| Jay Kay | |
|---|---|
Jay Kay at the 2007 Gumball 3000 rally |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 30 December 1969 |
| Origin | Stretford, Greater Manchester, England |
| Genres | Acid jazz, funk, disco, blue-eyed soul, electronica |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Associated acts | Jamiroquai |
Jason "Jay Kay" Luís Cheetham[1] (born 30 December 1969),[2] is a Grammy Award-winning English musician, best known as the lead singer of the band Jamiroquai.
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Born in Stretford, Manchester, England, Kay formed Jamiroquai with members Toby Smith (keyboards), Stuart Zender (bass), Nick Van Gelder (drums) and Wallis Buchanan (didgeridoo) together with guest appearances by Gavin Dodds (guitar), Maurizio Ravelico (percussion) and Johnny Thirkell (horns) amongst others, both on the band's debut album and on their first tour.
Jamiroquai has sold over thirty million albums, and has spent a collective 162 weeks on the UK singles chart between 1992 and 2006 with Kay's personal wealth said to be around £40 million.[3] He appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List 2004 at joint-950th. The Sunday Times Rich List 2008 has him tied for #1,794, with £40 million.
After the huge success of Jamiroquai's first single, When You Gonna Learn, a US$1.9 million, eight album deal was signed with Sony Music Entertainment. The band's first album was Emergency on Planet Earth. The relationship with Sony ended in 2007.[4]
The band's third album, Travelling Without Moving, generated international attention with the ground breaking video of Virtual Insanity which earned Jamiroquai four MTV Video Music Awards. Since then, their fourth album, Synkronized, has done just as well; it was recorded in Kay's home studio located in the garden of his 500-year-old, 11-bedroom Buckinghamshire mansion.
Kay has previously stated that he would like his band to continue writing music for another 15–20 years. However it was reported in February 2007 that Kay had wanted to quit music.[4] This was denied on Jamiroquai's official website the day after.
Kay is well known for his array of elaborate hats and headgear. When appearing professionally (in concerts, interviews etc.) he has been referred to as "the mad hatter" for his love of headgear.[5] It is said that he has over 50 different hats that he wears at concerts and in public.[6] He has stated publicly that some of them were made by his own mother.
Kay's most recognizable headgear is his mirrored "feather headdress" seen on the cover of High Times: Singles 1992–2006.
Kay appeared in an episode of the BBC series The Naked Chef alongside chef Jamie Oliver. He has also performed on the series Strictly Come Dancing singing Canned Heat. He made multiple appearances on Top Gear and for a time held the record for the fastest celebrity lap in the Chevrolet Lacetti from more than 50 other celebrity drivers.
The day before Jamiroquai performed their new single, White Knuckle Ride, on The X Factor on 31 October 2010, Kay was quoted by The Sun as saying of the show's judges Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue: "What are they going to tell me about fucking music? ... When have you ever done anything? You're useless. The pair of you. I mean you look great and I'd like to fucking shag you but that's all." During his performance on the show, the pair talked continuously and refused to applaud at the end. Notably, neither of the other two judges stood up either.[7]
In 2001, Kay was charged with assaulting a photographer and damaging his camera outside a nightclub. Kay pleaded not guilty and the charges were later dropped.[8] On 12 September 2006, Kay was cautioned by police over an incident outside a London nightclub. He allegedly assaulted two photographers.[9]
Kay's mother Karen Kay[2] is a former cabaret singer and television personality. After Kay's identical twin, David, died some weeks after they were born[1], Karen brought Kay up largely alone, which gave him "an itinerant childhood, half of it living in 'rural Suffolk and rural Devon’", according to his 2010 The Daily Telegraph interview [2] and his 1999/1994 television interviews [3]. It's stated in the 1997 Lancashire Evening Telegraph article that Kay "moved with his mother and step-father Mervyn Kay to Manchester as a youngster."[4] James Royal, often misidentified as Kay's stepfather, is Karen Kay's former manager whom she had a relationship with some time during Kay's childhood years. Royal had stated in his 2002 interview in News of the World about 13-year-old Kay's six-month stay in Thailand that he never married Karen Kay, but "still regards" Kay as his "stepson".[5]
Jay Kay is Jewish and attended Jews' Free School in London.[10]
Kay reveals in his 2010 The Sunday Times interview that his biological father is Portuguese.[11] Kay met his biological father Luís Saraiva, a former professional guitarist, in 2001 when Kay was 32 years old. On 26 May in 2006, Saraiva appeared in a two-minute backstage interview with an interviewer from Portuguese television station RTP1 at the 2006 Rock in Rio concert where Jamiroquai made its appearance. The interviewer erroneously referred Luís Saraiva as Luís Silveira during the interview.
