David Cross is an electric violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist born in Turnchapel near Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, best known for playing with progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 band  King Crimson

King Crimson

King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...

 during the 1970s (particularly on Larks' Tongues in Aspic

Larks' Tongues in Aspic

Larks' Tongues in Aspic is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock group King Crimson, originally released in 1973. This album is the debut of King Crimson's third incarnation - arguably their most forward-thinking thinking version yet, featuring original member and guitarist Robert...

, Starless and Bible Black

Starless and Bible Black

Starless and Bible Black is an album released by the British progressive rock band King Crimson in 1974. Most of the vocal pieces on the album are satires and commentaries on the sleaziness and materialism of society...

and Red

Red (King Crimson album)

Red is a 1974 album by progressive rock group King Crimson.It was their last studio recording of the 1970s and the last before the lead member Robert Fripp temporarily disbanded the group....

). He also plays keyboards

Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

 and Mellotron

Mellotron

The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...

.

Since the mid 1980s he has led his own band, the earlier incarnations of which featured American drummer Dan Maurer, English keyboard player Sheila Maloney and the Liverpool bassist/vocalist John Dillon. Former and current King Crimson members John Wetton

John Wetton

John Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...

, Robert Fripp

Robert Fripp

Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...

, Richard Palmer-James

Richard Palmer-James

Richard Jeffrey Charles Palmer-James was lyricist for the progressive rock group King Crimson in the early 1970s....

 and Peter Sinfield

Peter Sinfield

Peter John Sinfield is an English poet, lyricist and artist, most famously known as the lyricist and co-founding member of early incarnations of King Crimson, whose debut album In the Court of the Crimson King has been regarded as one of the most influential progressive rock albums ever...

 have all guested on his solo projects.

Cross is currently a senior lecturer in Music Education at London Metropolitan University

London Metropolitan University

London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...

.

With King Crimson

• Larks Tongues in Aspic (1973)
• Starless and Bible Black (1974)
• Red (1974)
• USA (1975)

Solo

• Memos from Purgatory(1989)
• The Big Picture (1992)
• Testing To Destruction (1994)
• Exiles (1998)
• Closer Than Skin (2005)

With Radius

• Sightseeing (1988)
• Elevation (1989)
• Arc Measuring (1990)
• There Is No Peace (1994)
• Severe Test: System Collusion (1995)
• Civilisations (2000)

Collaborations

• The Butterfly Ball (With Rod Edwards and Roger Hand) (1975)
• Paul Egan: Island of Dreams (1978)
• United Dairies: An Afflicted Man's Musica box (1981)
• Shock Headed Peter: Life Extinguisher (1986)
• Low Flying Aircraft: Low Flying Aircraft (1988)
• Danielle Dax: 'Tomorrow Never Knows' (1990)
• Dossier: Dossiers (1990)
• Darling Buds: Crawdaddy (1990)
• Jade Warrior: Distant Echoes (1992)
• Rime of the Ancient Sampler: A Mellotron compilation (1993)
• Joe Hisaishi: Chijyoh no rakuen (1994)
• The Clearlight Orchestra: Forever Blowing Bubbles (1996)
• Pyschomuzak: Send (1997)

External links

• David Cross and Noisy Records