Welcome, my friend, to the show that never ends...

What is the origin of the phrase:" Welcome to the show that never ends." ? Please email any ideas to my email account also please.

In a previous life I was a recording engineer and, for my sins, worked on all of Emerson, Lake and Palmer's albums (I could tell stories that would frighten livestock). Anyway, I recall, and at that volume its hard not to recall, a line from their show's opening song - "Welcome my friends to the show that never ends". I've not much doubt that Greg Lake nicked this from somehwere else but just maybe he coined it himself.

Including "Pictures At An Exhibition"? It's a very brave man that's prepared to admit this.

I actually quite liked the music of ELP - including 'Pictures' - Fanfare for the Common Man has become a classic piece of rock instrumental a bit like Strauss's "Thus Spake Z" and "Oxygene" by Jean Michele Jarre. I suppose the fact that I also liked Focus and Yes totally trashed my street-cred to such a degree that no number of Stereophonics, Chilli Peppers or Travis albums can restore it.

I have an inkling that Barnum or the Windmill Theatre might be the source of the original phrase.