Carl Palmer has explained why it wasn’t accurate to label Emerson, Lake and Palmer as a prog band, and listed songs that support his case. The drummer believes the trio were just in the right place at the right time to acquire the definition, and names one band who came later as a more genuine prog deal.
In an interview with EonMusic, Palmer is also excited to be told about a cult British comedy sketch that he’s now added to the visuals for his upcoming ELP Legacy tribute tour.
“We always thought that calling us a prog band was short-changing us, to be honest,” he says. “We had Lucky Man from the beginning, as well as Still... You Turn Me On, C’est La Vie, Footprints In The Snow and I Believe In Father Christmas – all ballads, three- or four-chord songs. C’est La Vie was Number One in Canada.
“You’d never know we were a prog band from some of those songs. We weren’t just prog. That was part of our makeup. We had big pieces like Tarkus, Pirates and Pictures At An Exhibition alongside rock songs like Paper Blood and Knife Edge. We were quite eclectic, really. There wasn’t a real label for us.”
Reflecting on how the label was applied, Palmer continued: “We came up at the very beginning of progressive rock, when the blueprint was being laid down by bands like Pink Floyd, The Nice and ourselves. We were a bit more than that. To me, a prog band is somebody like Dream Theater – they’re out-and-out prog. We weren’t. We were a mixture, and perhaps a little more European.”
Palmer will bring his An Evening With ELP show to England in February. The performance features his band playing along with isolated audio of the late Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, complete with video screen action. It also includes a visual look back at the band’s legacy, complete with TV comedy clips in which the band are features.
Palmer is delighted when EonMusic suggests the sketch from cult 1990s show Big Train, which sees Emerson involved in a spoof Roman epic. Simon Pegg plays a gladiator who refuses to join a rebellion unless Emerson – played by Kevin Eldon – comes with him, complete with his entire collection of keyboards.
“That’s brilliant!” Palmer says. “I’ll speak to my guy. We already use The Simpsons. They've mentioned Emerson, Lake and Palmer numerous times, and used the music and various clips. I show some of that at the beginning of the show while people are coming in. There’s also a bit from Friends. That Big Train sketch could be a good addition, particularly because there’s some English humour in there.”
The Emerson sketch will be part of the video show when Palmer plays Gateshead, Liverpool and London on February 7, 8 and 9 respectively.
