Emerson, Lake and Palmer

In the early 1970s, an era of grand gestures in rock, no band could match the scale of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Boasting an impressive pedigree in previous bands, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer were huge from the off, the ultimate progressive rock group. Their eponymous 1970 debut album mixed new band compositions with reinterpretations of classical pieces, an approach that reached its apogee with the 1973 concept album 'Brain Salad Surgery'. The band live were a spectacle like no other, with their giant quadrophonic PA and a shirtless Emerson hurling knives into his Hammond organ - but when punk happened ELP abruptly fell out of fashion, splitting in 1978. Subsequent reformations culminated in a final gig at London's High Voltage festival in celebration of the band's 40th anniversary.

'The Show That Never Ends ... Encore', first published in 2000 and now fully revised and updated, chronicles the epic ELP saga. Drawing on interviews with band members and associates, and a host of archive sources, it is a gripping account of ego, band politics, period detail and sweeping musical ambition.

Foruli Classics - classic music and popular culture books reborn.