Led Zeppelin on 45RPM…from £1.25 new pence for Whole Lotta Love in 1972 – to £11.99 for Rock And Roll on Record Store Day in 2018… 
I’ve been fascinated with Led Zeppelin singles for over 47 years.
Because they were primarily an albums band, for me there’s always been almost an illicit thrill to hear a Led Zeppelin track framed in the 45 RPM seven inch format.
That fasciation goes right back to 1970 when I was aware through the pages of the NME, that Whole Lotta Love and Immigrant Song had been extracted …

Led Zeppelin Record Store Day Release – Rock And Roll (Sunset Sound Mix)/Friends (Olympic Studios Mix) TBL PREVIEW:
Since we’ve been loving them….again…
Just had a listen to this promo copy I’ve received – here’s how it sounds to these ears..

Rock And Roll the Sunset Sound Studios Mix – slightly punchier in the rhythm department and slightly more shrill in the vocal. The guitar solo is more prominent and up front. It’s Rock And Roll…and it’s brilliant…
Friends Olympic Studios Mix – this is an absolute gem. Basically a mix without the string …

 
 Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters for Blues Fest 2018 double header with Van Morrison:
 Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters and Van Morrison join John Fogerty and Steve Miller Band in the line up for BluesFest 2018.
Here’s the info:
Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, and Van Morrison have both been announced as playing full sets at Bluesfest London, which returns to the various venues of O2 Arena, Greenwich, from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th October 2018. Plant and Van Morrison will appear on Friday 26th October plus special guest Colin Macleod.
Plant appeared …

TBL Archive 1 – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale – 20 Years Gone:
To mark the release of the Walking into Clarksdale album 20 years ago this month, here’s a TBL archive piece that looks back to the release of the album.
On the back of the Shepherds Bush gig and all the media coverage, it was such a great time to be a Page & Plant fan. Here’s my original and very optimistic review of the Walking Into Clarksdale album written for TBL issue 13.
 Walking Into Clarksdale: Another …

TBL Archive Special 1:
BBC Radio One John Peel In Concert  – 47 years gone:
Reeling in the year: Capturing the sounds of BBC Radio One on a Sunday night in April – The Wonder of Devotion…
Led Zeppelin BBC Radio One In Concert – It was 47 years ago today:
47 years ago, on Sunday April 4 1971, I first heard the music of Led Zeppelin performed live and the effect was pretty shattering to the ears of a young 14 year old – not to mention rather lasting…
The occasion was the Radio …

Led Zeppelin Houses Of The Holy  – TBL 45th Anniverary Special:
45 years ago this week Led Zeppelin released their long awaited fifth album, Houses Of The Holy.
Here’s a round up of  House Of The Holy coverage collated five years ago for the 40th anniversary:
March 2013 TBL Archive:
We have been counting down to this milestone anniversary and the TBL website and Facebook page will be celebrating the album’s release over the next few days.
I myself have been getting intensely re acquainted with the Houses Of The Holy album since January, as over the …

How The West Was Won remastered. The countdown is nearly over…
The countdown is nearly over – This Friday March 23 marks the worldwide release of the How The West Was Won remastered set…
To set the scene, below is an overview of the Los Angeles and Long Beach shows that make up the How The West Was Won set and the circumstances they were recorded in. Plus the state of play at the time within Led Zeppelin – all you need to know to get you in the mood for the latest remastered Zep fix…
So let’s travel back to …

How The West Was Won remastered. The countdown is on…
The countdown is on for the March 23 worldwide release of the How The West Was Won remastered set…with 8 days to go and counting.
To set the scene, below is the first of a two a part overview of the Los Angeles and Long Beach shows that make up the How The West Was Won set and the circumstances they were recorded in. Plus the state of play at the time within Led Zeppelin – all you need to know to get you in the mood for the …

TBL ARCHIVE SPECIAL :JIMMY PAGE & ROBERT PLANT LIVE IN ISTANBUL – 20 YEARS GONE…

Now this one is a bit of an epic.  This was first published in TBL 13 – It’s an road chronicle of the TBL crew’s adventures in pursuit of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant across the and month of March 1998. This took in two dates in Istanbul – something of a zenith in my own ‘’Crazy things I’ve done in the name of Zep’’ portfolio, followed by the superb Shepherds Bush Empire gig which in …

RECORD STORE DAY x LED ZEPPELIN = COLLECTING JOY: 
…AND STILL BIGGER THAN ANYONE ELSE…
Some DL thoughts…
The announcement of the Led Zeppelin Record Store Day special limited edition single on Tuesday, was met with what has become a familiar mixed bag of comments – some for, some very much against.
Call me a fool, but a limited edition single with two unreleased mixes of two of their finest achievements on yellow vinyl? Come on, what’s not to like!
Yes, the strategy of Record Store Day is by no means perfect – too many releases now …