Peter Sinfield, Lyricist for King Crimson, Bucks Fizz, and Christmas Hit, Dies at 80

Peter Sinfield, the lyricist known for his work with King Crimson and Bucks Fizz, has passed away at the age of 80. He also penned the words for Greg Lake’s enduring holiday success, “I Believe In Father Christmas,” which first appeared on the charts in 1975, and for Celine Dion’s globally popular song, “Think Twice.” Sinfield, a London native, had resided for many decades in Aldeburgh, located on the Suffolk coast. King Crimson’s official website reported that he had been “suffering from declining health for several years” and died on Thursday. Sinfield was a member of King Crimson’s initial formation. The band’s 1969 debut album, “In The Court Of The Crimson King,” is widely recognized as a seminal work in progressive rock. Its inaugural track, “21st Century Schizoid Man,” was subsequently sampled by rapper Kanye West in his song “Power.” Following Greg Lake’s departure from King Crimson to establish Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Sinfield provided lyrics for various albums, notably “Brain Salad Surgery.” In 1972, he also took on the role of producer for the inaugural Roxy Music album and their successful single “Virginia Plain.” Furthermore, he penned the lyrics for Bucks Fizz’s chart-topping song “Land Of Make Believe” in the early 1980s, in addition to contributing lyrics for their other albums. During the 1990s, he authored the lyrics for Celine Dion’s worldwide hit, “Think Twice.” Additionally, he released a solo album titled “Still” in 1973. Management for King Crimson indicated their belief that Sinfield had contracted sepsis and passed away while hospitalized. Carl Palmer, drummer for ELP, offered a tribute on his website, referring to Sinfield as a “great poet and lyricist.” Palmer stated, “Peter will be sadly missed,” adding, “A great person to be with and very funny. We were with him at his home about 18 months ago and we talked and talked all afternoon.” Lake, who passed away in 2016, was also a member of King Crimson’s initial roster, and he and Sinfield collaborated on Lake’s unexpected solo Christmas success. In 2014, Sinfield remarked, “I had no expectations of it becoming a hit record at all.” Decades after its creation, the two collaborators held differing perspectives on the song’s underlying theme. Lake explained, “The magical Christmas we had both known as children had over the years somehow deteriorated into one huge marketing exercise and we decided it would be a good idea to write a song that resisted this decline in the hope the magic could somehow be restored.” Sinfield, conversely, stated: “There wasn’t a sudden revelation of finding out Father Christmas didn’t exist, but it happened in 1951 or so when I was seven or eight.” He continued, “My parents were divorced and it was tied up with a loss of innocence – finding out that I didn’t have a normal family.” “The people surrounding me were all my mother’s friends.” He further elaborated, “Our German house-keeper kept up the spirit of Christmas and then suddenly it was taken away from me at the age of eight when I was sent off to boarding school.” Despite being prevented from reaching the top chart position in 1975 by Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Sinfield indicated that annual radio airplay each December generated royalties for him, which he estimated to be approximately £20,000 per year. For updates on Suffolk news, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available for review.