[Originally published 4/7/21; Updated 4/7/26]: Fifty-four years ago tonight, the Grateful Dead kicked off their well-documented Europe ’72 tour with a performance at the Wembley Empire Pool (now Wembley Arena) in London, England.

The show that night opened with an energizing performance of the Bob Weir-led “Greatest Story Ever Told”, and continued with a number of live favorites from the band’s early days including “Sugaree”, “Me And My Uncle”, “China Cat Sunflower” into “I Know You Rider”, “Black-Throated Wind”, “Loser”, the Ron “Pigpen” McKernan-led blues tune “Mr. Charlie”, “Tennessee Jed”, and “Playing in the Band”.

For the second set of the night, the band returned to the stage to deliver renditions of “Truckin'”, “The Other One”, “El Paso”, “Wharf Rat”, “Sugar Magnolia”, “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad” into “Not Fade Away” and “One More Saturday Night”.

The Dead’s 22-date tour of Europe would go on to become one of the most legendary tours in the band’s 30-year history. Occurring during the changeover period as Pigpen performed alongside his ultimate replacement, keyboardist Keith Godchaux, and his vocalist wife Donna Jean Godchaux, Europe ’72 captured the Grateful Dead as they transitioned from the San Francisco acid rock band bathed in feedback to a cultural crossroads that blended folk with psychedelic rock and vivid storytelling. Plus, the playing throughout the tour was some of the band’s tightest up until that point, technically precise but still loose enough for the occasional 30+ minute “Dark Star”.

Related: Grateful Dead Take The Foreign Airwaves On Germany’s ‘Beat-Club’ In An Excerpt From ‘Europe ’72: Revisited’

Select audio from the April 7th show was released by the band in 2011 as part of the Europe ’72 Volume 2 compilation, while the full-show audio was released as a stand-alone album as part of the Europe ’72: The Complete Recordings box set that same year.

Relive the band’s opening performance from their Europe ’72 tour via the Spotify player below.

Grateful Dead – Wembley Empire Pool – 4/7/72