Prog-rock legend Greg Lake dies
GREG Lake, a pioneer of progressive rock who co-founded King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, has died aged 69.
The singer’s manager Stewart Young said in a statement that Lake died on Wednesday after ‘a long and stubborn battle with cancer’.
Lake was widely known for I Believe In Father Christmas, which reached number two in the charts in 1975.
Lake, born in Poole, Dorset, in 1947, founded King Crimson with guitarist Robert Fripp in 1968. The band pioneered the sprawling genre that became known as progressive rock.
The singer went on to form ELP with keyboardist Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer. With Lake on vocals and bass, ELP impressed crowds at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, in a line-up that included Jimi Hendrix and The Who.
The band released six platinumselling LPs all characterised by epic songs, classical influence and ornate imagery.
They toured with elaborate light shows and theatrical staging.
Writing on his website, Palmer said it was ‘with great sadness that I must now say goodbye to my friend and fellow bandmate, Greg Lake’.
The drummer said Emerson’s death in March made Lake’s passing ‘particularly hard’. Emerson had shot himself in the head in Los Angeles.
Palmer said: ‘As Greg sang at the end of Pictures At An Exhibition, “death is life”. His music can now live in the hearts of all who loved him.’
He added: ‘Greg’s soaring voice and skill as a musician will be remembered by all who knew his music and recordings made with ELP and King Crimson.
‘I have fond memories of those great years we had in the 1970s and many memorable shows we performed together.’