Jakko Jakszyk

Jakko Jakszyk (pronounced ‘Jack-Check’) has been lead singer and 2nd guitarist for the legendary King Crimson for the past 6 years. 

Jakko has just written his autobiography entitled ‘Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair?’

This is a book about origins, identity and who we become. It’s about a kid who found solace in music when the very sense of who he was left him floundering. It is about how his journey to discover his family allowed him to reflect on who he could have been had he not been given away at birth.

‘Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair?’ is a tale about discovering, processing and making peace with who you are, and ultimately asking: “How much of us is nature and how much is nurture?” The book is published as a 400 page hardback, including 48 pages of photographs documenting Jakko’s life and career.

Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair? is, at first glance, a traditional rock’n’roll memoir, charting Jakko’s long and varied musical career, packed with eyebrow-raising and hilarious anecdotes about his encounters with everyone from Michael Jackson, Kate Bush, Cliff Richard and Gene Simmons, to Uri Geller, Jack Charlton, Audrey Hepburn, the Dalai Lama and crossing swords with Millwall Football Club’s dodgy director Reg Burr.

The book was published after King Crimson completed a 50-date tour across Europe, and the Americas celebrating the groups 50th anniversary.

Taking in shows at the 10,000-capacity ancient Arena Di Verona, Rock In Rio, The Greek Theatre in LA, Radio City Music Hall in New York and 3 nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall. 

An accomplished guitarist he had stints with Level 42, The Kinks, Tom Robinson and has played on 100’s of records covering everything from pop to the avant gard. 

In 2016 he was awarded the Chris Squire ‘Virtuoso’ award.

At the international NAMM show in California this January he launched his signature model guitar made by leading guitar manufacturer PRS.

In 1996 BBC Radio 3 commissioned the award-nominated autobiographical, “The Road To Ballina”, and in 2014 Radio 3 aired “Dear Mr.Eliot”, his musical drama about TS Eliot meeting Groucho Marx that he co-wrote and performed with Sir Lenny Henry. 

An experienced producer in his own right, Jakszyk has recently worked on Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson’s UK Top 20 album, ‘Homo Erraticus’, as well as re-mixing classic albums by Emerson, Lake and Palmer (Brain Salad Surgery & Trilogy) King Crimson (Thrak), The Moody Blues (In Search Of The Lost Chord) & Jethro Tull for new stereo and 5.1 surround sound editions.