THE ENGINE ROOM

The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music

- Lin Bensley

Adopted by émigré parents, Michael “Jakko” Jakszyk endured a turbulent childhood, but found respite in music. In 1971, aged 13, he attended a King Crimson gig at Watford Town Hall.

“Years later, amid the shiny world of a faltering pop career, I began to look back at that moment with a degree of cynicism,” he admits to RC. “However, looking back at it now, it really did change my life.”

Shortly after leaving school, Jakko co-founded an off-the-wall jazz-rock outfit called Soon After, with whom he earned his first paid gig. It was a significant milestone along a route map constructed of dangerous learning curves. Intrigued as much by their name as their music, he next joined 64 Spoons, a five-piece whose very English Dadaesque inclinations led to Jakko meeting Dave Stewart and Pip Pyle and forming Rapid Eye Movement.

With the addition of Colin Blunstone, they enjoyed a Top 20 hit in 1981 with the Tamla classic, What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted? Success, however, was short-lived when Stewart, wanting to concentrate on studio projects, shelved the band, though not before providing Jakko with the connections to sign a recording deal with the independent Chiswick label.

Famed for signing acts such as The Damned and Sniff 'N' The Tears, it was here that Jakko was allowed the freedom to gain a thorough grounding in how to use studio equipment and learn the recording techniques he required to capture his own inner visions. Eager to experiment, he acquired a Mellotron, developed an understanding of electronic drums, multi-tracking, sound effects, tape loops, and even pioneered a proto version of sampling.