Tangerine Dream played at Coventry Cathedral in England in October 1975, and filmmaker Tony Palmer captured it with psychedelic video processing effects for broadcast on BBC2. The performance utilized a quadrophonic sound setup that allowed the electronic soundscapes and sequencer loops to swirl dynamically around the cathedral’s vast nave.
The original 14th-century Coventry Cathedral had been devastated by the German “Coventry Blitz” Luftwaffe raid in 1940. Rather than erase the ruins, the city built a striking modern cathedral by Basil Spence alongside them. The symbolism of a German group performing an unusual concert there 30 years after WWII wasn’t lost on anyone, and the show was presented in part as an event of peace and reconciliation.
