The Nice - America (Live on British TV "How It Is" 1968)

[geraldmarkowitz]

Way beyond its time. Keith Emerson used the same keyboard he is using until these days. A completely crazy genius !!!

[ktkorn]

great stuff - awesome: GEIL

[jimincairns]

'Blinky' Davison was with The Mark Leeman Five until Mark was killed in a car smash.

[LThunders]

Once I was a kid, my father told me that Keith Emerson was a killer keyboardist. Watching this video and seeing he stabbing the organ, I finally understood what my father said.

[puddypuss]

this show was on at 6. 00pm on friday on bbc 1 when there were only 3 channels available. you couldnt image this mildly subversive programme there today, maybe on channel 4 late night

[mielazul]

Fans of Brit psych might like this cover of one of the classics: "Rosetta West - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago."

[puddypuss]

I remember this on tv july 1968 Id got in from playing golf over the park and someone who knew how into it I was phoned up as it was starting as a boys . I hung up quickly.

[mpjgbx]

the invention of the shaky camera? lol

[thaign1]

Yes Syd was with the Pink Floyd and the venue was the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. The place was only half full. We felt like 'the privileged few'

[expoonation]

@thaign1

Cool! You really were ' the priviliged few'

Wish I was alive at the time..

[thaign1]

I watched these guys one night on the same bill as The Move, Pink Floyd and the great Jimi Hendrix. I was speechless when I left (with Jimis autograph) and all for about a fiver!!!

[expoonation]

@thaign1

Was Syd still with the Floyd at the time?

[thaign1]

@expoonation Yes Syd was with them and the venue was the Winter Gardens Blackpool. It was only half full !!. and the price was probably a lot less than a fiver.

[hydna1968]

Love this - one of the great instrumentals - ever!

[dabreu]

Where is creativity and excellence now? it seems we have to return to the sixities to get fantastic sounds like this.

[SupersonicJellyBean]

WOOOOW!!! HE MADE THAT ORGAN CRY FOR SURE!!! REAL NICE LIVE VERSION!!

[davishev]

When I first heard this in the early 70s I was about 11 or 12 years old. I didn't even know who Leonard Bernstein was. Thanks to Keith Emerson I was introduced to a lot of great music.

[lukuntri]

fuck every one who disliked this video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MyAwesomeVlog]

AWESOME!!!! I LOVE THE NICE!!!!!!

[oscurorip]

que dolor de dedos,A..JA....PURO CORAZON



[MrSKINFLICK]

Ace musical stuff + punk somehow !

[bobvidpix]

used to see them in London - Hyde park, The Roundhouse - Emerson had a stash of Bowie knives he would stab the keyboard of the Hammond and hold notes with the knives keeping the keys down ...

Bernstein's America covered by the Nice was a huge hit in the underground scene then ...

[bobvidpix]

used to see them in London - Hyde park, The Roundhouse - Emerson had a stash of Bowie knives he would stab the keyboard of the Hammond and hold notes with the knives keeping the keys down ...

Bernstein's America covered by the Nice was a huge hit in the underground scene then ...

[leach1527]

I remember seeing this particular edition of How It when it first went out. They used to have lots of good guest bands on. Just a shame it was at a time when someone thought it a great idea to jiggle the camera around - it happened a lot then and spoiled many a performance.

[bigtoneeze]

I saw this line up at the Ritz in Bournemouth in 1968. I broke my mum's ironing board being Keith Emerson!

[Rhubba]

Anyone who dislikes this should bear in mind that Keith Emerson has access to scary ass throwing knives and is prepared to use them.

[pca321]

I recently bought the biography pictures of an exhibitionist, and it´s nice reading the book where keith explains the throwing of the daggers, and it´s nice seeing it on this video from the late sixties long live Keith Noel Emerson.

[tzouras]

Free concert Hyde Park 1969; man this song just reverberated around the whole area, fantastic. On the same bill that day were Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and some other great bands that my memory refuses to dig up.

[estoppel55]

Ewell Tech

[estoppel55]

I was 16 and thought life was really looking up. (It wasn't) Had to walk home to Leatherhead but was stopped on the way home by girlfriend's dad looking for us in his car. All of us students thought the ‘group’ was great . I do the driving now, looking for my kids.

[estoppel55]

well Tech, Saturday night, Surrey, UK, some time in 1968. The Nice came to our college and they played this. Small crowd when you think about it. It was full but full was a small crowd. I stood a few feet behind Keith Emerson and watched the knives go in the keyboard. Went home the next day taught myself the intro on the piano.

