Peter Sinfield

Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter.

He is best known as a co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson.

Their debut album In the Court of the Crimson King is considered one of the first and most influential progressive rock albums ever released.

Sinfield's lyrics are known for their surreal imagery, often involving common fantasy concepts, nature, or the sea.

They often also deal with emotional concepts and, sometimes, storyline concepts.

Later in his career, he adapted his songwriting to better suit pop music, and wrote a number of successful songs for artists such as Celine Dion, Cher, Cliff Richard, Leo Sayer, Five Star, and Bucks Fizz.

To compete with his art school friends, Sinfield began learning to play the guitar, and write poetry in the mid 1960s, and made a living on market stalls selling handmade kites, lampshades, paintings and customised clothing.

He spent a number of years drifting around Morocco and Spain before returning to England.

Sometime in 1967, he formed The Creation, a band he said he envisioned as a cross between Donovan and The Who.

One of the members, Ian McDonald, convinced Sinfield to switch from singer/guitarist to lyricist.

In 1968, Ian McDonald joined Giles, Giles and Fripp, a progressive pop trio consisting of Michael Giles, Peter Giles, and Robert Fripp, who were looking to do more with music than their three-man line-up could manage.

McDonald let the others know that he was already working with someone who could write lyrics.

In their primordial form, Giles, Giles & Fripp, augmented by McDonald and ex-Fairport Convention vocalist Judy Dyble, recorded an early version of the McDonald-Sinfield song "I Talk to the Wind", which later became part of King Crimson's repertoire.

Peter Giles left the group at about this time, to be replaced by Greg Lake, and Sinfield joined around the same time.

In his own words, "I became their pet hippie, because I could tell them where to go to buy the funny clothes that they saw everyone wearing".

Sinfield also came up with the name King Crimson.

Sinfield loved working with the band and, in addition to writing the phantasmagorical lyrics that came to be part of King Crimson's trademark, he also ran the group's light-show at their concerts, and offered advice on artwork, album design, and other details of the band's releases.

Sinfield's performance role in the band was limited to occasionally playing EMS VCS 3 synthesizer.

Fripp became involved with other projects (most notably the Centipede orchestra), which left Sinfield with much of the responsibility for the final version and design of the album, including the uniquely ornate jacket.

The relationship between Sinfield and Fripp became increasingly strained as the band progressed.

On their fourth album, Islands, Sinfield began exploring new lyrical territory, with more sexual imagery juxtaposed with the languidly surreal title track.

On 1 January 1972, following a tour of the United States, Fripp told Sinfield he could no longer work with him and asked him to leave the group.

In 1972, Sinfield, associated with E.G. Records, which represented King Crimson and Roxy Music, was producing Roxy Music's debut album and their hit single "Virginia Plain".

It was during this time that he first decided to venture into recording a solo album.

In 1973, he wrote English lyrics for the Italian group Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) and produced their first album for ELP's Manticore Records, titled 'Photos of Ghosts', as well as 'The World Became the World'

In 1973, Sinfield formed a band provisionally called A Bowl of Soup, featuring Phil Jump on keyboards, Richard Brunton on guitar, Allan "Min" Mennie on drums, Steve Dolan on bass, and Sinfield himself on vocals, guitar, and synthesizer.

They were booked to record an album at Command Studios, which eventually became known as Still.

Despite being initially credited to A Bowl of Soup, Still ended up being released as a Pete Sinfield solo album.

It featured contributions from various former (Greg Lake, Mel Collins, Ian Wallace) and future (John Wetton) members of King Crimson.

During the production of Still, Sinfield was approached by Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) for his lyricist skills.

Greg Lake specifically sought his help with lyrics, leading Sinfield to say, "Greg called me. 'I need help with the lyrics.' And, boy, did he need help."

In 2005, Sinfield was referred to as a "prog rock hero" in Q magazine for his lyrical work and influence in the music industry.

Sinfield was born at Fulham, London, to mixed English-Irish ancestry and a bohemian activist mother Deidre (also known as Joey or Daphne).

He seldom had contact with his father Ian.

Up until the age of eight, he was raised largely by his mother's German housekeeper Maria Wallenda, a high wire walker from the circus act the Flying Wallendas, after which he was sent to Danes Hill School in Oxshott.

It was there that Sinfield discovered a love of words and their uses and meanings, with the guidance of his tutor John Mawson.

He came to devour books of all kinds, especially poetry.

He later attended Ranelagh Grammar School in Bracknell, Berkshire.

He left school at sixteen and worked briefly as a travel agent, believing that this would "allow him to see the world".

Sinfield then went on to work for a computer company for six years, travelling around Europe when he could and hanging around with friends from the Chelsea School of Art.