Endorsed by Freddie Mercury.
It ’s late afternoon on December 4 , 1971 , in the Swiss resort township of Montreux . Outside , the sundown take back Lake Geneva in a spectacular orange tree glow . And inside the Montreux Casino , Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention are an hour and a half into their set , crank up through the bodaciously long “ King Kong ” when — and there are two reading of this — a concertgoer either shoot a flare gun or throw a lit match up into the aviation , towards the wooden ceiling , make in 1881 . Either path , the result is the same : Flames like a shot enamor clutches . Initially not realise the severity , the band was flippant . " fervidness ! " jest screen background singer Howard Kaylan . " Arthur Brownin person . "
realism sets in as the hell engulfs the construction . At the front of the locale , the audience is trapped . Swiss fireman use axes to cut out the window while masses jump to safety from as high as the second base . There are a few injury , but luckily no casualties , except for the band ’s equipment ( save for a lone cowbell survivor ) . When the fire reaches the edifice ’s warming system , there ’s an burst . Outside , plumes of smoke surge to the sky .
If you ’re intimate with this story , it ’s maybe because the whole thing is recounted in the words of Deep Purple ’s 1972 stumble “ Smoke on the Water ” : “ We all came out to Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline , ” and later on , “ But some stupid with a flare ordnance burned the place to the priming . ” ( hear the introduction riff is a rite of passage forbeginner musiciansto this day . ) The band was in town to record their albumMachine Headat the Montreux Casino , using a nomadic studio apartment they ’d adopt from the Rolling Stones ( also mentioned in the birdcall ) . storm out of their room by the fire , they watched the whole affair go down .
Evening in the Swiss Riviera.|marekusz/Shutterstock
They also witnessed a hero . Out of the haze originate “ Funky Claude , ” who risk his life running in and out of the burning gambling casino alongside firemen , pulling people out to safety . His genuine name is Claude Nobs , fabled title-holder of Montreux as a melodious vacation spot and laminitis and film director of the annual two - weekMontreux idle words Festivalin 1967 , now one of the most noted music issue in the world . This year ’s iterationis back after a muted respite , take place through July 16 with acts like Diana Ross — make her Montreux entry — alongside the likes of Nick Cave , Bjork , Stormzy , Mitzki , Gregory Porter , and Herbie Hancock .
After the fire turned the cassino to rubble , Nobs proved himself a hero in more means than one by helping Deep Purple discover a backup recording distance . They finally stop up in the Grand Hotel in Territet , with mattress padding the walls for soundproofing . It ’s said that it was here that , recalling the outcome of the past few days , bassist Roger Glover woke up with the contrast “ smoke on the water ” running through his headspring . And also here that Nobs boost them to put the song on their upcoming album , envisioning great things .
The relaxation , as they say , is account . The cassino was rebuild and re - opened in 1975 ( the fete has since spread out over venues , include the 4,000 - capacityAuditorium Stravinskiand the 2,000 - capacityMontreux Jazz Lab , with one - offs at the newfangled casino ) . “ Smoke on the Water ” has been covered at the festival by musicians from Santana to Jamie Cullum . And Deep Purple has now play the Montreux Jazz Festival nine times , with almost as many iterations of their hit song . On the festival ’s 50th anniversary , they performed it with none other than Frank Zappa ’s son , Dweezil .
There was once smoke on this water.|Sallaso/Shutterstock
The festival that put a resort town on the map
At first coup d’oeil the Swiss Riviera — the French - talk region stretching fromLausanneto Montreux along Lake Geneva — would seem an unlikely address for such grainy rock shenanigans . It ’s here , along the shores of Lake Geneva , where Swiss touristry was born . Featured in Lord Byron ’s verse form “ Prisoner of Chillon , ” the 13th - centuryChâteau de Chillon , or Chillon Castle , in Montreux stand as one of Switzerland ’s most famous structure .
From the lakeshore town , you just demand to depend up to see the extraordinary mountainsideUNESCO Lavaux Vineyard Terraces , plant by monks in the 11th century and still bearing fruit for highly - prized wine . ( They even have their own festival : The winegrowingFête des Vigneronscelebration was first book in 1791 , and still takes place once every 20 to 25 years . ) By the 18th century , travelers had see their way to the promenade of the crescent - determine lake — also have it away as Lac Léman — when they needed a break , afterward indulging in spa treatment at the arresting Belle Epoque hotel lining the lakefront .
Even back then , the area attracted the rich and famous . Hemingway came to Switzerland for the first time in January 1922 , write several chapters ofA Farewell to Armsin Chamby . While travel to England on vacation , Charlie Chaplin learned he had been exile from his house in the US for being a Communist sympathizer . Rather than subject himself to interrogative , adjudicate to move his family to Vevey , finally withdraw there . ( His Neoclassical mansion is now the museumChaplin ’s World ) . Coco Chanel spenther own exilein the region , avoiding criminal charge after working as a Nazi agent , posting up at luxury hotels . She ’s now buried in Lausanne .
Amazing hair at the 1980 Montreux Jazz Festival.|ullstein bild Dtl./Getty Images
However , none of this gaudiness and glamour has brought the Montreux area quite as much global attention and economic welfare as the Montreux Jazz Festival , which started as a germ of an idea in 1964 while Nobs was working for the tourism board grow concert . ( by the way , Montreux also seems to have a foresighted history as a musical muse — Wagner , Tchaikovsky , and Stravinsky all pass fourth dimension there , and it ’s the place of origin of “ The Rite of Spring ” ) .
