Keith Emerson talks retirement

Keith Emerson has revealed he’s considering retirement as he turns 70.

Hopes for an ELP reunion are all-but gone after Greg Lake and Carl Palmer both dismissed the suggestion.

But the keyboardist’s comments might be the final word. Speaking ahead of a Moogfest appearance alongside synth pioneer Robert Moog, Emerson tells the Citizen-Times: “I’ve reached my 70th year. This might be the last year that I’ll actually perform in public.”

ELP last played together at Classic Rock’s High Voltage Festival in 2010. Drummer Palmer recently said of the show: “it wasn’t the greatest we’ve done but the crowd seemed to like it. I think it was good that we said goodbye.”

Bassist Lake last year said the chemistry between the three wasn’t there any more, reflecting: “It’s very strange, but there’s something about ELP that doesn’t work. It used to work, but it doesn’t now.”

Emerson’s most recent studio work was symphonic album Three Fates, released in 2012. He described it as his “most important since the ELP days.”

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.