Celebrated free jazz pianist and composer Keith Tippett's legendary jazz/progressive rock ensemble Centipede, a group of more than 50 musicians formed in 1970 to perform his extended work 'Septober Energy' on the concert stage. The musicians involved were the finest performers in the worlds of British jazz and progressive rock and featured members of Soft Machine (Robert Wyatt, Elton Dean, Nick Evans, Mark Charig), Nucleus (Ian Carr, Karl Jenkins,Jeff Clyne, Roy Babbington, John Marshall) King Crimson (Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Boz Burrell) and Blossom Toes (Brian Godding, Brian Belshaw) and vocalist Julie Tippett. The first Centipede concert took place at The Lyceum in London in November 1970 and was enthusiastically received by both critics and aficionados (including Mike Oldfield who was inspired to compose 'Tubular Bells' as a result of attending the concert).