Let me take you to the movies…Becoming Led Zeppelin update and UK screenings…

On Tuesday I attended a press screening of the Becoming Led Zeppelin film at the Sony Pictures HQ.

No spoilers – but just to say I was very impressed…

I did not think I could love Led Zeppelin anymore than I do but this film proves otherwise…invigorating, inspiring, emotional and truly fantastic. Bernard MacMahon and Allison McGourty  have done a fabulous job with the directing and writing. The respective interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones add vital context to the story.

It really is something special…it’s ample proof of why we have invested and continue to invest so much faith in our passion for this group.

So it’s a big week ahead…

First some reflections:

Led Zeppelin on film…

I once made an observation that of the 85,000 fans who saw Led Zeppelin at Earls Court over those five nights in May 1975, a majority of them would have not seen moving pictures of Led Zeppelin because at that time, there was very little available.

The only known footage back then was their appearance in the Supershow film which had a limited cinema showing in 1969.

The flood gates opened of course with the arrival of The Song Remains The Same movie. I was at the UK premiere and saw it the first three nights in London. I went on to see The Song Remains film around 30 times in UK cinemas from 1976 to 1979. It was the next best thing during their enforced absence. I went to see it Western Favell shopping centre near  Northampton on a snowy January night in 1978 and a late night showing in Luton when it followed a porn film – I kid you not!  I also saw it a fair few times at a small cinema near Wardour Street in London called The Essential. This was an art house cinema that regularly aired rock films of the day.

In August 1981, I was very fortunate to have a special all day showing in the Swan Song office. Set up by the director of the Knebworth footage, I watched in some the Earls Court May 24 show, both Knebworth performances and the Seattle Kingdom July 77. The deal was I was not to disclose what I’d seen and I kept my side of the bargain for a good few years.

The arrival of the video age of course would soon make it much easier to view. I  invested in a bootleg copy in early 1981 – not of brilliant quality but it had to be had. Other clips emerged mostly in poor quality, including the promo for Whole Lotta Love filmed for the German Beat Club show and the Hot Dog promo from Knebworth ’79.

The 1990s saw the emergence of bootleg copies of the complete Knebworth August 11 show and the Earls Court May 24 and 25 performances. On New Years Day 1991 the BBC aired the 1969 black and white half hour TV shot for Danish TV. In 1999 a clip of them miming to Communication Breakdown on Swedish TV in 1969 surfaced.

The 2003 official five hour DVD was another watershed moment. In 2012 we were afforded the complete 02 reunion performance for the Celebration Day DVD. Another great premiere and one I was lucky to be at.

In recent years there’s been a surge of Zep cine film  from all eras -and hats off to the Eric at the LZ Film YouTube channel for his great restoration and syncing skills.

Some 13 years on from Celebration Day, we now have another Led Zeppelin cinematic treat. Long in the making, Becoming Led Zeppelin is about to hit the big screens. Some of the early footage mentioned above is deployed in the film with much improved sound and vision.

So it was again in some awe, that yesterday afternoon I had my first viewing of this amazing film. There were several shivers down the spine moments and points where I welled up. I also thought how much the late departed Andy Adams and Howard Mylett would have enjoyed it and our much missed friends Tom and Alastair.

The country wide UK and US screenings of Becoming Led Zeppelin are a mouth-watering prospect. It’s something of a communal event in much the same way the Celebration Day screenings were.

In effect, countless fans will be enjoying this monumental outpouring of Zep up on the big screen and around the same time.

Be sure to let me know what you think of it and your experiences either on my Facebook page or the comments section on the TBL website posting.

TBL Meet for the Becoming Led Zeppelin BFI IMAX screenings:

I have tickets for the BFI IMAX 6.10 pm screening on Wednesday February 5 and the 8.30 pm screening on Thursday February 6.

I note that the director Bernard MacMahon is staging a Q and A session after the 6.10 February 5 BFI IMAX screening.

I will be in the Wellington Hotel pub late afternoon which is nearby the BFI IMAX cinema address below

The Wellington Hotel, Waterloo

Address: 81-83 Waterloo Rd, London SE1 8UD

I will also be in the bar at the BFI IMX cinema before the screenings

1 Charlie Chaplin Walk
South Bank
London SE1 8XR

I very much look forward to seeing all that can make it along. We are all in for a treat…

Becoming Led Zeppelin Hollywood Premiere:

Here’s coverage of the Hollywood Premiere via LZ News

Note our good friend legendary Zep collector Brian Knapp was in attendance – Brian has bene a consultant on the film…

https://ledzepnews.com/2025/01/28/heres-who-attended-the-hollywood-premiere-of-becoming-led-zeppelin/

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LZ News

Here’s the latest round up from the LZ News website and Facebook page:

Please note the views posted by LZ News are independent to the TBL website

Led Zeppelin News Update:

Many thanks to James Cook

For all the latest Zep and related news check out the Led Zeppelin news website at:

http://ledzepnews.com/

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It was 55 years ago – Evenings With extract…

Coming across this Melody Maker front page story from January 31,1970 prompted me to recall the events of 55 years ago when Led Zeppelin were undertaking a long awaited UK tour…

Here’s an extract from the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book based on the usual impeccable research from Mike Tremaglio:

Fifth UK Tour (Winter 1970)

January 7, 1970 – February 17, 1970

A timely UK outing which coincided with Led Zeppelin II toppling The Beatles’ Abbey Road as the number one chart album. There were eight theatre dates and, not surprisingly, it was their London appearance that drew most of the attention.

Back at the famous Royal Albert Hall on Jimmy’s 26th birthday (January 9, 1970), they did much to enhance their reputation with an excellent show. This concert was filmed by the band under the direction of Stanley Dorfman and Peter Whitehead. Originally intended for a semi-documentary project, it never saw the light of day, allegedly because some of the film was shot at the wrong speed. A 40-minute cut was prepared and turned up as a much coveted yet atrocious quality bootleg years later.

