Customised search for historical information

4 December 2009

On this day in history: Montreux Casino fire, 1971

The Montreux Casino opened in November 1881 to provide entertainment for visitors to the Swiss resort on the shores of Lake Geneva. The casino developed a reputation as a music venue, attracting Stravinsky and Ravel. In the late 1960s, it also started hosting concerts by jazz, blues and rock artists, becoming the venue for the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1967, under the direction of Claude Nobs.

On 3rd December 1971, Frank Zappa and the Mothers were playing a concert in the casino's ballroom when one of the audience fired a flare gun at the ceiling. The flare ignited the rattan covering of the ceiling and the fire soon spread, destroying the entire casino complex. Claude Nobs rescued several young people who had been sheltering in the casino. Fortunately, the fire caused only a few injuries and no fatalities.

The incident inspired Deep Purple to write "Smoke on the Water". They were in Montreux at the time, intending to record their new album in the casino using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio as the tourist season ended. The band eventually managed to record their album, Machine Head, which included "Smoke on the Water" at the Montreux Grand Hotel. The rebuilt Montreux Casino reopened in 1975 with its place in rock history assured.

Related posts
Great Fire of London destroyed St. Paul`s Cathedral: 4th September 1666
Stockholm Castle fire: 6th May 1697
Riot at premiere of Stravinsky`s Rite of Spring: 29th May 1913
King`s Cross Fire: 18th November 1987

13 comments:

Nami Dalufin said...

That was one of the interesting to know about the history of one of casino in the world. At least the casino was still rebuild and continue to serve people in Geneva.

Borkiman said...

Thank you for the comment

Unknown said...

Nice site you got there. Thank for showing it to me.
I got now lots of idea for my research.


bestessays.com is also a site that I could refer to find also some topic.

Celebrity Casino Gambler said...

The day when the Montreux Casino was on fire was really a shocking scene from the people who close to the area. The casino was popular not only in its casino gaming but also as a place where concerts are being held. I'm sure even if people are visiting more the online casino they still recognize and acknowledge the place where history took place.

paulsmith198914@gmail.com said...

Thanks for sharing your ideas; they are amazing for my current research. Writing a dissertation is not an easy task but guys from ​http://dissertationwriting.services/ will significantly simplify this process! That’s coming along nicely!

lisa steve said...

Keep it up!! You have done the nice job having provided the latest information magyaronlinecasino.co.hu

12win.co said...

I really loved the casino dip last night and had it with club crackers and pita chips. However, I'd like it a lot more next time if it was a bit . Casino Online Mobile Malaysia.

watson said...

I was searching online for articles that i can benefit, I’m glad I come across your site I found few good stuff here. Appreciate you for spending some time to offer some information. Casino Online Mobile Malaysia.

안전토토사이트 said...

Seeing the title of the post on the search page I was so much interested taking a visit in this page and really I was much shocked for the fire incident. I was also surprised thinking how a flare gun can be disastrous. Thanks god that was ended with a few injuries. 온라인카지노

Alex said...

Mrbet Canada makes casino online as smooth as possible. In addition to your laptop and desktop PCs, you can now enjoy our mobile casino Canada from your mobile.

Casino Online Mobile Malaysia said...

I was searching online for articles that i can benefit, I’m glad I come across your site I found few good stuff here. Appreciate you for spending some time to offer some information.

sportstotolink.com said...

Nice one! thank you so much! Thank you for sharing this post. Your blog posts are more interesting and impressive.
토토사이트링크

betflix said...

in which the popular slot games have various game formats. To play a lot, betflix