“Bohemian Rhapsody» QUEEN in Casino Barrière just next to Mountain Studio, Montreux, 2019

How a Frank Zappa Concert Fire Inspired ’Smoke on the Water’ The small town of Montreux, Switzerland, became a place forever linked to rock history on Dec. 4, 1971. A fire at the Montreux Casino during a concert by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention inspired Deep Purple’s classic “Smoke on the Water.» The Mothers were performing “King Kong“ – about 80 minutes into the show – when, during Don Preston’s synthesizer solo, someone shot off a flare gun. The flare hit the wooden roof and quickly spread. Originally, the band treated it with their customary irreverence. “Fire!“ shouted background vocalist Howard Kaylan. “Arthur Brown in person.“ But they soon realized the danger and Zappa had the composure to tell everybody to head calmly toward the exits. As depicted in the lyrics to “Smoke on the Water,“ Claude Nobs, the director of the Montreux Jazz Festival, ran in and out of the building to help fans escape. “They were very organized,“ Zappa said in an interview shortly after the fire. “I was just luck