“I need 200 mules…”: Watch the cult ELP sketch that Carl Palmer just added to his UK tour

Carl Palmer says Emerson, Lake and Palmer were too musically varied to be described simply as a progressive rock band. He argues the label stuck partly because the group emerged while progressive rock was taking shape, and says Dream Theater is a clearer example of an out-and-out prog band.

Palmer cites ELP ballads such as “Lucky Man” and “C’est La Vie”, alongside long pieces including “Tarkus” and “Pictures At An Exhibition”, as evidence of the group’s range. On his February UK tribute tour, he will add a sketch from the 1990s comedy series Big Train, in which a character played by Simon Pegg demands that Keith Emerson bring his keyboards to a Roman rebellion. The sketch will feature in shows in Gateshead, Liverpool and London on 7, 8 and 9 February.