Adrian Belew

  • Covington, KY
    hometown
  • Progressive Rock
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  • 1977
    started
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About Adrian Belew


Although Adrian Belew has played with some of rock's biggest names over the years (Frank Zappa, David Bowie, the Talking Heads, King Crimson, etc.), he remains one of the most underrated and woefully overlooked guitarists of recent times. Like all great guitarists, Belew has his own recognizable style/sound (one that admittedly tends to be quirky and off-the-wall at times), and is an incredibly versatile player, as he's always found a way to make his signature style fit into a wide variety of musical genres: hard rock, funk, new wave, experimental, Beatlesque pop, and more. Born Robert Steven Belew on December 23, 1949, in Covington, KY, Belew's first instrument of interest was the drums, as he soon kept the backbeat in his high school's marching band. But not long after his discovery of the Beatles, Belew picked up the guitar, teaching himself how to play and to write original songs.

Spending the remainder of the '60s and early '70s honing his skills, Belew opted to change his first name to Adrian in 1975 (for the simple reason that it was a name he'd always admired), as he joined a Nashville, TN-based cover band, Sweetheart, the same year. The group performed in '40s-era suits and became a popular local attraction -- resulting in Frank Zappa checking out a show in 1977. With an opening for a guitarist in his touring band, Zappa invited Belew on the spot to come and audition for his band, which Belew eventually landed. It was during Zappa's lengthy 1978 U.S. tour (documented in the concert movie Baby Snakes) that David Bowie came to see a performance, which resulted in Belew being invited to join Bowie's touring band when the Zappa tour wrapped up. Once more, Belew accepted, touring the world alongside Bowie and appearing on his 1978 live recording, Stage, and 1979 studio effort, Lodger.

Once more, just as Belew's latest gig was about to wind down, he received an offer he couldn't refuse from another artist. Through guitarist Robert Fripp, Belew met renowned producer Brian Eno, who in turn introduced the guitarist to the Talking Heads, who were in the middle of recording their classic 1980 release Remain in Light. Belew was invited to lay down guitar for the songs, which led to his participation on the album's supporting tour (which a portion of the live compilation The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads showcased). Belew also contributed to the Talking Heads' offshoot project, the Tom Tom Club, appearing on their self-titled 1981 debut album, as well as their hit single "Genius of Love" (although he wasn't given a songwriting credit originally, it became known years later that Belew helped co-pen the tune with the others). It was during The Tom Tom Club recording sessions (in the Bahamas) that Belew also began work on his first solo album, issued in 1982 as Lone Rhino.

Predictably, it wasn't long before Belew was offered his next gig, this time with a newly reconstructed King Crimson. Belew, who handled lead vocal duties in addition to guitar, was joined by Crimson vets Robert Fripp (guitar) and Bill Bruford (drums), in addition to session ace Tony Levin (bass). With the group eschewing their previous prog rock leanings in favor of a more "modern" sound (akin to the Talking Heads), the '80s version of Crimson issued three outstanding albums: 1981's Discipline, 1982's Beat, and 1984's Three of a Perfect Pair (during which time Belew found the time to issue a second solo release, 1983's Twang Bar King). With Crimson on hiatus once more by the mid-'80s, Belew focused on further solo work (1986's Desire Caught by the Tail, 1989's Mr. Music Head), session work (most notably, Paul Simon's mega-hit Graceland), and also served as a member/producer of a new group, the Bears (1987's The Bears and 1988's Rise and Shine).

The '90s continued to see Belew keep a busy schedule, as he hooked up once more with his old pal David Bowie, who named the guitarist musical director for his massive 1990 Sound and Vision tour. Also during the decade, Belew issued several more solo releases (including 1990's Young Lions, 1992's Inner Revolution, 1994's Here, and 1996's Op Zop Too Wah, the latter two of which Belew played all the instruments), in addition to guesting on other artist's recordings (Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral and The Fragile), and producing others (Jars of Clay). After a near-ten-year hiatus, King Crimson reunited, resulting in the 1995 album THRAK and supporting tour. Belew has shown little signs of slowing down in the 21st century, as he continued to tour and record with Crimson (2000's ConstruKction of Light, 2003's The Power to Believe), issued a third recording with the Bears (2001's Car Caught Fire), and is hard at work on compiling an extensive box set of rarities from throughout his career, to be titled Dust. 2004 saw rehearsals with the newest King Crimson lineup, additional recordings by the Bears and the completion of 3 (!) solo albums to be released in 2005. The first and third of these (Side One and Side Three) have Primus bassist Les Claypool and Tool drummer Danny Carey lending a hand while Side Two is more of a completely solo affair, with just a couple guest spots. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi

