Prog Urban Legends

Like in every domain, prog has its share of urban legends. Do you guys know about some you could share with the community?

Here are some examples :

- At the time Didier Malherbe joined Gong, he actually lived in a cave somewhere in France.

- Mike Ratledge once explained that his organ was dropped a few feet high during transportation before a gig and that, ever since, it had that unique tone and distorted metallic sound.

I'm interested in stories like this. Are they true or false? Who knows? The myth lives on though.

Bern wrote: I thought of another funny one : - The song Son of Mr. Green-Genes made a lot of people believe that Frank Zappa was somehow related to the guy playing Mr. Green Jeans in the children TV show Captain Kangaroo.

zappaholic wrote: Bern wrote: I thought of another funny one : - The song Son of Mr. Green-Genes made a lot of people believe that Frank Zappa was somehow related to the guy playing Mr. Green Jeans in the children TV show Captain Kangaroo.   .... not to mention the legend that Zappa either took or ate a dump on stage.

I have heard that he was dumped off the stage.

"1971 however turned out to be a bad year for Zappa. In December a fan let off a pyrotechnic at a performance in Switzerland, which resulted in all of the band’s equipment being lost when the venue went up in flames. This event was immortalized in the song “Smoke on the Water” by the rock band Deep Purple who witnessed the event. One week later, while performing in London, a deranged fan pushed Zappa into an orchestra pit which left him with serious injuries including a larynx injury and broken legs."

Source

zappaholic wrote: Bern wrote: I thought of another funny one : - The song Son of Mr. Green-Genes made a lot of people believe that Frank Zappa was somehow related to the guy playing Mr. Green Jeans in the children TV show Captain Kangaroo.   .... not to mention the legend that Zappa either took or ate a dump on stage.

CPicard wrote: By the way, several years ago, a friend of mine told that Ian Gillan once had sex with a groupie ON STAGE and on the keyboards of Jon Lord, for he was pissed off by Blackmore. I guess this story is totally false, right?

I've never heard it, but it sounds very improbable. The mental imagery is hilarious, though.

Probably false. James LaBrie actually has no testicles.

Toaster Mantis wrote: CPicard wrote: By the way, several years ago, a friend of mine told that Ian Gillan once had sex with a groupie ON STAGE and on the keyboards of Jon Lord, for he was pissed off by Blackmore. I guess this story is totally false, right? I've never heard it, but it sounds very improbable. The mental imagery is hilarious, though.

I'm afraid it's true, and Ian Gillan has confirmed it, though I didn't read anything about him being pissed off by Blackmore in that particular occasion. In the story I read, told by Gillan himself, the singer and the girl were looking for a private place but couldn't find any, so they sneaked UNDER Lord's grand piano and did the deed there.

Raff wrote: In the story I read, told by Gillan himself, the singer and the girl were looking for a private place but couldn't find any, so they sneaked UNDER Lord's grand piano and did the deed there.

That's slightly less hilarious... but only slighty.

It's also a myth that Mikael Akefeldt decided to leave ALL his genetalia in a glass jar whilst writing and recording the album Damnation. Just a myth though...

The Wakeman story is partly true--he didn't go out, he had it delivered. Might've missed some notes whilst stuffing his face. . .