Jason Kay

Jason Kay
Jay at the 2007 Gumball 3000 rally.
Background information
Born	December 30, 1969 (age 40)
Origin	Stretford, Greater Manchester, England
Genres	Acid jazz, funk, disco, blue-eyed soul, electronica
Occupations	Musician, singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1992 - Present
Associated acts	Jamiroquai

Jason Kay (born 30 December 1969), better known by his stage name Jay Kay, is a Grammy Award winning English musician from the band Jamiroquai.

Early life

Kay had a twin brother David, but he died a few weeks after birth. Kay has said that he still has a strong emotional connection with his brother. He was brought up by his Jewish mother Karen Kay, a cabaret singer, comedienne and impressionist who performed around the world, and stepfather James Royal. He did not meet his biological father, a man of Portuguese origin called Luís Saraiva, until 2001. He was educated firstly at the independent Holmwood House School in Colchester, and then at the independent Oakham School in Rutland.

He 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 (he was taught how to play a real drum set by Jan van Mesdag). 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 with whom Kay signed a recording contract.

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), 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. 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 $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.

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, 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.

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 quit music due to a loss of inspiration.^[1] This was denied on Jamiroquai's official website the day after.

Jay performing with Jamiroquai

Personal life

Jay Kay's primary home is in Buckinghamshire, but also he owns homes in Westminster, Gairloch, a house in Sandbanks, Poole.

Jay 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. Jay Kay has spoken out against animal exploitation for entertainment.^[2]

Paparazzi confrontations

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.^[3]

On 12 September 2006, Jay Kay was cautioned by police over an incident outside a London club. He allegedly assaulted two photographers.^[4]

Cars and motorcycles

Kay has a strong interest in exotic cars and owns around 25 luxury 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". Altogether he has 37 vehicles including what he calls "staff cars".^[5]

"I've had a few Ferraris", declares Kay. He has four Ferraris, including an Enzo. Kay 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. Recently, the Enzo suffered damage to the windows after an altercation with hotel chef Aaron Billington at the Brudenell Hotel.^[6]

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 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 in a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, on 26 February 2004. The speed limit for the road was 70 mph. He was later banned from driving for 6 months.

Kay participated in the 2007 Gumball 3000 rally as part of Team Adidas in a Maserati Quattroporte.

Kay also likes motorbikes 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 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 at 1:45.83, being 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'.

Jay Kay attended The Kop Hill Climb in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire on 26 September 2009. He attended with 5 cars, his Maserati A6 G, Mercedes Benz 600, Porsche 911 Carrera, Porsche 911 S and Porsche 356 Speedster.

He owns a very large campervan/motorhome. He has a C LGV (class 2) driving license just to drive it and also persuaded his close friend James Martin (chef) to purchase one.

Headgear

Kay wearing a headdress during a concert

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" for his love of headgear.^[7] It is said that he has over 50 different hats that he wears at concerts and in public.^[8] 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.

TV performances

Some of Kay's more notable British television appearances include co-starring 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. As a keen sports car driver he is also known for his appearances on Top Gear and currently holds the record for the fastest celebrity lap in the Chevrolet Lacetti from more than 50 other celebrity drivers.

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References

External links

• Official Website
• Official Myspace Page
• Jamiroquai at Last.fm