Jay Kay

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Jay Kay is an English singer and songwriter, co-founder and singer of the acid jazz and funk band Jamiroquai. He was born Jason Luís Cheetham on 30 December 1969 in Stretford, Lancashire, the son of an English cabaret singer, Karen Kay, and a Portuguese guitarist, Luís Saraiva. His parents split up and he only got to know his biological father around the age of twenty-eight. His identical twin brother David died a few weeks after birth from brain damage.

Music and breakthrough

In 1992 he founded Jamiroquai. The first members included Toby Smith on keyboards, Nick Van Gelder on drums, Stuart Zender on bass and Wallis Buchanan on didgeridoo. Derrick McKenzie has played drums since 1994. After the success of the first single When You Gonna Learn, Kay signed a million-pound contract with Sony. The band has sold more than twenty-six million albums. In 2017 he received the BMI President's Award at the BMI London Awards, and that same year he was seriously injured in his back, as a result of which two concerts in Tokyo were postponed.

Influence

Kay is also known for his distinctive hats and caps, which earned him the names the mad hatter and the cat in the hat. He has a fondness for expensive cars and appeared on Top Gear and Fifth Gear, and supported environmental causes. He combines funk and soul with a warm, sliding vocal style and a striking show, and in this way brought acid jazz to a large audience, far beyond the London clubs.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 2017Stage Two

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• After Hours: Session 4^NL Reader