[wjwmorrow]

@estoppel55 I was at Guildford Tech in the same year and did exactly the same thing as you after I saw The Nice perform this...!

[psyckonaut]

I Am Facebook friends with Davy O' List!

[pglogofilms]

Used to go and see them on Monday nights at the old Marquee Club in Wardour St. and we felt they were a better band with Davy O'List than without. Their records don't really reflect just how good they were live, even if you only went to see Keith Emerson split those tight buckskin trousers one more time. 'Rondo' really was something to see and hear.

[supermonkeyEC]

Let's see, the Beatles were doing "Sergeant Pepper's", the Rolling Stones' big hit of the day was "Ruby Tuesday", and Jimi Hendrix was booed offstage by teenyboppers anxious to see the headliner he was touring with: The Monkees. And these guys weren't ahead of their time? Only if you weren't there.

[powellallan]

This looks like a Big brother revision of history, David O' List expurgated as far as possible. To anybody who was there at the time the guitar of David O'List was as much a part of this classic as the organ work of Mr Emerson. By the way it seemed like an age of potential for humanity that we all thought had not yet been presented before in history. We were wrong but the feeling was there, unlike today. See the Fairport Convention at Maidstone track on Youtube to see what I mean. Cheers to all.

[RockHistoryTube]

GREAT PERFORMANCE!!!

[jonnyjaywick]

sideburntastic.

[vachalia]

Try that with a Hammond B3!

[xSPLENDAx]

Yeah I guess you could say he was a bit good at playing the organ.

[EragonFiresword]

America... is pregnant with the promise and anticipation... but is murdered by the hand of the inevitable!

[77droog77]

PP Arnold's backing band ?!? far fuckin' out

[MallardTDrake]

Little did that poor little Hammond organ realize that Keith would still be abusing it 30 years later. What a trooper!

[m4viking]

never mess with keyboard player packin' knives!!

[deepsussex]

Emerson is unmatched in presence and ability and musicality and it the epitome of British progressive rock and everyone else should bow to him .

[progmeck1]

Between 1968 and 1978, Emerson was the most popular keyboard player in rock music. No one came close to him. Weather John Lord. Tony banks, Rick Wakeman..... They all were great , but they did'nt have the physical presence of Emerson. Emerson is a genius player and a genius poser. Greatest keyboarder of all the time.

[kenfig]

@progmeck1 Yes Keith is a better player than all of them ; a world class virtuoso

[achtsieben87]

This band set the blueprint for the later progressive rock bands. This is an amazing, classic piece of music. Keith Emerson caught the whole rockstar - protest song - virtuoso keyboard player - modern idiom THING in one crazy interpretation of a popular Bernstein play. It is without doubt one of the most impressive pieces of music I've ever heard.

[GianLuNicoGazNevada]

it's simple: great!!!

[ceridawn]

thats pretty amazin but i think the melody is a bit to happy to go with the dramatcs of it!

[westpalmscott]

Emerson even at this early point was always one for flamboyant performance but he sure as hell had the chops to back it up, The bit with the daggers was to become part of his early ELP shows

[TheEVAEVAz]

incredibile! fantastico.. keith emerson è una bomba! sono riuscita a sentirlo dal vivo circa 7 anni fa

[GigiAO28]

uno dei migliori hammondisti (e non solo) in assoluto!!

[thesantoshow93]

e "moogisti".. hehe

[kokakolakidd]

Ha..look at the pristine condition that L-100 was in back then. Little did it know what was in store for it during the next 30+ years...

[xonix2002]

Absolutely Amazing.

[markpetersound]

whoah! Emerson is like a man posessed!! outstanding footage. thanks for posting this gem

[seasidemike]

Shame Davey O'List is only seen for about half a second, plus the editing is shocking - but a fantastic band I managed to see twice in 1967.

[garygomesg]

@seasidemike

Davey wasn't at this performance at all. Lee Jackson is playing Davey's little guitar intro on the bass guitar.

[garygomesg]

@garygomesg

Mike, I take it back; I see O'List now! Sorry!

[darkevilsin]

So Muse is covering this?

[indi626]

ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!?!?!?!? Where did you hear about that?

[kipp0man]

what an awesome piece of archive footage - thanks for posting

[leejunfan6]

i work with mr jackson

[3bar]

Tell Lee I said hello. He is my foremost musical hero.

[garygomesg]

Lee is great; one of the finest bass players ever. I saw them live in late 1969 at the Boston Tea Party.

Any live versions of "The Cry of Eugene"?

Gary

[klausthemusician]

@Gary Try Vivacitas - lIve from Glasgow

[jsilence418]

Yeah Emerson, no one turned the organ cooler than him !! great post!

