Jay Kay

Jay Kay (born Jason Luís Cheetham; 30 December 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. He rose to international fame as a founding member of the jazz-funk band Jamiroquai.\n', ' Jay Kay was born in Stretford, Greater Manchester, on 30 December 1969. His mother, Karen Kay, is a former cabaret singer and television personality. His biological father is Luís Saraiva, a Portuguese former guitarist, whom he did not meet until 2001. Kay\'s identical twin, David, died some weeks after they were born. Kay said in a 2010 interview with The Daily Telegraph that his mother raised him largely alone, which gave him "an itinerant childhood; half of it living in rural Suffolk and rural Devon". A 1997 article in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph states that Kay "moved with his mother and step-father Mervyn Kay to Manchester as a youngster". He attended Oakham School in Rutland. At 15 years old, Kay was homeless and turned to small crimes to survive. He soon returned to his home after a false arrest and a near death experience. From there, he pursued a career in music and worked as a regular in night clubs. Prior to forming his own band, it was widely reported that Kay failed an audition to become a singer of the Brand New Heavies. The group however, denied these claims.\n', ' Kay formed Jamiroquai in 1992. Band members include Toby Smith (keyboards), Nick Van Gelder (drums, 1992–1993), Derrick McKenzie (drums 1994–present) and Wallis Buchanan (didgeridoo). After the success of Jamiroquai\'s first single, When You Gonna Learn, Kay signed a US$1 million record deal with Sony Soho2. The band\'s first album was Emergency on Planet Earth. The relationship with Sony ended in 2007. The band has sold more than 26 million albums worldwide. Kay is occasionally referred to as \'Jamiroquai\', due to the misconception that the band is actually a solo artist.\n', '