Jay Kay

Jay Kay
Jay Kay at the 2007 Gumball 3000 rally
Background information
Born	30 December 1969 (1969-12-30) (age 41)
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 "Jay Kay" Cheetham (born on 30 December 1969 in Greater Manchester, England),^[1] is a Grammy Award-winning English musician, best known as the lead singer of the acid jazz band Jamiroquai.

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 Music Entertainment. The band's first album was Emergency on Planet Earth. The relationship with Sony ended in 2007.^[2]

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 quit music due to a loss of inspiration.^[3] This was denied on Jamiroquai's official website the day after.

Personal life

Kay's mother is former television personality Karen Kay.^[1] His primary home is in Buckinghamshire, but also he owns homes in Westminster, Gairloch, and Sandbanks, Poole.

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

On 12 September 2006, Kay was cautioned by police over an incident outside a London nightclub. He allegedly assaulted two photographers.^[6]

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. In total he has 37 vehicles including what he calls "staff cars".^[7]

"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 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.^[8]

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 six months.

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

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 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 1:45.81 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 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 motorhome. He has a C LGV (class 2) driving license just to drive it and also persuaded his close friend James Martin to purchase one.

Headgear

Kay wearing a headdress during a concert

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" and the "cat in the hat" for his love of headgear.^[9] It is said that he has over 50 different hats that he wears at concerts and in public.^[10] 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.

Drug use

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. ^[11]

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 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. ^[12]

See also

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

References