Bassist Boz Burrell: 1 August 1946 - 21 September 2006

When I was writing my biography of King Crimson back in 1999, I’d been pleasantly surprised by how many of the ex-members were keen to talk to me about their time with the band. Even the couple who at first were reluctant eventually agreed to talk. The one person who declined to talk was Boz Burrell.

He was always polite when I rang him at his home. Sometimes his wife would answer and she’d say “Oh hang on, he’s just out playing some golf. I’ll just go and get him.” My head would immediately fill with the image of Boz in those Pringle sweaters and the ludicrous slacks. It somehow didn’t fit the image of the hard-drinking, hard-rocking blues and jazz loving singer who’d joined Crimson as a brief stopping point on his way to global success with Bad Company.

I think I spoke to him three times in total. On each occasion he’d politely enquire how the book was progressing. Sometimes I’d tell a little of what someone had said, hoping it would spur him into a response, but Boz was too seasoned a pro to be caught like that. Instead he would offer neutral comments: “Well, it might have been like that but, you know I can’t really remember,” was about as far as he would be drawn.

Only once or twice did he offer an opinion, but it was strictly off the record and most definitely non-attributable. He always struck me as affable and courteous and I felt sure that if I kept up with the calls he would have relented and talked on the record.

Everyone from Crimson who had an association with Boz that I talked to – Dik Fraser, Robert Fripp, Peter Sinfield, Mel Collins, and Ian Wallace – all had good things to say about him. Both Mel and Ian were particularly defensive about their ex-band mate, feeling he’d been unfairly maligned by certain sections of the Crimson fanbase.

It wasn’t until the release of material through the King Crimson Collectors Club, and more recently though DGMLive, that the reputation of the “Boz-era KC” was rehabilitated,  from being dismissed as a mere jam-band, and now exonerated as a group with its own distinctive identity. Certainly my own opinion of the group received a 360° turn-around after hearing the first four gigs the band played at the Zoom Club in April of 1971.

Article Author: Sid Smith

Sid Smith is a freelance writer from the North-east of England. He’s written sleeve notes for albums on major and independent record labels as well as contributing articles and reviews for national and local press in the UK. …

Visit Sid Smith's author page — Sid Smith's Blog