[www.youtube.com]

The place was frozen, snow and ice everywhere, but I know they did it at the empty Olympic stadium to get the sound effects they wanted. A brilliant idea, and they lived to tell the tale.

Way too many sites and references state it was recorded on August 26, 1977 (and with an orchestra) but I know that's impossible because it was still summer then, and [www.extremeweatherwatch.com] tells us the temperature that day in Montreal ranged from 7.8C to 22.2C. And of course no orchestra at the "icy performance".

Anyway, [www.youtube.com] shows us what happened on that date, and everybody's dressed accordingly. It wasn't -10C!!!

My question is this: does anybody know when [www.youtube.com] was shot? My best recollection from way back in those times is that it was perhaps in December 1976. You can see the 1976 Olympics logo in the stands in the video. I can't find anywhere that confirms when [www.youtube.com] was shot. Whatever the case, it sure was winter, none of that August stuff.

Well, ain't AI just the thing to solve this mystery?

I just tried another Google search on this topic. In its "infinite wisdom", the AI Overview that forces it way in first told me that the mention of a snowy Olympic stadium and a cold, cold day may be from a fan commentary or a misinterpretion. My eyes have never misinterpreted the weather conditions in [www.youtube.com].

Well, Mr. AI, you got that W-R-O-N-G. You've confused it with the performance that took place in August 1977, in Summer. Long may I hope that AI does not become the basis for the last word on anything.

Been surfing even more. Strange results, and still nothing definite. The passage headed "Production" at [en.wikipedia.org]) mentions events resulting in the shoot, but connects it with the 1977 American tour, which [elparchive.com] only contains 1977 Canadian entry for 8/26/77, which was of course the gig in Summer that year.

It seems that the passage of time might have blurred the facts. Nuthin' like trusty long-term memory .... which isn't crystal-clear either.

Back to the original question then - if anybody knows or has any information about the date when the "snow-bound" shoot took place, go right ahead and make a mention here.

More than 800 hits on this topic, and still nobody has come up with the date when [www.youtube.com] was shot.

It seems that this really is a mystery that I (make that everybody) have only memory to rely on.

From [www.IMDb.com] , [www.Uncut.co.uk] :

"The band was rehearsing in the basement of the Montreal Olympic Stadium as part of their 1977 American tour when, during a break, Greg Lake went up to the stadium and was overwhelmed by the immensity of the empty stadium layered with a light snow. The next day he gathered a video crew and captured this iconic instrumental piece on video.

Interview with Greg Lake, 'I remember we were rehearsing in a basement beneath the Olympic stadium. It was the only place large enough to fit the whole orchestra in to rehearse. A phone call came in and I had to go up and take it, and everybody took a coffee break. So during that break I took the elevator up to the ground floor, which actually took me to the Olympic stadium. We had just heard that they wanted to release it as a single. My initial reaction was like, 'Well, no, we're too busy doing the rehearsals with the orchestra.' And I went up to the stadium and I was looking at this absolutely mind-blowing site, covered in virgin snow, with the Olympic rings lit up in neon lights at both ends. It was an eerie sight, begging for something to happen, and I thought, 'Video.' we got the crew to move the gear up to the stadium the next day to start recording. Of course, what we didn't plan was for it to be way below zero. My fingers would literally slip through the strings. So we had to record it in fairly short bursts, but it was a lovely film in the end.'

Interview with Carl Palmer, 'It was something like 20 degrees below, it was extremely cold. We managed to shoot three times - a few cameras on one person, a whole take, the same on the next guy, the same on the next guy - and then one take of all of us playing together. But it was very, very cold. The music has lasted, though, it has endured and it's been truly fantastic. I mean, quality always lasts, and I sincerely believe that we had a lot of quality going there - we weren't just a prog band, we had pretty songs as well. So it was quite eclectic'."


The Winter picture in the Uncut article is dated from February 1977 - [GettyImages.com] . See also: [MichaelPutland.com] , [MichaelPutland.com] .

Quote
Irix
From [www.IMDb.com] , [www.Uncut.co.uk] :

"The band was rehearsing in the basement of the Montreal Olympic Stadium as part of their 1977 American tour when, during a break, Greg Lake went up to the stadium and was overwhelmed by the immensity of the empty stadium layered with a light snow. The next day he gathered a video crew and captured this iconic instrumental piece on video.

