Being one of the original rock supergroups and one of the most commercially successful progressive rock bands ever, Emerson Lake & Palmer (ELP) were able to establish themselves as some of the most technically proficient and creative musicians of their era. Due to various reasons, however, the band finally split up (for a second time) in the late 90’s.
July 2010 saw a full ELP reunion for the first time in over 10 years when the band headlined the High Voltage Festival in Victoria Park, London. But while this may have sparked hope in some fans, according to drummer
Carl Palmer it looks like this performance was the band’s last show together.
In a recent interview with Classic Rock Magazine, Palmer revealed that the show (which celebrated the band’s 40th anniversary) would be a nice way to wrap things up, and that ELP should leave things there.
Palmer says a few things about the reunion show and the warm-up that took place before the performance: “Well, for reasons I won’t go into it’s always hard to rev it up. We rehearsed for it for a month, which almost killed me. Not the physical side of it, just keeping interested. Me personally, I didn’t need a month. But that’s what we did, and when it came to the gig what you saw was what you got.”
“That’s as good as it will ever be (again). Everyone seemed pretty happy with it, and I think that gig will be far as the three of us can take things.”
Palmer went on to say that the show will be sold on DVD (an audio CD will also be available for purchase), so if you’re a fan who missed out on the concert make sure you check out this upcoming release.
While it’s unfortunate that a group whose members helped inspire and influence many great bands have played their last show, perhaps a final performance celebrating the 40th anniversary of these talented musicians was the perfect way to go.
FUCK!