[fabrikk60]

Wow - yet another version of The Nice's "America"! This BBC one has a bunch of phasing that the original lacked. Does anybody know about the different studio versions of "America" that were released? I've heard versions with the child's voice (P.P.Arnold's toddler son, according to Emerson's bio), and without the voice, but with other differences as well. I've heard a version with the guy "being whipped" (that was Andrew Loog Oldham) and without that voice too. (continued...)

[mksonic]

I'll never forget the first time I saw these guys perform: I just about shat my uppers. Thanks for posting this wonderful performance! (Although the director for this show should have been hung up by his thumbs.)

[TOBERT001]

Camera angles and doggerel be fooked ! This is rock 'n' roll THAT'S WHAT IT IS.

[vanamonde2]

Thanks for posting this! Good quality too. Too bad they had to do all the dumb junk with the cameras back then. Would be nice - pun intended- just to be able to watch them play.

[PEEBLIES]

Good fun, but what about that doggrel at the end. Oh dear!

[fabrikk60]

Well, it's like this: the song (full name America - 2nd Amendment) was intended as a "protest instrumental" against the shootings of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. The band would sometimes burn a US flag onstage during the song - bringing trouble on themselves too. The sentence "America is pregnant with promise and anticipation, but is murdered by the hand of the inevitable" was spoken by a black American child on the original record, but by its writer Lee Jackson here. See, it all fits.

[Sargebri]

@fabrikk60 Yep. In fact, it helped set up one of the most infamous moments in rock history. In 1969 the Nice were on a triple bill at the Filmore East with Ten Years After and Family. When the Nice did their flag burning finale, Bill Graham got pissed. When Family came on, Roger Chapman accidentally threw his mic stand at Graham. Graham thought Family were getting back at him for his yelling at the nice and he and Chappo got into a fistfight.

[TheTWshow]

anybody who thinks this is crap should stop listen to the jonas brothers and fucking hannah montana

[warmhurt]

no, don't

[achtsieben87]

@TheTWshow This is the real thing - the birth of progressive rock. Keith your are a freakin' star. AMERIKA.

[Stravinski59]

@TheTWshow ...and her dad. And the horse they rode in on.

[Thomaspwgy]

hahahahHAHAHAHAHAHhahahahHAHAH­AHAHAhahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAhahaha­hahaHAhahahAHAhahaHHAhAhahaHAH­AhAhahHAHAhahaHAhahaHAHAHAHAHA­HahhHAHAHHAHAhahHAhAHAhAha

[M15577]

This is my fav version.

I love watching this peice of footage.

Such a huge degree of coolnes that no one seems to be able to pull off anymore.

Can you please contact me if theres any way you could get this onto a dvd for me?

Would pay for shiping, disc ect.

[TheGreenCheeseMoon]

yeah emerson's a beast!

[kevinyomofo]

Yes!

[distortingjack]

"America is pregnant with promises and anticipation, but is murdered by the hand of the inevitable."

"How it is. BBC tv."

Perfect.

[GregLakeAppSoc]

keith Emerson!!

fantastic

and not even at his best!!

what a legend

[Hectorschizoidman]

Emerson is such a monster!!!! wow!!

[theslice2]

Fanbloodytastic

[freedayz]

realy nice video IoI

[oklilibett]

40 years later and the keyboard wizard is as strong as ever and getting back to his roots.Marc Bonilla has re-ignited the flame and the Keith Emerson Band featuring Marc Bonilla CD just released proves it.looking forward to the North American tour in 2009.

[maxa60]

I hope they do a tour. Keith's surgically repaired right hand is a shadow but he is still great. Keith and Marc work great together and are fantastic live.

Hammond with minimal synthes is music to my ears!

[MrBooojangles]

I think this version is better then Leonard Bernstein's version. I first heard this on a series on British TV called 'Sounds of the sixties' during the 1990's which was a look back at the best and wierdest songs from the 1960's. Good to see it again.

[petecsanky]

Performed live at "The Rock Pile" in Toronto in 1968. What a show.....Emerson used Les Bateman's chopped double-stacked leslie cabinets on each side (two asynchronously-rotating horns above the 15" bass driver)with a special 150 Watt amp for each side, and all the instruments were miked through the WIRE custom Altec Lansing PA system. You had to be there... hard to believe that it was 40 years ago!

[saffsgrandad]

Never got a chance to see the nice live, by the time I was going to gigs, ELP had been born. By then Keith was using a wall of 12 leslie units and still throwing knives into them.