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Music

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    • The Rail Song
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Photos

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News

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  • Adrian Belew
    Big Ears Fest Finalizes Lineup With Sufjan Stevens, Adrian Belew, Liturgy, More
    Paste
    Iva Bittova The Books Buke & Gass Calder Quartet Clogs Bryce Dessner Dirty Projectors Doveman The 802 Tour The Ex Ben Frost Gand Gang Dance Tim Hecker...
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  • Adrian Belew
    King Crimson's Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto Announce Second Annual Three of a Perfect Pair Music Camp
    www.jambands.com
    Former King Crimson members Adrian Belew (guitar), bassist Tony Levin (bass), and Pat Mastelotto (drums) will return to Full Moon Resort in Big Indian...
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  • Adrian Belew
    Adrian Belew to Join Nine Inch Nails
    www.jambands.com
    Noted prog-rock guitarist Adrian Belew will join Trent Reznor's revived Nine Inch Nails lineup. Despite repeated claims that he planned to retire the ...
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  • Adrian Belew
    Adrian Belew Quits Nine Inch Nails: "It Didn't Work"
    pitchfork.com
    Nine Inch Nails unveiled their grand plans for a massive North American tour this fall, as well as the release of the new NIN album Hesitation Marks. ...
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  • Adrian Belew
    Adrian Belew Announces Departure from Nine Inch Nails
    Paste
    Nine Inch Nails have been grabbing a lot of headlines in the past week with the release of their new single, "Came Back Haunted," the announcement of ...
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  • Adrian Belew
    Adrian Belew Leaves Nine Inch Nails
    www.rollingstone.com
    Guitarist Adrian Belew has apparently left Nine Inch Nails, writing on Facebook last night, "It didn't work." Belew elaborated on his decision to leav...
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  • Adrian Belew
    Adrian Belew Drops Out of Nine Inch Nails
    www.jambands.com
    It doesn't look like things are going too well for the newly reunited Nine Inch Nails. Just a couple of weeks after bassist Eric Avery dropped out of ...
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  • Adrian Belew
    Guitarist Adrian Belew Leaves Nine Inch Nails
    www.billboard.com
    Adrian Belew has announced that his collaboration with industrial rockers Nine Inch Nails "didn't work" and that he is leaving the band before they ta...
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  • Adrian Belew
    Adrian Belew Leaves Nine Inch Nails
    music.yahoo.com
    Related ContentView Photo Adrian Belew Leaves Nine Inch Nails Guitarist Adrian Belew has apparently left Nine Inch Nails, writing on Facebook last nig...
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Discography

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  • Raven Songs 101 (2009)
    Adrian Belew
    Raven Songs 101 (2009)
    Dpulse
  • Side Three (2006)
    Adrian Belew
    Side Three (2006)
    Sanctuary
  • Side Two (2005)
    Adrian Belew
    Side Two (2005)
    Sanctuary
  • Side One (2005)
    Adrian Belew
    Side One (2005)
    Sanctuary
  • Coming Attractions (2000)
    Adrian Belew
    Coming Attractions (2000)
    Thirsty Ear Recordings
  • Belew Prints: The Acoustic Adrian Belew, Vol. 2 (1998)
    Adrian Belew
    Belew Prints: The Acoustic Adrian Belew, Vol. 2 (1998)
    Pony Canyon Records
  • Op Zop Too Wah (1997)
    Adrian Belew
    Op Zop Too Wah (1997)
    Adrian Belew Presents
  • The Guitar as Ochestra: Experimental Guitar Series, Vol. 1 (1995)
    Adrian Belew
    The Guitar as Ochestra: Experimental Guitar Series, Vol. 1 (1995)
    Discipline Global Mobile
  • The Acoustic Adrian Belew (1995)
    Adrian Belew
    The Acoustic Adrian Belew (1995)
    Import
  • Here (1994)
    Adrian Belew
    Here (1994)
    Caroline
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