London’ radio art station Resonance104.4fm is staging a live auction to raise funds to keep this unique project on air.
It’s being held from noon on Saturday March 19th until midnight on Sunday March 20th. Amongst the top items to bid for is the chance to win a 90 minute one to one bass guitar lesson with John Paul Jones.  For full details visit http://resonancefm.com/auction

Robert Plant and The Band Of Joy will perform at this year’s Montreal International Jazz Festival at the end of June. They are scheduled to play the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts on June 24.  Other Dates already confirmed this year are as follows:
April 8 – Louisville, KY – The Palace
April 9: – Chicago, IL – The Auditorium Theatre
April 11 – Milwaukee, WI – The Riverside Ballroom
April 12 – Minneapolis – The State Theatre
April 14 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live Arena
April 14-16  -Wanee Music Festival, Live Oak, …

Progress on the book I have been compiling titled  Feather In The Wind- Led Zeppelin  Over Europe 1980 is ongoing and we are now commencing the design stage with a view to publication in late May/June.
Here’s what the book is all about:
In the summer of 1980, Led Zeppelin undertook what would be their final tour –a low key 14 date trek across  Germany, Belgium, Holland, Austria and Switzerland.
With a radically streamlined stage presentation and set list, the aim was to get back to being a working band after all the …

Own up time. My only previous flirtation with anything remotely operatic has been The Who’s Tommy. I loved the film for it’s sheer absurdness and the album (particularly Lou Reizner’s orchestral version) is still a particular favourite.
Standing outside the mightily impressive Royal Opera House last Friday in London’s Covent Garden, I had the feeling the evening’s entertainment ahead was going to be something altogether a little more high brow.
It was but then again it wasn’t.
I was there of course to witness John Paul Jones contribution as the bass guitarist in …

The first dates of Robert Plant and The Band Of Joy’s 2011 summer European tour have been announced. They will be appearing at the following venues:
19th July – CAPANNELLE FIESTA Italy, Rome
20th July – ARENA CVICA Italy, Milan
22nd July – LES ROMAN ARENES France, Nimes
23rd July – PALEO FESTIVAL Switzerland, Nyon
27th July – NEW ARENA Russia, St. Petersburg
29th July – CROCUS HALL Russia, Moscow
31st July – PALACE OF SPORTS Ukraine, Kiev
2nd August – TORWAR Poland, Warsaw
3rd August – ZITADELLE Germany, Berlin
5th August – LOCKERSEE FESTIVAL Belgium, Lokeren
Further dates are likely …

40 years ago this evening, Jimmy Page strapped on a newly acquired Gibson double neck guitar and played the first chords of a new lengthy composition in front of an audience for the first time.
The occasion was Led Zeppelin’s opening date on their UK tour at the Ulster Hall Belfast. The historic photo below captures the moment…

The song was Stairway To Heaven
The rest is history….
As TBL contributor Rikky Rooksby observes in the introduction to a major feature on Stairway To Heaven to be published in the next Tight But Loose …

The first fruits of John Paul Jones’ involvement with avant-garde composer Gerald Thomas can be heard in a new stage play.
Throats by Gerald Thomas, features a piano solo composition by John. The play is currently running at Pleasence Theatre, Islington in London and ends on March 27th.
For further detail check  London Dry Opera and Pleasance Islington
For more on John Paul Jones and Gerald Thomas plans to work together see Gerald Thomas Blog  
John is currently appearing in the Anna Nicole opera at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.  The opera …

Photo Credit: © Christie Goodwin
Black Country Communion have joined forces with Planet Rock, the UK’s leading classic rock radio station, to offer rock fans the opportunity to download two exclusive freelive Black Country Communion tracks.
The tracks, “Black Country” and “One Last Soul,” were originally recorded live in front of a specially invited audience at John Henry’s, London on  September 20th2010.  The live recordings have been exclusively mixed for Planet Rock by BCC’s producer, Kevin Shirley.
To be eligible to download the live tracks, rock fans are being asked to become VIP …

Led Zeppelin performing Achilles Last Stand -Mannheim, July 3rd 1980. Photo by Tom Locke. Taken from the forthcoming book Feather In The Wind – Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980.
Another couple of intensive weeks spent in the year 1980 and on tour with Led Zeppelin.
No bad place to be of course but that’s how it’s been here recently as I wade on with the Over Europe book. Progress is good and there has been a lot to cram in. Recent highlights have been an interview with an important player in the …

Many thanks for the great response to the TBL Stairway To Heaven 40th Anniversary Poll. Ahead of the March 5th anniversary, there is still time to cast your vote for the all time greatest live versions of the song.
All you need to do is list in order of preference  up to five  favourite LIVE versions of Stairway To Heaven.
The criteria is as follows: Any live version by Led Zeppelin is eligible plus post Zep versions ie Arms or Outrider tour, Live Aid, Page & Plant Japan TV, O2 reunion.
From these …