From 1998 to 2001, Kay dated Denise Van Outen. They were engaged and reported to be on the verge of marriage,[12] but split up in 2001; Jamiroquai's album A Funk Odyssey is mostly about their breakup.
In a 2010 interview, Kay indicated that at one time he had a "substantial" cocaine habit. He has however been free of drugs since 2003.[13]
Kay continues to support the Burma Campaign UK and the need for democracy in Burma. He is also a patron of the Captive Animals Protection Society, a charity campaigning for an end to the use of animals in circuses, zoos and exotic pet trade. He has spoken out against animal exploitation for entertainment.[14]
Kay has a strong interest in exotic cars and owns over 30 luxury cars, mainly sports cars. He has frequently being accused of environmental hypocrisy over this, as his early lyrics espoused a green, ecological stance. His love of motors was expressed with the release of the album Travelling Without Moving. The album's cover featured an adaptation of the "Buffalo Man" logo and the Ferrari crest, which probably earned him his recent visit to Maranello and a close look at the new Ferrari 458 Spider.[15] Three of his cars appeared in the video for the song Cosmic Girl. In total he has 37 vehicles including what he calls "staff cars".[16]
A combination of cars and music is evident in the song Black Devil Car on the album Dynamite which is a tribute to his black Ferrari Enzo. The Enzo suffered damage to the windows after an altercation with hotel chef Aaron Billington at the Brudenell Hotel in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.[17]
In occasion of his 39th birthday, he admitted he has become a Porsche fan. In the last years he has bought a black 356 Speedster, a blue 911 Carrera RS, and a 911 GT3 RS in orange livery. Porsche Carrera RS of 1973 has been used in the clip of "White Knuckle Ride", one of the last singles of the band, included in their last album.
Kay's love of fast cars has occasionally landed him in legal trouble. In May 1998, Kay was caught driving at 111 mph (179 km/h) and his licence was suspended for 42 days. He said in an interview: "I should count myself lucky. I've clocked up 175 mph on a public road. If I'd been caught doing that, it would have been a prison sentence." He appeared in court in Scotland to face charges for speeding after being clocked at 105 mph (169 km/h) in a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, on 26 February 2004. The speed limit for the road was 70 mph (110 km/h). He was later banned from driving for six months.
Kay participated in the 2007 Gumball 3000 rally as part of Team Adidas in a brand new Maserati Quattroporte. In 2010 he took part in the Mille Miglia in his Maserati A6G/54.
He holds the record on the BBC show Top Gear for the fastest lap in the (now retired) Chevrolet Lacetti on the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment. His time of 1:45.83 was four-hundredths of a second ahead of Kevin McCloud, one-tenth of a second ahead of Brian Johnson, lead singer of the rock band AC/DC, and one tenth of a second above then-leader, Simon Cowell. He was invited back as Cowell had been "on the top for long enough".
Kay also likes motorcycles and was at the Ace Cafe to see Charley Boorman off for his television series By Any Means. He rides a Rizla Suzuki GSXR-600. He owns a motorhome, and holds a C LGV (class 2) driving licence just to drive it. He persuaded his close friend James Martin to also purchase one. Kay also leases a Robinson R44 helicopter, registration G-JKAY.
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