Adrian Belew

The guitarist who taught his instrument to roar, squeal and sing

Adrian Belew was born Robert Steven Belew and grew up in northern Kentucky, near Cincinnati. His first instrument was the drums, which he played in his high school marching band and early rock groups, but he taught himself guitar as a teenager after being inspired by the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. Through the early and mid-1970s he played in cover bands around Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, developing an unusual ear for sound effects and an instinct for turning the guitar into something that did not sound like a guitar.

His break came in 1977 when Frank Zappa saw him performing in a Nashville bar and later invited him to audition. Belew toured with Zappa's band, appeared in the concert film Baby Snakes and sang on Sheik Yerbouti. David Bowie noticed him at a Zappa show and hired him for the 1978 world tour documented on Stage, and he then played on Bowie's Lodger. Next came Talking Heads, where his wild solos became a key part of Remain in Light and the band's expanded touring lineup in 1980.

In 1981 Robert Fripp recruited him as singer, lyricist and second guitarist for a new King Crimson alongside Tony Levin and Bill Bruford. Discipline, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair created an interlocking, gamelan-like guitar language that remains hugely influential. At the same time he launched a solo career with Lone Rhino and Twang Bar King, formed the power-pop band The Bears, and played guitar synthesizer on Paul Simon's Graceland. In 1989 his song Oh Daddy became a modest pop hit.

Belew returned to King Crimson for THRAK in the mid-1990s and stayed through The ConstruKction of Light and The Power to Believe. He also served as musical director for Bowie's 1990 Sound+Vision tour and contributed to Nine Inch Nails records, including The Downward Spiral. Later projects included the Adrian Belew Power Trio, the band Gizmodrome with Stewart Copeland, and FLUX, an app of ever-changing music. In 2024 he formed BEAT with Steve Vai, Tony Levin and Danny Carey to perform the 1980s King Crimson repertoire.

The 10 greatest Adrian Belew solos

1. 1
   The Great Curve

   Talking Heads · solo by Adrian Belew · 1980
2. 2
   Elephant Talk

   King Crimson · solo by Adrian Belew · 1981
3. 3
   Frame by Frame

   King Crimson · solo by Robert Fripp · 1981
4. 4
   Thela Hun Ginjeet

   King Crimson · solo by Adrian Belew · 1981
5. 5
   Indiscipline

   King Crimson · solo by Adrian Belew · 1981
6. 6
   Dinosaur

   King Crimson · solo by Adrian Belew · 1995
7. 7
   Neal and Jack and Me

   King Crimson · solo by Adrian Belew · 1982
8. 8
   Boys Keep Swinging

   David Bowie · solo by Adrian Belew · 1979
9. 9
   Big Electric Cat

   Adrian Belew · solo by Adrian Belew · 1982
10. 10
    Three of a Perfect Pair

    King Crimson · solo by Adrian Belew · 1984

The sound

Belew treats the guitar as a sound-effects machine as much as a melodic instrument. Using whammy bars, volume swells, pitch-shifting pedals, slide and guitar synthesizers, he imitates elephants, seagulls, car horns and rhinos, then snaps back to tight, jittery rhythm parts. In King Crimson he developed interlocking patterns with Robert Fripp built on odd meters and polyrhythms. His solos are often short, chaotic and gleefully noisy, yet his songwriting has a strong Beatles-style pop melodicism that balances the experimentation.

• Fender Stratocaster (guitar) His classic workhorse, often heavily modified, used from the Zappa and Bowie years onward.
• Parker Fly Adrian Belew model (guitar) A signature lightweight guitar with onboard synth access and sustainer electronics.
• Roland GR-300 guitar synthesizer (effect) Key to his 1980s King Crimson textures and his parts on Graceland.
• DigiTech Whammy (effect) Pitch-shifting pedal behind many of his animal cries and dive-bomb effects.
• Volume pedal (effect) Used for swelling notes in without an attack, a core part of his sound-painting approach.

Covers

• Heroes, originally by David Bowie His live guitar gave the song a wilder edge on Bowie's 1978 tour.
• Station to Station, originally by David Bowie He recreated and expanded the song's train-like guitar noise on stage.
• Ziggy Stardust, originally by David Bowie He stepped into Mick Ronson's famous parts with his own twist.
• Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part II, originally by King Crimson His version of the 1970s Crimson classic added fresh noise and texture.
• Red, originally by King Crimson He brought his own snarl to Fripp's heavy instrumental from before his tenure.

Timeline

• 1949 Born Robert Steven Belew in Covington, Kentucky
• 1977 Discovered by Frank Zappa in Nashville and joins his band
• 1978 Tours the world with David Bowie
• 1980 Plays on Talking Heads' Remain in Light and joins their tour
• 1981 Joins King Crimson; Discipline released
• 1982 Releases solo debut Lone Rhino
• 1986 Plays guitar synthesizer on Paul Simon's Graceland
• 1990 Musical director of Bowie's Sound+Vision tour
• 1995 Double-trio King Crimson releases THRAK
• 2024 Forms BEAT with Steve Vai, Tony Levin and Danny Carey

Facts

1. His birth name is Robert Steven Belew.
2. He started out as a drummer before switching to guitar.
3. Frank Zappa first saw him playing in a Nashville bar.
4. He worked with Zappa, Bowie, Talking Heads and King Crimson within about four years.
5. He was King Crimson's lead singer and lyricist as well as a guitarist.
6. His guitar mimics an elephant on King Crimson's Elephant Talk.
7. He played guitar synthesizer on Paul Simon's Graceland.
8. He has contributed guitar to Nine Inch Nails recordings.
9. His app FLUX was designed to play music that is different every time.
10. He fronted The Bears, a pop-rock band formed in the mid-1980s.