My thoughts on the forthcoming Led Zeppelin releases to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Physical Graffiti…
Earlier in the month when I met with my esteemed TBL/ Led Zeppelin comrades in London, one of the talking points was the complete lack of recent Led Zeppelin archive releases. Compared to other peer acts, such as The Who and Pink Floyd, Zep have been fairly poorly served in recent years when it comes to such releases.
It’s now nearly a decade since Jimmy Page oversaw the reissue of the Led Zeppelin catalogue with the …

Ozzy RIP…

Like us all, I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear the news of the passing of Ozzy Osbourne aged 76.

A true icon – there will never be another…

Robert Plant paid tribute to Ozzy online:

“Farewell Ozzy … what a journey … sail on up there .. finally at peace .. you truly changed the planet of rock!”
In another online post Jimmy Page said : “To dear Ozzy, Rest In Peace. My respect and love goes out to his family and friends.”

STOP PRESS:
This just in!
LED ZEPPELIN will celebrate the 50th anniversary …

Robert Plant – Saving Grace with Suzi Dian – Long awaited new album out September 26 – plus debut US tour dates announced:
Big news and much welcomed news indeed…here’s the info: 
Robert Plant has announced the release of Saving Grace: the first album featuring a new band of distinguished players, which he calls “a song book of the lost and found.” Arriving September 26 on Nonesuch Records, the genesis of Saving Grace began during the lockdown in “The Shire,” when Plant’s customary wandering was all but forbidden. While his recent adventures have centred …

The DL Memoirs Update:
Whole Lotta Music and More – The Dave Lewis Memoirs 1956 – 1986

Here’s an update regarding my work in progress DL Memoirs project.
To backtrack.
I’ve been working on and off on this project for about three years now.
I’ve long since had a plan to get down to collating the many stories I have accumulated over many years into an autobiographical memoir of some sort. The problem was getting the time to concentrate on it.
To that end, in 2023 I did get going on it but with various other …

TBL Archive Special :
It was 45 years ago – Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980: 
This month marks the 45th 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 …

Mick Ralphs 1944 – 2025… 

Like so many of us I was deeply saddened to hear the news of the news of the passing of Mick Ralphs aged 81.

I last saw him play live back in April 2011.

This was at the Paul Rodgers gig at the Royal Albert Hall with Jason Bonham on drums. Mick came on at the encore for a rousing Can’t Get Enough.

The late Tom Locke and I met Mick afterwards and had a lovely pic with him. Mick was always so amiable and friendly.

I last saw him …

Howard Mylett Remembered : 14  years Gone…

June 19th marks the 14th 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 …

Jason Bonham JBLZE gig review by  Greg Frazho…

Here’s an on the spot review filed by Greg Frazho of a recent appearance of Jason Bonham’s JBLZE performing Physical Graffiti…

I went to see Jason Bonham and his band perform a show of almost exclusively Physical Graffiti songs with a couple of encores (“Whole Lotta Love” – with the theremin in the middle eights – and “Rock and Roll”). The gig was on Friday, May 30th, 2025.

The setting was a small amphitheater adjacent to the pool behind the Green Valley Ranch and Casino in Henderson, …

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Above and below, the brilliant cover photos for TBL issue 35 (a duel cover issue) taken on June 2 1973 by Dan Cuny…fantastic images of an epic outdoor show…
It was all happening in the Kezar Stadium 51 years ago on June 2 – so here’s Mike Tremaglio’s tour log for that day …
TBL Archive Special 1 – June 2, 1973 – Kezar Stadium – San Francisco, California, USA
Setlist:
Rock And Roll, Celebration Day, Bring It On Home (Intro)/Black Dog, Over The Hills And Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been …

On the occasion of John Bonham’s 77th Birthday – May 31, 2025…

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 …