Cars

Jay is a man who just loves his cars. It hasn't been an easy ride for him but since Jamiroquai hit the big-time, he has spent some of his hard earned money on these moving delights.

When the second album came out, Jay was getting a tough time from the world's journalists. Although they'll never forget to mention his hats, they accused him of supporting ecological issues whilst at the same time motoring around in one of his eight cars.

Now these aren't just your ordinary family saloons, these are luxury sports cars, and Jay just happens to have a Ferrari and a Lamborghini as part of his collection.

The bands love of cars is especially apparent with the release of the album Travelling Without Moving, in which the Ferrari logo was adapted for use on the cover and on other promotional material. To see how this adaptation or the Ferrari logo looks, please visit the logos page. During the 1996 Autumn Tour, fans also got the opportunity to see bass guitarist Stuart Zender wearing his Ferrari baseball cap!

The band also played live to promote the album at the 1996 Italian Grand Prix - the home of Ferrari, although...

Travelling Without Moving

Although Ferrari was used excessively for the promotion of the third album, the title track starts with the sound of Jay moving up through the gears in his Lamborghini Diablo SE30!

Introduced to the world at the start of 1990, the Diablo has taken over the tradition of the Miura and the Countach. With a limited edition worldwide production run of 150 vehicles (with 30 of those in the UK) this is one of the fastest cars build by Lamborghini. With a 5.7 litre engine and a top speed of 331 km/h (206 mph) this baby moves.

Cosmic Car Trouble

For the filming of the Cosmic Girl video during 1996, Jays' Diablo had to be shipped overseas for the video shoot. Apparently, the company which was hired to transport the car back home had a driver that was keen to drive the fantastico Diablo. Now, Jay being the nice and groovy kind of a guy that he is said "No problem" and off into the sunset drove the lucky bloke!

Now, what are you betting that Jay wishes he had never said this. Unfortunately, the Diablo and driver was involved in a bit of a smash. Well, more than a bit of a smash - kind of a total write-off to the tune of $239,000!!

I bet that the poor driver is now out of a job...

In the 30 November 1996 issue, NME covered the news of Jay's car but in a slightly different manner...

"Jamiroquai were recently spotted at the Forum aftershow party for Erasure, where new information on the trashing of Jason Kay's new Lamborghini came to light. It turns out it was all Jason's fault after rather than opting for the usual fluffy dice on the rear view mirror, Jay used a pair of huge fluffy hats which completely covered the windscreen. Hur hur..."

1996 British Grand Prix

Jamiroquai made an appearance at the 1996 British Grand Prix at Silverstone during July both to watch the racing and also promote the album Travelling Without Moving. For more information and some images from the day out, follow this link.

1997 McLaren Formula 1 Car Launch

On 13 February 1997, the McLaren Formula 1 team launched their new car in front of 5,000 guests at London's Alexandra Palace. Jamiroquai played live at the event and started the show off by performing Virtual Insanity. Jay complemented the McLaren road car and even asked for a test drive! I was hoping to get some photos of the event, but Jamiroquai's management wouldn't allow any to be taken due to contractual reasons. I wonder if Ferrari had anything to do with it.....

Being such a high prestige event, is was broadcast all across the UK and beyond on Virgin Radio and on 15 February, The Daily Telegraph reported Jamiroquai's performance....

"...then introduced a pop group who sang a song entitled Virtual Insanity, and looking around, it did not seem an inappropriate choice."

Following the launch, David Coulthard went on to win the 1997 Australian Grand Prix in early March.

British Formula 1 Television Theme Tune

For 1997, Jamiroquai were approached to compose the theme tune for the television coverage of the Formula 1 season. For all the information you need including audio downloads, follow this link.