His music has been recorded by such artists as U2,[2][3] Téléphone,[4] Patti Smith,[5] Iggy Pop,[6] David Bowie,[7] Simple Minds,[8] and John Waite,[9] among others, and he won three times at the Anděl Awards.

[11][12] Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), Ivan Král moved to the United States in 1966 as a refugee[13] with his parents, who were diplomats.

His father Karel Král, a reporter at the United Nations, brought worldwide attention to the pending Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and publicly denounced the action,[14] subsequently deciding not to return.

His band, Luger,[16] which also featured drummer Shayne Harris,[17] performed at venues including Max's Kansas City,[18] and opened for Kiss at the early shows at the Hotel Diplomat in 1973.

Kral wanted a visual diary of his days in New York City in case he was ever deported back home to Czechoslovakia where rock music was forbidden, so he bought a Super 8 camera from a pawn shop.

He compiled the footage into a 1976 film titled The Blank Generation, which features the Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie, New York Dolls, Television, and drag queen Jayne County, before they had record deals.

No Wave filmmaker Amos Poe helped Kral edit the film by adding music from each band's cassettes and cutting irrelevant scenes.

In 1979, after Patti Smith's last show in Florence, Italy, Iggy Pop invited Kral to Rockfield Studios in Wales to work on his album Soldier, produced by Pat Moran.

[50] Patti Smith, while still living in Detroit, recorded her poem "Perfect Moon" at 54 Sound studio for Král's 1995 album Nostalgia.

The song has been covered by U2 (two versions), Pearl Jam,[114] First Aid Kit, Johnny Depp,[115] Simple Minds, The Mission, Celibate Rifles, Xymox, Lea DeLaria, Alison Moorer, Todd Rundgren, Shakespears Sister, The Feelies, Johnette Napolitano, and appeared on various soundtracks.