Career
Kay formed Jamiroquai with members Toby Smith (keyboards), Stuart Zender (bass), Nick Van Gelder (drums) and Wallis Buchanan (didgeridoo) together with guest appearances by Gavin Dodds (guitar), Maurizio Ravelico (percussion) and Johnny Thirkell (horns) amongst others, both on the band's debut album and on their first tour.
Jamiroquai has sold over thirty million albums, and has spent a collective 162 weeks on the UK singles chart between 1992 and 2006 with Kay's personal wealth said to be around £40 million. He appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List 2004 at joint-950th. The Sunday Times Rich List 2008 has him tied for #1,794, with £40 million.
After the huge success of Jamiroquai's first single, When You Gonna Learn, a US$1.9 million, eight album deal was signed with Sony Music Entertainment. The band's first album was Emergency on Planet Earth. The relationship with Sony ended in 2007.
The band's third album, Travelling Without Moving, generated international attention with the ground breaking video of Virtual Insanity which earned Jamiroquai four MTV Video Music Awards. Since then, their fourth album, Synkronized, has done just as well; it was recorded in Kay's home studio located in the garden of his 500-year-old, 11-bedroom Buckinghamshire mansion.
Kay has previously stated that he would like his band to continue writing music for another 15–20 years. However it was reported in February 2007 that Kay had wanted to quit music. This was denied on Jamiroquai's official website the day after.
Read more about this topic: Jay Kay
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