Watch Adrian Belew and Les Claypool tackle King Crimson's Thela Hun Ginjeet live

Adrian Belew playing guitar onstage with bassist Julie Slick and Les Claypool in a pig's mask

(Image credit: YouTube)

When Adrian Belew and Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison wound up supporting Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, awesome things were bound to happen but who could have predicted this spellbinding live version of King Crimson's Thela Hun Ginjeet?

The six-and-a-half-minute single originally appeared on 1981's Discipline, the first of three Crimson albums to feature the four-piece line-up of Belew, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin and Bill Bruford. According to Belew's online blog , he came up with the title – an anagram of Heat In The Jungle – using Scrabble titles while on a flight to London. It's not the first time Claypool has covered the tune though, he's previously reworked it both at solo shows and with Claypool Lennon Delirium – his psychedelic project with Sean Lennon.

Belew and Harrison have been touring North America to celebrate the anniversary of Talking Heads' Remain In Light and in summer 2023, their dates joined up with Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade Summer Of Green. Claypool has also used the tour to perform Pink Floyd’s Animals in full.

The clip, shot by a fan at The Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas, shows Claypool in a pig mask jamming onstage with the Belew/Harrison live band, which includes Belew Power Trio bassist Julie Slick, and percussionist Yahuba Garcia-Torres. Belew performs the song with the biggest smile on his face.

Although Belew and Harrison's Remain In Light shows have now come to an end, Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade are continuing to tour throughout July and October. They'll be supported by prog-psych act Moon Duo at select dates from July 7. Fans will be able to catch Adrian Belew live at Cruise To The Edge in March 2024.

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.