Above – On stage  Cologne June 18th 1980 – Photos copyright Tom Locke/TBL
To mark the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the final Led Zeppelin tour, this special TBL archive extract takes us back to the hot and steamy summer night of June 18th 1980. A night of rejuvenation that I was lucky enough to witness at very close quarters.
Being in close proximity during five of the gigs, there was a real sense of rejuvenation among the band and entourage. Even if the performances were an uneven blend of the …

Above: Cologne June 18th 1980:  A pensive DL after realising that nothing was going to shift those posters and thoughts of  an ebay nest egg  30 years on fading fast…
World Cup Update June 18th:  Oh dear…Bonzo was right after all…football is a load of bollocks – when it’s played like that.  An uterly dismal performance tonight that leaves us hanging on for a win on Wednesday or it will be all over. Yes we have been here before -1986  and 1990, but we really are running out of time and …

Them Crooked Vultures have announced a one off benefit London date. They will play the Brixton 02 Academy on Monday July 5th. This show has been organized to provide aid for TCV friend and Homme collaborator Brian O’Connor. The bass player for the Eagles Of Death Metal  has been diagnosed with cancer and is without medical insurance. The net Proceeds from the Brixton O2 Academy show will be contributed to a fund which has been established to assist with Brian’s medical aid. Tickets for the July 5th gig are available …

Jimmy Page was inducted into the Mojo “Hall Of Fame” on Thursday evening at a ceremony at the Brewery venue in London Thursday night (June 10). Phil Alexandra said of the guitarist, “Jimmy Page is the musician by whom all other musicians are measured. Every guitar player wants to sound like him, every producer wants to capture the sounds he captured (check out the many samplings and emulations of that When The Levee Breaks drum sound). He is a genuine music legend, and a recent BBC poll, placed Led Zeppelin …

Above: DL points to where the England goals need to go -World Cup 2002 Totnes Close Arena
The morning after the night before…and that Sunday morning feeling.  Not the start we were looking for. It all  looked so positive after four minutes.. but that optimism soon fell away –  Robert Green’s goalkeeping error was almost beyond belief.  But it happpaned  and we needed to recover. There were chances in the second half but they were not taken. Full marks to the USA who made it very difficult.
Yes, we’ve seen it all …

With the World Cup very much upon us, this TBL archive special takes us back to the heady days of June 2002. 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.
It actually seems longer than eight …

Led Zeppelin were offically voted the nation’s favourite  band on the BBC’s “I’m In A Rock ‘N` Roll Band” grand finale on Saturday night beating fellow finalists The Beatles and Queen in a phone-in vote. The show also featured Best Singer, Guitarist,  and Drummer live phone-in votes.  Remarkably  Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Bonham were all nominated in their catagories.  John Bonham was crowned top drummer ahead of Dave Grohl and Keith Moon, whilst Jimmy and Robert were runners up  to Jimi Hendrix and Freddie Mercury respectively. The Best …

Robert Plant’s forthcoming new album, Band Of Joy was premiered at a press launch in London on June 1st.  Robert made a brief appearance at the launch – commenting on the album he said  ”Band of Joy’ was an appropriate title for an amazing group of people who had nothing to lose,”
The track listing includes  Angel Dance, Silver Rider, I’m Falling in Love Again, You Can’t Buy Me Love, Monkey, Satan Your Kingdom, Must Come Down and Even This Shall Pass Away. The album is due for release in September.
Below …

 
TBL 26 is now out on the streets – all subscribers’ copies and orders up to today have been distributed. UK subscribers should now have received their copies and overseas orders are on their way. This issue has already reached out to Zep fans in the UK, USA, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, Indonesia, Israel, Malta, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Russia. I know – I packed every one!
The message needs to keep spreading as I know there are many fans reading this that have yet …

The band formed by Jason Bonham, Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, and Derek Sherinian will be known as Black Country Communion. The have now established a website at http://www.bccommunion.com/
A You Tube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/bccommunion
And a My Space page at http://www.myspace.com/bccommunion
Their debut album is set for release in September to be followed by a tour in 2011.
Jason Bonham and Robert Plant linked up for an interview conducted on The Paul & Young Ron Show” which airs on several terrestrial radio stations in Florida. Big 105.9’s Web site streams the show live. The …