter Sinfield, King Crimson’s original roadie, lyricist, lights operator and live sound engineer passed away yesterday on the 14th of November 2024 aged 80.
Sinfield was responsible for naming the group, finding their first rehearsal space in the basement of the cafe on the Fulham Palace Road, and perhaps most significantly sourcing the artwork by his friend Barry Godber gracing the cover of King Crimson’s 1969 debut album, In The Court Of The Crimson King.
Sinfield, who entered the Crimson court through his friendship with Ian McDonald, initially contributed lyrics to I Talk To The Wind and Under The Sky, recorded by Giles, Giles and Fripp in 1968.
From January 1969 until December 1971 he provided the group’s lyrics and took on the role of art director commissioning the covers of the albums Court, In The Wake Of Poseidon, Lizard and Islands, which he also co-produced with Robert Fripp.
During 1970 he also collaborated with Ian McDonald providing lyrics for the Birdman Suite for the self-titled album by McDonald & Giles.
After parting company with Robert Fripp in 1972 EG Management nudged Sinfield into production work and, in the summer of 1972, he helped guide Roxy Music’s debut album to fruition.
He provided lyrics and production for Photos Of Ghosts (1973) and The World Became The World (1974) for Italian group PFM, who were signed to ELP’s Manticore label.
Following the release of his only post-Crimson solo album Still (1973), in 1974 he published a collection of poetry and lyrics, Under The Sky, which has since become a highly sought-after collectors’ item.
Sinfield’s association with Greg Lake continued in ELP, with Sinfield providing lyrics for Brain Salad Surgery (1973), Works, Volumes I & II (1977), and Love Beach (1978). During the ’80s and the ’90s, he was responsible for co-writing highly successful hit singles for artists such as Cher, Bucks Fizz, Five Star, Cliff Richard, Celine Dion as well as the words to Greg Lake's perennial hit I Believe In Father Christmas.
Sinfield has contributed lyrics to solo projects by David Cross, John Wetton and, perhaps most notably, Ian McDonald’s debut solo album Drivers Eyes (1999). He also provided revised lyrics for Jakko Jaszyk’s rearranged cover of King Crimson’s Pictures Of A City on Jakszyk’s solo album The Bruised Romantic Glee Club (2007). Recast with sitar-like guitars, tabla and vocals from Pandit Dinesh, it was retitled Pictures Of An Indian City. Sinfield took part in 1997’s Epitaph playback and the Steven Wilson/King Crimson playback at AIR Studios in 2009.
In 2014, Fripp invited Sinfield to provide an updated take on the lyrics of 21st Century Schizoid Man, renewing their partnership, albeit briefly and at a distance, in line with Fripp’s mission to have the music, and in this instance, the lyrics reimagined for the new incarnation of King Crimson. A keen cook and gardener, living on the Suffolk coast in the town of Aldeburgh, famed for its international music festival, Peter, had been suffering from declining health for several years.
