Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox have returned to the '90s for the latest madcap installment of their Sunday Lunch YouTube series via an “elderly edition” of Blink 182's Dammit (often subtitled Growing Up).
The King Crimson man and his pop star wife have continued their weekly dose of musical insanity, but this cover notably marks the first time Fripp has played electric guitar in one of the videos for a few weeks, after some rather unusual (even for them) offerings.
Following a more literal take on Metallica's Master of Puppets and a Led Zeppelin mashup played in a prison cell with a whip (just a normal day in the Fripp/Toyah household), the pair have returned to their usual format, with Fripp’s Fernandes goldtop making its return.
“It's time for a BRAND NEW Sunday Lunch, and this BLINK 182 classic is a belter!” the pair write on YouTube.
Playing with a chorus-wavered clean tone, Fripp gets off to a traditionally false start as, off-screen, he’s heard shouting, “1, 2, 3, 4… bollocks,” as he stumbles over the track’s bouncy opening lines.
Their normal-yet-bonkers service quickly resumes as Fripp stabs at the song's classic pop-punk motif. Yet, there’s still something in the pick attack that sounds resolutely Fripp.
Even though he takes a back seat for Toyah’s high-energy performance for most of the short clip, he still certainly leaves a memorable mark on a teenage anthem that’s all about growing up… not that it’s a topic the pair know much about.
Fripp has previously spoken to Guitar World at length about his Sunday Lunch covers and the lengths he goes to to learn the tracks.
“When we engage with any of the music on Sunday Lunch, it is always with respect,” he explained. “We’re not taking the piss, playing silly rock riffs… I work hard to honor the original player or players on the famous recordings.”
As well as causing chaos in his kitchen, Fripp has recently been helping Steve Vai prepare for his tour with the new Beat supergroup, which is set to perform King Crimson's '80s material this fall.
Having received Fripp’s blessing, Vai later discussed the most difficult part of emulating Fripp’s playing. His new Beat bandmate, Adrian Belew, has also ruminated on what his guitar partnership with Vai will be like.
In related news, Fripp recently recalled the time he met Jimi Hendrix, who apparently called King Crimson “the best band in the world” after seeing the band in ‘69.
