40 Year Itch: Before The Splatter of Marmalade

[Purchase Atem]

On February 15, 1973 Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke and Peter Baumann , the members of Tangerine Dream, took to the stage of the Theatre Parisien l'Ouest in Paris to perform with their handmade electronic instruments, tape machines and keyboards. 500 fans were turned away at the door. The music was atmospheric and hypnotic and so was the light show. It would probably still stand as one of the great highlights of Tangerine Dream's career except for the actions of a single audience member.
  As Tangerine Dream's own website puts it:

One idiot from the audience threw a large plastic bag filled with marmalade onto Edgar’s equipment. He hit his mark perfectly and a large part of the equipment was destroyed by the marmalade which oozed over knobs, faders and keys.

Atem, released in March of 1973

This would still be a big year for Tangerine Dream. DJ John Peel spent much of 1973 championing Atem, released in March, as the album of the year and by December the band would trade their German label for Virgin.

The portable analog synthesizer VCS-3, one of Tangerine Dream's most used instruments