The Word – Word In Your Ear Podcast with David Hepworth and Mark Ellen:
The Islington pub, Tuesday August 20,2o19:
I’ve long admired David Hepworth and Mark Ellen as music journalists and broadcasters. I watched them during their Old Grey Whistle Test years and have avidly read their books and writings, notable in the much missed Word magazine.
When The Word magazine folded, the pair developed the Word In Your Ear podcast – this has proved to be a very popular forum for them to feature guest writers, performers etc. Given my long …

 
Robert Plant on the occasion of his 71st birthday:
Robert Plant is 71 years old on Tuesday, August 20…
From his initial forays in the Midlands scene in the mid 60’s leading to his first record being released in 1966, through to his vital contribution to Led Zeppelin and on to an always compelling solo career, Robert Plant has occupied a unique position at the forefront of the music world for over five decades…
During the past 12 months he has continued to push the boundaries of his vocal talent -continuing to delight …

Led Zeppelin at Knebworth 40 Years Gone:
No Sleeping Bag Required…
40th Anniversary TBL Celebration Day Event:
Sunday, August 4, 2019

The Atlas Pub
16 Seagrave Road, Fulham, London, SW6 1RX
From 12.00 Midday to 8.00PM
A Day of Led Zep Celebration – Guest Speaker Forums, Video Playbacks, Led Zep Knebworth Quiz, Led Zeppelin at Knebworth 1979 on film and more.
Full report:
Following on from last September’s hugely enjoyable Led Zeppelin 50th Anniversary ‘It’s Been a Long Time’ TBL gathering, we went back to the excellent Atlas pub in Fulham, London to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Led …

Led Zeppelin at Knebworth: 40 Years Gone…
The Knebworth stage under construction in the early morning of Thursday August 4 1979. Pic by Dave Lewis from the book Then As It Was – Led Zeppelin at Knebworth 1979.
It’s that time of year again…
The anniversary of Led Zeppelin at Knebworth always resonates that little bit more when it falls on the weekend –as it does this year. Saturday August 4th –just writing that date sends a tingle of excitement because that is the day when it all occurred back in that field …

Chris Charlesworth Just Backdated blog:
Here’s a great piece by Chris Charlesworth on TBL 45…
No rock group protected its rights more fiercely than Led Zeppelin. Manager Peter Grant famously declared war against anything and anyone that might seek to deprive them of income, make money off their backs or hamper their progress in any way, and if this meant something might get broken or someone get hurt then so be it. You made an enemy of the mighty Zep at your peril, at least until Grant retired from the front line. …

TIGHT BUT LOOSE ISSUE 45 – HOT OFF THE PRESS …AND OUT ON THE STREETS…
TBL issue 45 is hot off the press and out on the streets…
It arrived via White Hart Press in Bedford late last week.
Since then I’ve been extremely busy in the TBL distribution centre (our dining room actually) packing the pre – orders ready to leave here.
TBL distribution update:
I counted them all in – I counted them all out…

All UK, American, Australia and Europe pre-orders are now in transit – UK copies should be delivered  by the …

TBL issue 45 – a design wrap and at the printers… 
The forthcoming TBL issue 45 is now a design wrap and is at the printers. The pic here was taken on Monday afternoon at StudioMix as TBL designer Mick Lowe and myself signed off the proof. We spent a fair few hours over the past few days overseeing the final design layout and checking of the text. It’s a big relief we have finally got to the finishing line…
At 64 pages this is the largest TBL magazine ever produced. It …

 
TBL World Exclusive new interview with John Paul Jones for TBL 45:
The forthcoming TBL issue 45 due out August, will feature a world exclusive new interview with John Paul Jones
In an interview I did with him on the phone last week exclusively for TBL, John talked about the Resonance FM 100 Club gig, Tres Coyotes, his projects ahead and his memories of Led Zeppelin at Knebworth 40 years on…
In effect, it’s an exclusive catch up with the world of John Paul Jones in the summer of 2019…and …

 
Dave Lewis – Celebrating 50 years of music passion 1969 – 2019: Post number 3:
In praise of the cassette…
In his recent excellent book A Fabulous Creation, author David Hepworth notes the rise of the popularity in the cassette format during the late 70s/early 80s. This was inspired by the launching of the Sony Walkman and the fact that many music lovers (this writer very much included) took ownership of their listening habits by taping albums and creating compilations and mix tapes.
The earlier tape format the Eight Track Cartridge never really …

Led Zeppelin over Europe 1980 -39 years gone…Feather In The Wind – Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980 book re-launch:
This week marks the 39th anniversary of the first dates of the final Led Zeppelin tour – a low key 14 date trek taking in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Austria and Switzerland.
To begin a month long celebration of that final tour, I am relaunching the Feather In the Wind book –
Note – stock of the book is now running down so if you have yet to check out the book – now is the time!
This …