Interview with Greg Lake, 'I remember we were rehearsing in a basement beneath the Olympic stadium. It was the only place large enough to fit the whole orchestra in to rehearse. A phone call came in and I had to go up and take it, and everybody took a coffee break. So during that break I took the elevator up to the ground floor, which actually took me to the Olympic stadium. We had just heard that they wanted to release it as a single. My initial reaction was like, 'Well, no, we're too busy doing the rehearsals with the orchestra.' And I went up to the stadium and I was looking at this absolutely mind-blowing site, covered in virgin snow, with the Olympic rings lit up in neon lights at both ends. It was an eerie sight, begging for something to happen, and I thought, 'Video.' we got the crew to move the gear up to the stadium the next day to start recording. Of course, what we didn't plan was for it to be way below zero. My fingers would literally slip through the strings. So we had to record it in fairly short bursts, but it was a lovely film in the end.'

Interview with Carl Palmer, 'It was something like 20 degrees below, it was extremely cold. We managed to shoot three times - a few cameras on one person, a whole take, the same on the next guy, the same on the next guy - and then one take of all of us playing together. But it was very, very cold. The music has lasted, though, it has endured and it's been truly fantastic. I mean, quality always lasts, and I sincerely believe that we had a lot of quality going there - we weren't just a prog band, we had pretty songs as well. So it was quite eclectic'."


The Winter picture in the Uncut article is dated from February 1977 - [GettyImages.com] . See also: [MichaelPutland.com] , [MichaelPutland.com] .

I've seen that article. The curve ball was the mention of being at the Montreal Olympic Stadium during the 1977 American tour, and the fact that [elparchive.com] shows the only time in 1977 when they were on tour in Montreal was on August 26, in summer and the temperature ranging from 7.8C to 22.2C on that day. February 1977, not on tour but in earlier rehearsal, in winter, is timing that makes sense, given the conditions in the empty stadium filmed performance. That aligns very closely with my recollection of when I watched it on TV way back when. I had thought of the end of 1976, but early 1977 is also in the personal memory time-frame.

Good spot, Irix, not an exact date, but a logical month, I imagine early in February 1977, and that's where I'll conclude my search.

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stonesman87

Good spot, Irix, not an exact date, but a logical month, I imagine early in February 1977, and that's where I'll conclude my search.

I'd guess it could be early February or mid-February, according to [www.extremeweatherwatch.com]. There's an article published by Chicago Tribune on ELPArchive (PDF file) from 29 May 1977 that mentions they've been rehearsing in Montreal "for the last three months", matching Irix's info above.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-10-02 04:07 by Cristiano Radtke.

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stonesman87

not an exact date, but a logical month

You could try to contact [www.CarlPalmer.com] if he remembers the exact date.

I sent an e-mail to the address at the Carl Palmer site on 3 October. Manager Bruce Pilato responded very promptly. He mentioned that "The video was done in the previous winter when they were in Montreal recording the album." That was after a mention about the live concert in Montreal stadium in summer 1977 (i.e., August 1977).

"The previous winter" was of course referring to northern winter 1976-77, so the February 1977 period that's been homed in on is somewhat confirmed. "The album" would of course have been "Works Volume 1". I did ask Bruce Pilato if he had any information about a date, but I haven't heard back yet.

The challenge now is to figure out when they were doing recording sessions in Montreal. I've searched for any mention, but without luck. Can anybody point me to anything about this? If not, I'm still pretty good with calling it some time in February 1977, which is pretty close to recollection from way back then.

I've done more searching about album recording in Montreal during winter 1976-77. Unfortunately, nothing found on the subject. Mentions I've found refer to other locations, but not Montreal.

Might have to conclude the video was shot in February 1977, based on other input above from IORRers.

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stonesman87

Unfortunately, nothing found on the subject.

Maybe there're infos about the filmmakers & crew in the Pro-version of [Pro.IMDb.com] or elsewhere and maybe there's a possibility to contact them and maybe someone of them remembers the exact date of the filming in Montreal in February 1977.

I think that the date this video was shot has been lost in the passage of time. Even the "regular" IMDB says it was "Filmed on location at Montreal Olympic Stadium in 1977 during ELP's North American tour", but we know that's not correct.

I'm still good with calling it, and concluding it as, February 1977. Doesn't change the fact that it's still a blast to watch it. Thanks to all for the various comments and suggestions.

I made one last throw of the dice - I sent a follow-up e-mail to Bruce Pilato on 14 October, asking him if he had by then found anything in his records about the date the video was shot. Sadly, I've received no reply. What a shame.