Jay Kay (born Jason Luís Cheetham; 30 December 1969) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of the acid jazz and funk band Jamiroquai, which was formed in 1992.
Jay Kay was born Jason Luís Cheetham in Stretford on 30 December 1969, the son of English cabaret singer Karen Kay and Portuguese guitarist Luís Saraiva. He did not meet his biological father until 2001. Kay's identical twin, David, died a few weeks after the two were born. Kay said in a 2010 interview that his mother raised him largely alone, which gave him "an itinerant childhood", half of which he spent "living in rural Suffolk and rural Devon". According to a 1997 article in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, he moved to Manchester with his mother and step-father Mervyn Kay as a youngster. He often accompanied his mother at her performances, and later attended Oakham School in Oakham. At the age of 15, he was homeless and turned to small crimes to survive; he returned home after a false arrest and near-death experience, working as a break-dancer and soon pursuing a career in music. It was widely reported that he failed an audition to become a singer for the Brand New Heavies prior to forming his own band, though the Brand New Heavies denied the claim.
Subject ID: 51616
MoreJay Kay (born Jason Luís Cheetham; 30 December 1969) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of the acid jazz and funk band Jamiroquai, which was formed in 1992.
Jay Kay was born Jason Luís Cheetham in Stretford on 30 December 1969, the son of English cabaret singer Karen Kay and Portuguese guitarist Luís Saraiva. He did not meet his biological father until 2001. Kay's identical twin, David, died a few weeks after the two were born. Kay said in a 2010 interview that his mother raised him largely alone, which gave him "an itinerant childhood", half of which he spent "living in rural Suffolk and rural Devon". According to a 1997 article in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, he moved to Manchester with his mother and step-father Mervyn Kay as a youngster. He often accompanied his mother at her performances, and later attended Oakham School in Oakham. At the age of 15, he was homeless and turned to small crimes to survive; he returned home after a false arrest and near-death experience, working as a break-dancer and soon pursuing a career in music. It was widely reported that he failed an audition to become a singer for the Brand New Heavies prior to forming his own band, though the Brand New Heavies denied the claim.
By 2013, Kay had owned hundreds of cars—mainly sports cars. The cover of Travelling Without Moving features an adaptation of the "Buffalo Man" logo and the Ferrari crest. Some press coverage has negatively contrasted his strong interest in exotic cars with themes of environmental concern in Jamiroquai's lyrics. He responded in an interview, "[People] keep talking to me about cars and environment, and I reckon I do about 3,000 miles a year [...] I don't really drive that much at all any more, because I'm either on tour or doing stuff."
Three of Kay's cars appeared in the video for the song "Cosmic Girl". One of the cars was totalled, and the replacement was involved in an incident that destroyed the windscreen. Kay was not involved in either incident. In 2011, he visited Maranello for an exclusive viewing of the new Ferrari 458 Spider. Amongst his car collection, including what he calls "staff cars", he owned a one-off 1965 Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake. He decided to auction this car off in 2018, selling it to a man in Ohio for $313,000.
The song "Black Devil Car" from the album Dynamite is a tribute to his black Ferrari Enzo. A die-cast 1:18 scale-model series of Kay's black Enzo from Hot Wheels was available for purchase, including a limited batch of cars with hand-signed windscreens.
Kay competed in the Celebrity Challenge race at the 2012 Silverstone Classic, finishing third behind AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson and actor Kelvin Fletcher.
At the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Kay showcased his signal green LaFerrari, the only one of its colour in the world. He sold the car in 2019.
Subject ID: 51616
Subject ID: 51616