Ian McDonald - A great influence and a special friend
February 2022
I'm incredibly sad to hear of Ian McDonald's passing. I've known him and admired his work ever since I was in the teens when I was totally bowled over by the King Crimson show at the Marquee in London. A song which Ian had a particularly strong hand in, Epitaph, has remained a firm favourite of mine throughout the years. Ian was both a fabulous composer and an amazing multi-instrumentalist. I have always been full of admiration for his solo work as well as everything he did with Crimson and Foreigner amongst others.
I first met him at Pye Studios, London at age twenty when I was working with Quiet World. Over the years we remained great friends and later on we worked together. In 1996 he joined me to play in Japan with a band including Chester Thompson, along with another close friend John Wetton who very sadly passed on in 2017. Ian and I have also played on each other's albums.
The last time I saw Ian was two years ago in his home city New York, just one week before the first big Lockdown. I was hoping to see him again soon and I will be very much thinking of him when I return to NYC in April.
My thoughts are very much with Ian's family at this time. I will miss him enormously. He was a wonderful person with a big heart and the most extraordinarily talented artist who I believe was hugely instrumental in giving birth to progressive music.
