Artist News Obituaries

Greg Lake 1947-2016

By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 9 December 2016

Greg Lake, best known as a member of King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, has died, it was announced via his website yesterday. He was 69.

In a statement, his manager Stewart Young said: “Yesterday, 7 Dec, I lost my best friend to a long and stubborn battle with cancer. Greg Lake will stay in my heart forever, as he has always been. His family would be grateful for privacy during this time of their grief”.

Lake’s death follows that of his ELP bandmate Keith Emerson, who passed away in March this year.

Born in Dorset in 1947, Lake first rose to prominence as the original frontman of King Crimson, appearing on the band’s first two albums, 1969’s ‘In The Court Of The Crimson King’ and 1970’s ‘In The Wake Of Poseidon’. The same year as the second album came out, Lake left to form a new band with Emerson, whom the former had met when the latter’s band The Nice supported King Crimson a year earlier.

Drafting in Atomic Rooster drummer Carl Palmer, they formed Emerson, Lake & Palmer, building a sound that took in rock, classical and electronic influences – leading to them becoming one of the defining acts in prog rock. Their career was kickstarted by a well-received performance at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970. They signed to Atlantic Records and released seven albums before splitting in 1979.

Lake and Emerson continued to work together in various capacities, reuniting with Palmer a number of times – most recently for their 40th anniversary. Lake also enjoyed a solo career, which will possibly be best remembered for his 1975 Christmas song ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’, which remains a staple of the festive season.

Greg Lake is survived by his wife Regina and their daughter Natasha.