At this time, Palmer also did his first session work, playing on the song "Love Light" by the Chants, a group from Liverpool.

[6] Vincent Crane was the keyboard player with the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and both he and Palmer left that group in the summer of 1969 to strike out musically on their own as Atomic Rooster, a trio formed with vocalist/bassist Nick Graham.

Palmer reports that Brown himself had "gone missing on a commune on Long Island" and that this was a deciding factor in forming the new band.

Meanwhile, Palmer received a call from Keith Emerson to audition for a new group and left Atomic Rooster in the summer of 1970.

Emerson had most recently been a member of The Nice, and Lake was in King Crimson, and both wanted to further expand their musical creativity.

The band was nominated at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, making them the first progressive rock group to achieve this feat.

Palmer rejoined the newly reformed ELP in 1992 for Black Moon, In the Hot Seat, a box set, as well as several DVDs and the subsequent tours.

The group was nominated at the 25th Annual Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, making them the second and last progressive rock band to achieve this feat.

A live album and DVD from the 2006 reunion tour, entitled Fantasia was released by Eagle Rock Records.

The jazz trio Back Door toured with ELP circa 1974, and Palmer began to collaborate with them, producing their fourth album, Activate (1976).

Highlights of Palmer's live drum solo over the years have included the use of both gongs and tambourines, and also his ability to extract himself from his T-shirt while playing complex double bass drum patterns; the latter leaving him stripped to the waist to play the final part of his show.

In addition to Palmer, the band features Paul Bielatowicz on guitar and vocals; and Simon Fitzpatrick on bass and Chapman stick.

[16] In 2011, Ludwig released his "Signature Venus snare drum", made of a green-lacquered brass shell with a 3.7" depth and a 14" diameter.

The kit, along with other percussion instruments and a rotating platform, had a total weight of approximately 2.5 tons and many of the stages on tour had to be reinforced, with some venues cancelling shows because of it.

Ringo put it up for auction in 2015, and it was purchased by David Frangioni, publisher and CEO of Modern Drummer magazine.