“The greatest thing you ever can do now is trade a smile with someone who’s blue now”
That sentiment from the second track on Led Zeppelin 3 has certainly been in evidence for me these past few days as more emails of support have come down the line re the Zavvi situation.
“Inspiration is what they are to me” to paraphrase another Zep classic.
Current situation here on that front is that the Milton Keynes store escaped the round of 22 closures last week and we trade-on with potential buyers said to …

First off, sincere thanks for the many emails I’ve received of support and good wishes following the Zavvi financial collapse that has put my job at severe risk. We knew there were problems for some weeks but having an administrator serve a notice on us in the store on Christmas Eve was a bitter pill to swallow and a big shock.
Currently we continue to trade as a potential buyer is sought – the uncertainty of it all is very worrying and there have been difficult times here and challenging times …

So it’s here. Tight But Loose issue 22 is on the streets.
It’s always quite an epic moment when the fruits of our labour become a reality which all started in late August. I must acknowledge the input of Steve Jones, Cliff Hilliard, Simon Cadman, Mick Wall, Ross Halfin, Gary Davies and Gary Foy in making this issue what it is. 
Such is the close proximity to Christmas day itself, I half expected the TBL logo masthead to have a layer of snow on like seasonal issues of The Beano or Hotspur …

It only took a few seconds of that Tampa news footage to appear on screen before I felt a little watery eyed looking at the O2 DVD footage this week. Such is the lasting emotion of that truly incredible night of exactly one year ago. Watching it again and playing it back on the iPod on cold nights going home this week has only heightened my appreciation of their performance.
There were plenty of texts and emails from fans around the world similarly sharing their one year on experiences.
Seeing them reunited …

Looking back at my diary entry for 28 years ago this very day it started off as a fairly ordinary Thursday.
The night before I’d been to see Rod Stewart at Wembley Arena with good my friends Max, Phil and James (no sniggering at the back. Rod was, and is a class act and you can count me in for the rumoured Faces reunion)
It was a pretty riotous night – the diary notes that I consumed 6 vodka and limes and a Harvey Wallbanger in the pub before the gig …

It was very sad to hear of the death of Michael Lee.
Watching the You Tube clip of Achilles Last Stand from the Atlanta ’95 show on the Blabbermouth site, it’s evident just how important he was to the Unledded era. Outside of Jason he has without doubt the drummer who brought most empathy to the Zeppelin catalogue in working with Page and Plant.
Within all the euphoria of the 02 reunion, it’s easy to forget the accomplishments of those 1995/6 and 1998 tours. There were some incendiary performances –the …

Alan Stutz book launch was a truly epic night.
One of the best.
The good lady and I found it quite surreal seeing so many faces from the past  we had not seen for years. People we worked with years back who shared so many of the ups and downs during the 1980’s.
Alan and publisher Jerry put on a great show including a very clever spoof Spinal Tap author interview film segment which bordered on comic genius and included Alan wearing his original Led Zep Knebworth T shirt.
Great also to see two …

Well Croydon duly rocked last Friday as we came out of our dens to celebrate 40 glorious years. The turn out was good and Boot Led  Zeppelin played for over three hours.
Unfortunately Mick Wall was unable to make it going down with a nasty gastric virus so I donned the number 12 shirt and waxed lyrical on his book and other topics. Graeme conducted the ABC raffle and auction and many hands went in pockets to support the trust.
As ever it was good to chew the Zep fat with familiar …

All roads lead to Croydon on Friday as we come out of our dens to celebrate 40 glorious years of Led Zeppelin. The TBL crew will be in attendance, and I’ll be conducting an interview with author Mick Wall. I’m 150 pages into his mammoth new Zep biography and it’s already shaping up as the best book I’ve read on the band in years – maybe ever. Graeme Hutchinson is conducting a special charity auction for the ABC and Boot Led Zeppelin are headlining – all in all it’s a …

It’s an easy mistake to make when you have life laundried like I have these past few days.
So there we were at the local Beds County Council rubbish tip with 26 bags of rubbish from the loft to dispose of. It’s quite a maze at our local tip with skips aplenty: man made wood, recycled items, small electrical goods, large electrical goods, newspapers and magazines….now that was the one for us.
So once organized by the not so friendly tip advisor, an anguished cry goes up from the good lady:
“What …