King's Lead Hat

{{short description|Song performed by Brian Eno}}

{{Infobox song

| name = King's Lead Hat

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Brian Eno

| album = Before and After Science

| B-side = "R.A.F." (with Snatch)

| released = {{Start date|1977|12}}
{{Start date|1978|1|27|df=yes}} (single remix)

| format =

| recorded = 1977

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = {{flat list|

• Rock
• new wave

}}

| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=56}}

| label = Polydor

| writer = Brian Eno

| producer = Brian Eno

| misc = {{External music video|header=Official audio|{{YouTube|e3PRnZZaY0I|"King's Lead Hat" (2004 Digital Remaster)}}}}

}}

"King's Lead Hat" is a song written by Brian Eno, released in 1977 as the fifth track from his album Before and After Science. The title is an anagram of "Talking Heads".{{cite book|last=Tamm|first=Eric|title=Brian Eno: His Music and the Vertical Color of Sound|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rTiz6x13730C&pg=PA114|year=1995|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-80649-0|pages=113–114}} In 1978 a remixed version of the song was released as a single.

Rock critic Lester Bangs described the song "King's Lead Hat" as a track that emphasises "Eno's affinities with new wave in its rushed mechanical rhythms".{{cite journal |first=Lester|last=Bangs|author-link=Lester Bangs|title=Eno Sings With the Fishes|page=49|date=4 March 1978|journal=Village Voice}} Eno would later produce Talking Heads' second, third and fourth albums, including Remain in Light (1980). Guitarist Robert Fripp, a frequent collaborator with Eno, performs a solo on the track.