Jason Kay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jason "Jay" Kay | |
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 Jay Kay performing in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jason Cheetham |
| Born | December 30, 1969 |
| Origin | Stretford, Lancashire, England |
| Genre(s) | Acid jazz, Funk, Disco, Soul, Pop, Rock, Electronica |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1992 - Present |
| Associated acts | Jamiroquai |
Jason "Jay" Kay (born Jason Cheetham on 30 December 1969 in Stretford, Lancashire) is an English musician. He is the principal member, songwriter, and lead singer of the band Jamiroquai.
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[edit] Early life
Kay was born into a non-religious family only with his Jewish mother Karen Kay, a cabaret singer and impressionist who performed around the world, and stepfather James Royal. He did not meet his biological father, a man of Portuguese origin, until 2003. He was educated firstly at the independent Holmwood House School in Colchester, and then at the independent Oakham School in Rutland, and spent six months in Thailand at the age of thirteen with his stepfather.
Upon returning home, he decided to change his life and began recording demos using his drum machine and some free studio time, and writing lyrics. During this time he coined the name Jamiroquai for his potential new band, based upon the name of a Native American tribe, the Iroquois, and "jam" from the word jamming, and also the distinctive Buffalo Man logo. His demos were soon spotted by the UK music label Acid Jazz, and Kay found himself signing a recording contract.
[edit] Career
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) and Maurizio Ravelico (percussion) amongst others, both on the band's debut album and on their first tour.
Jamiroquai has sold over twenty million albums, and has spent a collective 162 weeks on the UK singles chart in the 14 years since 1992 with Kay's personal wealth said to be around £40,000,000.[citation needed] He appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List 2004 at (joint) 950th. However, the Sunday Times Rich List 2007 starts at a minimum £70m so Kay's relative wealth is now unknown by the public.
After the huge success of his first single, "When You Gonna Learn," a $1.9 million, eight album deal was signed with Sony records. The band's first album Emergency on Planet Earth became a fast seller, and the unique nature of Jamiroquai soon became apparent. However, not everyone was attracted by the different style of music Jamiroquai presented.
The band's third album Travelling Without Moving soon generated international attention with the ground breaking video of Virtual Insanity which earned Jamiroquai four MTV awards. Since then, their fourth album Synkronized has done just as well, which was recorded in Kay's home studio located in the garden of his 500-year-old, 11-bedroom Buckinghamshire mansion. Although the press usually focus on Kay's passion for cars, his mansion and his love life, Jason Kay is environmentally aware and has donated a large quantity of his money to Greenpeace and Friends Of The Earth, as well as charities for the homeless. The main reason that his message is conveyed strongly through his music is because of his self-made nature, in the fact that all aspects of the band's work has to be approved by him, including artwork and credits.
On the production of his fourth album, a member of his band, Stuart Zender, departed from the band. The reasons have said to been the birth of Stu's daughter and that he and Kay didn't get along anymore. Some fans have speculated that Zender's employment was terminated by the band's record label. Consequently, Kay scrapped almost a complete album worth of work to eliminate the album of all traces of Stuart Zender's playing. Kay has many years in the business yet, as he recently expressed that he would like his band to continue writing music for another 15-20 years.
It was reported in February 2007 that Kay has quit music due to a loss of inspiration[1]. This was denied on Jamiroquai's official website the day after.
[edit] Personal life
Media reports about Kay often focus on his personal relationships. Kay has had a number of high-profile relationships, including Winona Ryder and Denise van Outen. Although the allegation has never been confirmed or denied by Kay, many fans consider him to be bisexual on account of photos constantly surfacing in London tabloids.
In November 2006, the tabloid press reported Kay was dating Emmerdale actress Amy Nuttall. [2]
Jay Kay's primary home is in Buckinghamshire, but also he owns homes in Westminster (London) and Gairloch.
[edit] Paparazzi confrontations
Kay has had a hostile relationship with press photographers.
He was charged in 2001 with assaulting a photographer and damaging his camera outside a nightclub (the charges were later dropped).
In 2002, Kay was involved in a confrontation with another cameraman in a London street and was head-butted.
On 12 September 2006, Jay Kay was involved in an incident with paparazzi outside a London club, punching two photographers.
[edit] Cars
Despite describing himself as an environmentalist, Kay has a major interest in exotic cars and owns around 25 deluxe cars—mostly sports cars. 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. Three of his cars appeared in the video for the song “Cosmic Girl.”
"I've had a few Ferraris," declares Kay. The truth is that he has four to his name at the moment, including his latest new acquisition, an Enzo. Jay has also had an F40 and F50. A combination of cars and music is the song "Black Devil Car" on the album "Dynamite" which is a tribute to his black Ferrari Enzo.
Kay's love of fast cars has occasionally landed him in legal trouble. In May 1998, Kay was caught driving at 111 mph and his license 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 at court in Scotland to face charges for speeding after being clocked at 105 mph in a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, on 26 February 2004. The speed limit for the road was 70 mph[citation needed]. He was later banned from driving for 6 months.
Jay Kay participated in the 2007 Gumball 3000 rally as part of Team Adidas in a Maserati Quattroporte. In one of the Gumball 3000 pictures he was talking to Xzibit.
[edit] TV Performances
Jay Kay co-starred in an episode of the BBC series the Naked Chef alongside the chef Jamie Oliver. We get a glimpse at one of Jay's cars as the pair take his Bentley S3 Convertible to the local wine shop. Further in this episode we see Jay Kay's beautiful herb garden. He also has performed in BBC Strictly come dancing singing Canned Heat. He can be seen in the Clarion H.M.I. adverts performing to the "Feel So Good" knee deep remix. He has been in two so far and has driven two different concept cars.
[edit] Headgear
Kay is well known for his array of elaborate hats and headgear, which he often wears. When appearing professionally (in concerts, interviews etc.) he has been referred to as "mad hatter" and "that bloke what wears daft stuff on his head" for his love of headgear.[3] It is said that he has over 50 different hats that he wears at concerts and in public. [4] 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.
[edit] See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- Buffalo Man, the name of the character featured on all of the Jamiroquai's album artwork
