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© John Atashian/Corbis
Performing in 1996 with Lake & Palmer
Emerson deserves a place on this list just for having the balls to a take a full Moog modular on tour with him - his roadies must have loved that. Known for his out-of- the-box thinking when it came to performing on keyboard instruments, he was an avid collector and amazing player of ‘70s synth technology, becoming an official endorsee of Korg’s gargantuan PS-3300 when it was released in 1978. Earlier this year, he acknowledged his place in OTT rock history by appearing with Spinal Tap.
"Synth Icon: Keith Emerson; Devin Townsend; Depeche Mode; Karlheinz Stockhausen; Moby; Aphex Twin; Venetian Snares" (From @hollavacui via Twitter, thanks)
"Kraftwerk, Keith Emerson". (from Philippe via Facebook, thanks!)
“Keith Emerson. Rick Wakeman. Bob Moog. Walter Carlos. All for obvious reasons. Others we shouldn't ignore: Peter Bardens, Pete Townshend (Who's Next was a masterpiece).” (Thanks, musophilr)
“Keith Emerson. He was the pioneer of live synth playing dragging a modular system out on tour while others were confined to the studio. Also for pure musical and technical genius, experimental flair, panache and showmanship. Also a great pal and close associate of Bob Moog in the early days and his feedback to Bob provided the basis for further development of Moog Synths. It's got to be Keith. (Not that I'm a fan or anything!)” (Thanks, bbcoz)
“I saw Kraftwerk on their Autobahn tour, real pioneering stuff. Did I mention Keith Emerson?” (Er, yes you did, bbcoz, but thanks again!)
