King Crimson have been a band for over 50 years, but it hasn’t always run smoothly. That’s the takeaway from the trailer for Toby Amies’ upcoming documentary about the band, In the Court of the Crimson King.
Taking its name from the group’s 1969 debut of the same name, In the Court of the Crimson King delves into the trailblazing progressive rock band’s chaotic history. “This is the first King Crimson where there’s not at least one member in the band that actively resents my presence,” founding guitarist (and longest-lasting member) Robert Fripp says in the trailer. “Which is astonishing.”
What follows is a montage of various members recalling that same resentment. Saxophonist Mel Collins admits, “Some of us went through hell.” Former guitarist Adrian Belew remembers, “When I came back from making some of that music, my hair had fallen out.”
These sound bites could be the making of a top-tier dramatic rock doc, but the official description for In the Court of the Crimson King promises viewers that there’s a comic twinge to all this darkness. “What began as a traditional documentary about the legendary band King Crimson as it turned 50, mutated into an exploration of time, death, family, and the transcendent power of music to change lives; but with jokes,” it reads.
Who said prog bands were pretentious?
Watch the trailer for In the Court of the Crimson King below. The film will premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March.
In between irritating his bandmates, Fripp dabbles in making seductive cover videos with his wife, Toyah Wilcox. Revisit the best of the duo’s “Sunday Lunch” performances, including a rendition of The Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs” and Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself.”
