The Prelude to Knebworth…the Copenhagen warm-ups – it was 45 years ago:
Here’s a couple fascinating first hand views of the Led Zeppelin warm up shows all of 45 years ago…

A 24 month break separated Led Zeppelin’s walking offstage in California on July 24th 1977 and their return to the concert stage in Copenhagen almost two years to the day on July 23rd 1979.
In a tactic that echoed Peter Grant’s original launch of the band in 1968, Led Zeppelin flew to Copenhagen on Monday July 23rd to perform two warm up shows for the …

TBL Archive – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant – UK tour 1995 – it was 29 years ago…
29 years ago this week a fair few of you reading this were tearing up and down the highways and byways of the UK to catch the long awaited on stage return of   Jimmy Page & Robert Plant.
It was incredibly exciting few days -I was lucky enough to catch the dates in Glasgow, Sheffield, St Austell, Poole and two nights in Birmingham and London. Along the way there was many a TBL meet …

It was 44 years ago…
 Marking the final Led Zeppelin concert with John Bonham on July 7 1980
 Here’s my review of the Casino Records 3LP bootleg that was released  in 2020.
 My thoughts on…
Led Zeppelin
A Memory Frozen Forever
Casino Records Limited Edition 3 LP 180 gr gold vinyl 350 only.
This is the latest in the Casino Records series of Led Zeppelin vinyl presentations. Previous releases have included This follows their excellent Berkeley Days Second Night package in a limited run of 400, I Told You Baby Long Time Ago – Scandinavia March 1969 …

TBL Archive Special :
It was 44 years ago – Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980: 
This month marks the 44th anniversary of the final Led Zeppelin tour – a low key 14 date trek taking in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Austria and Switzerland. I was lucky enough to attend five of those gigs. This is all chronicled in my Led Zeppelin Feather In The Wind Over Europe 1980 book
Here’s is a further extract – my on the road account written at the time and first featured in TBL issue 5…

TBL Retro Archive: Led …

During the 1970s, I was well aware of Chris Charlesworth’s reporting in the Melody Maker. He wrote several illuminating pieces on Led Zeppelin, notably a review of their shows in Montreux in October 1972.

Chris had an excellent relationship with Zep as he did with many an artist. When he became the Melody Maker’s US correspondent I followed his weekly column avidly. He always seemed to be right in the mix of what was going on around the New York area.

Chris went on to become the commissioning editor of Omnibus Books. …

Howard Mylett Remembered : 13  Years Gone…

June 19th, marks the 13th anniversary of the passing of Howard Mylett, the legendary Led Zeppelin collector and original author.
He wrote the first ever biography of Led Zeppelin published in 1976 and went on to write a series of superbly researched Zep books. .
Howard Mylett had an engaging dry wit, incredible enthusiasm for collecting all things Zep, and above all, was always so generous in sharing his passion. He could be a cantankerous old bugger at times but that was all part of Howard’s make up.
It …

TBL ARCHIVE SPECIAL 1: JUNE 2002 – STILL DREAMING OF WORLD CUP SUCCESS… 22 YEARS GONE… 
22 years ago, as the World Cup got underway in Japan, Robert Plant was back in the forefront again promoting the just released Dreamland album. Here in the UK we had a Storytellers TV recording and a one off London date in the space of a few days – all occurring at the time Sven’s England were attempting to triumph in the World Cup in Japan.
That summer of 2002 was something of a summer of …

Led Zeppelin – The Day I Was There revised edition call out:

Later this year, Richard Houghton is publishing a revised edition of his book Led Zeppelin – The Day I Was There.

Telling the Zeppelin story through eyewitness accounts from fans, the first edition of the book contained more than 400 Zep memories. Richard is now looking for further memories from Zeppelin fans.

Richard has been in touch and is on the look out for new contributions:

‘I’m interested in hearing how people got into Zeppelin and what they remember of seeing them …

On the occasion of John Bonham’s 76th Birthday – May 31, 2024…

I love this photo – it may not be the sharpest image but for me, it captures the joyous spirit of John Bonham in full flight during Kashmir. It’s taken at Knebworth of course and frames the screen shot of Bonzo as it was being relayed on the backdrop screen by the video cameras. John Bonham’s total commitment to making it all tick over those two nights was pivotal to the success of that comeback. They all knew they …

TBL ARCHIVE SPECIAL:
It’s that time of year again…
TBL Celebrates the 49th anniversary of Led Zeppelin at Earls Court:
Turning the clock back 49 years..

Friday May 23, 1975
Ticket Price £1.00
Setlist: Rock And Roll/Sick Again/Over The Hills And Far Away/In My Time Of Dying/The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song/Kashmir/No Quarter/Tangerine/Going To California/That’s The Way/Bron-Y-Aur Stomp/Trampled Underfoot/Moby Dick/Dazed And Confused (inc. San Francisco)/Stairway To Heaven/Whole Lotta Love – The Crunge – Black Dog.
So imagine waking up on a Friday morning with the prospect of over nine hours of live Led Zeppelin in store …