Black Country Communion – Shepherd’s Bush Empire London  -December 30th 2010
Set List: 
Black Country
One Last Soul
Beggarman
Revolution In Me
Down Again
Too Late For The Sun
Song of Yesterday
The Ballad of John Henry
Great Divide
Medusa
No Quarter
Sista Jane
Drum solo >
Black Country (Reprise)
Burn (Encore)
Black Country Communion gave a first class  lesson in the art classic rock at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire last night.
From the moment Genn Hughes chugging bass line kick started the incessant riff of Black Country, through to a triumphant rework of  Deep Purple’s Burn, the band held the audience in the palm of their hand.
The …

DL outside the TBL distribution  centre. If only! I packed them all in our kitchen!
Old Bing has been singing about dreaming of a white Christmas for all those years, finally we got one. I cannot remember snow being all around us on a Christmas Day and Boxing Day for many a long year. When the good lady and I went for a Boxing Day walk it was quite amazing to be wading through the snow eying up the many houses around our way that were lit with Christmas lights.
After seeing …

Mr D.Lewis: Author, publisher,TBL editor and occasional Father Christmas…
‘Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!’’ as Dean and Frank both sang way back when, and well it did – and it isn’t going away too quickly. The old white stuff has hung around all week and consequently made the distribution of the new TBL magazine somewhat problematic. A fair few have gone out now with more to follow in the next few days. The postal delivery times are well erratic at the moment and here we had no …

Aside from battling the adverse weather conditions, the last two weeks have been taken up with completing and signing off the new issue of the TBL magazine. Once again designer Mick Lowe has done a great job in bringing the text alive. We spent many an hour correcting and adjusting the content and then it all went to the printers. Big thanks to Roger at Parrot Print and my good friend Dec Hickey for his input and text checking.
With the weather playing havoc, the first finished copies have been delivered …

Robert Plant and The Band Of Joy have added two extra dates to their forthcoming North American tour and have also announced their first festival date in the US for 2011. The additional dates  are for New York’s Beacon Theatre on January 30th and a second show at the Sony Centre in Toronto on Janaury 23rd.
The festival date is at the 38th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, held in Telluride, Colorado over the weekend of June 16th– 19th. Tickets are now on sale. More summer dates are expected.
The full January/February US …

The largest ever Led Zeppelin fan gathering is taking place over the Memorial Day Weekend 2011.
Zep Fest 2011 will run over three days – May 27th, 28th and 29th –
The venue is the National Harbour in Washington DC USA.
The organizers have an ambitious line up of attractions. They include:
*Over 50 bands, DJs and entertainers performing throughout the three days over five stages. Acts are being announced in “Waves”
Included in the ’50+ Musical Acts’ will be what Zep Fest 2011 is describing as  “Descendants, Disciples & Influences”
Performing will be some of …

If you still haven’t sorted that Christmas present idea – or need to add something to your own Christmas wants list, there are plenty of TBL goodies on offer – here’s a guide to the last minute TBL Christmas gift ideas:
GIFT IDEA 1: TIGHT BUT LOOSE 2011 MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION
Fed up with receiving the same old tired gifts for Christmas each year? Why not give your loved ones a nudge in the direction of the TBL ordering page and get them to invest on your behalf in a TBL 2011 Subscription –the …

Photo image copyright Thinkfarm
Three years ago today I awoke with the prospect of Led Zeppelin retuning to the stage just a matter of hours away. The previous night I’d spent the evening in the Pilot Inn toasting that fact with fans from all corners of the world. It would be a similar scene a few hours later.
The day itself went by in something of a blur – walking on that cold concourse leading to the O2 complex, conducting various interviews, bumping into countless fans I knew. After a communal hug …

Bonham’s the auctioneers are staging their latest  Entertainment Memorabilia sale  in Knightsbridge on December 15th and have a variety of Led Zeppelin related items on offer.  The lead item is a rare  acetate of  Memory Lane- an original composition recorded by The Band Of Joy. This was one of  four songs recorded at IBC Studios in Portland Place in London in early 1968 .The session  included  covers of Billy Roberts’ ‘Hey Joe’, Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For What It’s Worth’ and two original compositions, ‘Adriatic Sea View’ and ‘Memory Lane’. These were …

It may be winter outside….but in here it’s been flaming June courtesy of the recently surfaced soundboard tape of Led Zeppelin’s opening night at Madison Square Garden on the evening of June 7th 1977.  I know exactly what I was doing that day as it was the celebration of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and I was toasting Her Majesty in several Bedfordshire public houses. Over in America, Led Zeppelin were barnstorming their way though the first of six nights at the legendary New York venue.
On this new CD set (released …