Nobs had an ear for talent from the beginning . As he told it , when theRolling Stonesplayed one of his appearance in 1964 , they were so unknown they had togivetickets away . That was just a hiccup . Three years later , the nothingness festival start out as just that – a wind fete — assume over the Montreux Casino for three days and feature the American group Charles Lloyd Quartet alongside European jazz artists . 1,000 citizenry came that first year . The event now draws nigher to 250,000 over its two - week span .
The following twelvemonth , the fete amplify its melodic ambit somewhat by inviting Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin to join , eventually abandoning the jazz theme entirely and grow into one of the most well - roll in the hay music genre - inclusive festivals in the world , with everyone fromMiles Davis to Ella Fitzgerald to Bob Dylan to Korntaking the stage . It ’s also one of the most put down : After Bill Evans won a Grammy for a set recorded at the fete in 1968 , multiple musicians follow suit of clothes , a custom that continues to this day . Just Google album with “ Live at Montreux ” in the title .
Björk (yes, it’s her) this week at the Montreux Jazz Festival.|Santiago Felipe/Redferns/Getty Images
away from the festival , Nobs himself — who pass away in 2013 — has also become somewhat of a tourist attraction . Hischalet , stuff to the brim with art and music memorabilia , can be engage for issue . you may stroll down Avenue Claude Nobs , past the gorgeousHotel Fairmont Le Montreux Palace(where many a musical creative person has spent the dark ) , or pop in for a potable and a show at the onsite bar , Funky Claude ’s , decorated with photos of Nobs and his famous acquaintance . Cross the street to the castle ’s carving garden and there , alongside statue of Ray Charles , BB King , Quincy Jones , Ella Fitzgerald , and Vladimir Nabokov , you’llfind a bronze interlingual rendition of Nobs , head tilted back , clutching a microphone .
No Pressure—okay, maybe some pressure
Perhaps rivaling the fete in renown is the city ’s most far-famed celebrity resident : Freddie Mercury . Even if you were n’t familiar with the Queen frontman , you ’d probably run into him . saunter along the lake promenade toward the Chillon Castle and there he is , or at least abronze alikeness by Czech sculpturer Irena Sedlecka . He ’s facing the water , fit out in the military jacket and striped pants he wore at his legendaryWembley concert in 1986 , his hip twisted , right arm up , left script holding a mike . It ’s a dynamic rendition of a active personality that called Montreux home at the end of his life . Butaccording to his personal assistant Peter Freestone , who tend to him from 1979 until his death , on Mercury could n’t tolerate Montreux when he first attended the fete in 1978 , . But the ring ask a place to record their albumJazz , and he was convert by David Bowie , who lived nearby , to record at Mountain Studios in town .
“ [ Mercury ] hated it,”reported Freestone . “ too soon on , in fact , he say that the skilful place for the studio would be at the bottom of the lake . ” While the slow and hushed pace of Montreaux did n’t appeal to Mercury ’s political party sensibility , that was on the dot what made it an excellent space to record . That next twelvemonth , theyboughtMountain studio at the top of the rebuilt Montreux Casino , where Queen subsequently register seven record album including their epic ( and final)Made in Heaven . ( The studios were also where David Bowie and Queen improvised what would become “ Under Pressure ” . )
The Irish Castle Saved by Rock ‘n' Roll
Slane Castle throws some of the best concerts in Europe. Plan now for June 2023—tickets are going fast.
After his AIDS diagnosing in 1987 , sleepy Montreux became more appealing to the frontman , and he subsist out his mean solar day out in a lakefront home nickname the “ Duck House ” until his decease in 1991 ( you could lease this one out , too ) . These solar day , devotee can take atour following in Mercury ’s footstep , as well as chatter Mountain Studios ( you ’ll have to walk through the workings — and now quite dated — cassino , but that ’s a fillip ) .
The studios are now home toQueen — The Studio Experience , a free museum tracking the band ’s sentence in Montreux , stocked with memorabilia , handwritten lyrics , and mythic costumes . The transcription room remains unaltered , but the console has been update , allowing visitors to remix Queen songs to their liking . Before you give , you ’re encouraged to sign one of the interior and exterior walls , and leave a tribute to Mercury if you ’re so fain .
The museum is do byMercury Phoenix Trust(MPT ) , a fund specify up by Queen band penis Brian May and Roger Taylor along with handler Jim Beach to heighten money for AIDS awareness and education . Every September , they also organizeFreddie Celebration Days , rivet aroundMercury ’s birthdayon September 5 . This year , the festivities traverse September 2 through 5 and admit a Queen Silent Disco besiege the bronze Freddie Mercury statue , plus a gravy boat party , free concerts , and the annualbirthday party blowoutwith a raffle and live entertainment . The finale result is bind — where else ? — inside the Montreux Casino . Just check that to leave the flare gas pedal at home .
Maybe the Chillon Castle will inspire you to write a poem.|FenlioQ/Shutterstock
Sunset on the Lavaux vineyards.|Michal Balada/Shutterstock
Buddies: BB King and Claude Nobs aka Funky Claude, in 2006.|Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
Go ahead—dance with Freddie Mercury.|Thamrongsak.S/Shutterstock
You’ll find Queen—The Studio Experience in the rebuilt Montreux Casino.|Roman Babakin/Shutterstock
