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Keith EMERSON & The NICE tour details

Some people never grow up...This was the original page I created to advertise the Nice tour with information direct from Dave Kilminster. As the details here are now old news I suggest you check this page for more up to date information as well as reading the rest of this page.

Since the Keith Emerson promotional show at the 100 Club (review + pictures here) in April where Lee Jackson and Brian Davison joined Keith (all three pictured to the left after the show) for three numbers rumours have abounded that a Nice tour would follow. Those rumours now have a solid foundation as a short UK tour has been arranged for The Nice in early October.

Tickets for the London date went on sale at the start of August 2002 with the remaining three dates following from the 12 August 2002.

The dates are:

2nd October - The NICE : Wolverhampton Civic Hall: 01902 552121 (standing/seated)
3rd October - The NICE : Newcastle - New Tyne Theatre & Opera House: 0191 232 0899 (review)
(DPRP review)(seated) Tickets £22.50 for the Stalls, Grand Circle and Upper Circle, plus £20.00 for the Gallery
4th October - The NICE : Glasgow - Royal Concert Hall: 0141 353 8000 (seated)
6th October - The NICE : London - Royal Festival Hall: 020 7960 4242 (seated)
(short review)

Dave Kilminster The show is due to take in more than just The Nice however.

The set will start with Keith, Brian and Lee (the original guys from the Nice) who will be joined by guitarist Dave Kilminster (of Qango, John Wetton Band and Ken Hensley Band).

After they play a set based around classic Nice favourites there will be an acoustic section where Keith and Dave play material from the recent 'Emerson Plays Emerson' album.

Following this Pete Riley (drums - Ken Hensley with Dave K plus many others) and Phil Williams (bass - Rick Wakeman, Paul Young, Walk On Fire) come out for the final third to rock out with some ELP classics.

Dave Kilminster came to the attention of Keith Emerson when he turned up a a Qango show in London and blagged his way onstage to join John Young on keyboards for the first encore track Fanfare For the Common Man.

I now have a page abouth Phil Williams and a link to Pete Riley's site..

In a chance bit of good timing a book on the Nice, "Hang on to a Dream" ( review), by Martyn Hanson is due from Helter Skelter Ltd (www.skelter.demon.co.uk ) around the same time as the tour. Below is the promotional text I was sent today (20 Aug 2002):
:

Before Emerson, Lake and Palmer, were The Nice.

Keith Emerson, Davy O’List, Lee Jackson and Brian Davison formed a group to back soul singer PP Arnold, then riding high in the charts with “The First Cut is The Deepest.” Before long they had outgrown their place in the shadows and quickly built a reputation as one of the most exciting live bands. The Nice were one of the first groups to combine rock with classical elements, while Emerson’s habit of hammering knives into his Hammond Organ, jumping on it and even whipping it, kept audiences mesmerised.

Their debut LP, The Thoughts of Emerlist DavJack, mixed rock with jazz and classical music, but it was The Nice’s hard rock demolition of Bernstein’s “America” that took them into the charts while Emerson’s habit of setting fire to the stars and stripes during the song as a protest against the US ensured a media outcry. Along the way the band had memorable encounters with Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Yes, The Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, Salvador Dali and many others. They also made some truly enduring records.

Recently reformed for a series of live dates, it is time to credit The Nice with their role as a key pioneering act in the evolution of progressive rock. Drawing on years of research and hours of first hand interviews with band members and associates, Martyn Hanson sets the record straight on The Nice’s short but hugely influential career.

“Much of what Emerson later achieved with the huge success of Emerson, Lake and Palmer should be credited to the brief but valuable career of The Nice.”

Virgin Encyclopedia of 60s Music:
"The Nice will be here when all the others are in Pantomime in Wolverhampton… Their influences are many, but they are indebted to no-one."

The book is available to order from Amazon for £11.19(20 Aug 2002, info - Andy W. Wilson).

If you have any comments about this page then please contact me.

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  This page is Copyright © Doug Anderson 2000 - 2002. Created: 15 August, 2002. Last updated: 20 October, 2002.
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