There was a time when British prog rock trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer were heralded, rightly, as one of the all-time prog-rock greats. There were also the times they were derided as a “waste of electricity” and the “definition of masturbatory excess and self-aggrandisement”. Ah, success can be such a fickle mistress.
Success certainly found ELP. Even before the band formed, keyboard maestro Keith Emerson was a noted star in The Nice, bassist/vocalist Greg Lake the voice of King Crimson, and drummer Carl Palmer no slouch in either The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown or Atomic Rooster. But the combination of the three made for an explosively prodigious mix. Quite literally when it came to their second-ever live performance, at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, when the band set off two stage-side canons at the end of their set.
For the first four years of their existence, ELP could do no wrong. Their first four studio albums allELP went on hiatus in 1974, doing what all rock stars do: buying big houses abroad and living the tax-exile life.
