4th December 1971: “Smoke on the Water” inspired by a concert fire at the Montreux Casino

The theatre of the Montreux Casino was hosting a concert by American musician Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It was to be the casino’s final concert of the season, prior to closing down for winter renovations during which time the English rock band Deep Purple would use the venue to record their new album. Partway through the Frank Zappa concert, just as keyboard player Don Preston began his synthesiser solo on the song "King Kong", an audience member fired a flare gun towards the ceiling. This caused the rattan covering to ignite, and the casino was soon consumed by flames although fortunately there were no major injuries. The burning casino was to leave an indelible mark on music history thanks to Deep Purple, who watched from their hotel as the smoke from the fire spread over Lake Geneva. A few days later the band’s bassist, Roger Glover, woke from a dream with the words ‘smoke on the water’ in his mind, and this became the title for one of the most famous songs in rock history. The band had planned to record their Machine Head album at the Montreux Casino using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, a state-of-the-art recording facility housed in a truck. However, the destruction caused by the fire rendered the casino unsuitable for recording and the band were forced to find alternative. After noise complaints forced them to move out of the Pavilion theatre after only laying down a few parts of a new song, they converted the nearby Grand Hotel into an impromptu studio and completed the album. The guitar riff recorded by Ritchie Blackmore before the band was forced to leave the Pavilion became the basis for lyrics written by Ian Gillan that related the fire at the Montreux Casino. “Smoke on the Water” went on to become the band’s signature song.