All but one of these dates saw them perform with no support act – a trend that would continue on subsequent tours. The setlist for these shows included a new set opener, a cover of Ben E. King’s ‘Groovin’’ (aptly renamed ‘We’re Gonna Groove’). The version performed at the Royal Albert Hall show remained unreleased until it turned up (along with guitar overdubs) on the posthumous Coda set in 1982.

On January 31, 1970, Plant suffered facial injuries when his Jaguar spun off the road after returning from a Spirit concert. This caused the cancellation of the proposed February 7 date at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, which was later rescheduled for February 17. A rare concert programme was distributed for this show and the accompanying blurb reveals that, “Although Led Zeppelin was created at the close of 1968, they are undoubtedly a group of the Seventies. THE group of the Seventies according to an opinion which is held worldwide.”

During the early months of the new decade it was an opinion shared by all who were lucky enough to attend what would prove to be their only indoor UK shows of the year.

January 7, 1970 – Town Hall – Birmingham, England

Partial Setlist (from press review):

We’re Gonna Groove, Dazed And Confused, White Summer/ Black Mountain Side, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Organ Solo/ Thank You, Moby Dick, How Many More Times Medley (inc. Rip It Up, ‘Bye Bye Johnny’, Come on Everybody, Something Else), Bring It on Home

Background Info:

The first show of the British Tour was performed in Plant and Bonham’s local stomping ground. Birmingham. The concert featured the debut performance of ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ which had been written by the band a few days before the concert and wouldn’t be released for another nine months. ‘Thank You’, another song featuring John Paul Jones on organ, was also debuted.

Press Reaction:

Express and Star (Wolverhampton, England, January 8, 1970) – “Led Zeppelin and the lovely strangled cat sound” by Tony Raba: “Fans cheered wildly, danced in the aisles and even on their seats last night to give Led Zeppelin one of the most fantastic receptions ever witnessed at Birmingham Town Hall. The two-and-a-half hour show featured solely Zeppelin… and some of the best rock music I have ever heard.

The group opened its act with ‘Groove’, before going into one of their early numbers, ‘Dazed and Confused’, featuring brilliant guitar work from Jimmy Page who, with the aid of cello bow, made his guitar sound like a cat being strangled.

            Two encores, and eventually the group came on to close with a really wild version of ‘Bring It On Home’, leaving the audience ecstatic and the Town Hall shaking to its very foundations after one of the wildest, raviest shows ever seen there.”

January 8, 1970 – Colston Hall – Bristol, England

Setlist:

We’re Gonna Groove, I Can’t Quit You Baby (inc. It Hurts Me So, I Need Somebody To Lean On), Dazed And Confused, Heartbreaker, White Summer/ Black Mountain Side, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Organ Solo/ Thank You, Moby Dick, How Many More Times Medley (inc. Smokestack Lightning, Beck’s Bolero, Boogie Chillun’, Move On Down The Line, Hideaway, Truckin’ Little Mama/ Bottle It Up And Go, The Lemon Song), Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown (inc. It’s Your Thing, Good Times Bad Times)

Bootleg Recording (89 minute source):

Robert apologizes for the band being an hour late, and mentions that ‘Thank You’ was being played for just the second time. Plant introduces Jimmy as “Jimmy Hoochie Koochie Page” during the intro to ‘How Many More Times’.

January 9, 1970 – Royal Albert Hall – London, England

Setlist:

We’re Gonna Groove, I Can’t Quit You Baby (inc. It Hurts Me So, Don’t Know Which Way To Go), Dazed And Confused (inc. Cocaine Blues), Heartbreaker, White Summer/ Black Mountain Side, Since I’ve Been Loving You (unreleased), Organ Solo/ Thank You (unreleased), What Is And What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, How Many More Times Medley (inc. On The Way Home, Down By The River, Boogie Chillun’, Move On Down the Line, Truckin’ Little Mama/Bottle It Up And Go, Cocaine Blues, Leave My Woman Alone, It’s Your Thing, The Lemon Song, That’s All Right), Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown, C’Mon Everybody, Something Else, Bring It On Home, Long Tall Sally Medley (inc. Move On Down The Line, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On)

Background Info:

This legendary gig on Jimmy Page’s 26th birthday was captured on film for posterity. Originally intended for a TV documentary on the band, the footage remained officially unreleased until the 2003 Led Zeppelin DVD release (just 40 minutes of the show had previously been available on a low-quality bootleg). Jimmy Page: “It was just like it was at the Albert Hall in the summer (June 29, 1969), with everyone dancing ‘round the stage. It is a great feeling. What could be better than having everyone clapping and shouting along? It’s indescribable, but it just makes you feel that everything is worthwhile.”

Press Reaction:

Nick Logan, music critic for the New Musical Express (January 17, 1970), was wildly enthusiastic about the show in his review “Zeppelin Put The Excitement Back Into Pop”. He remarked that the band had been “exercising control over the sell-out crowd from 8:15 when they took the stage until 10:30 when they left it.”

His other observations included the following: “It isn’t hard to understand the substantial appeal of Led Zeppelin. Their current two-hour plus act is a blitzkrieg of musically-perfected hard rock that combines heavy dramatics with lashings of sex into a formula that can’t fail to move the senses and limbs. At the pace they’ve been setting on their current seven-town British tour there are few groups who could live with them on stage.

           Strutting about the stage with arrogance, Plant is a most accomplished performer, drawing from the finest blues/soul-shouter traditions with a confidence out of line with his inexperience previous to Led Zeppelin.

At the end of two 15-minute long encores, when the audience had been on its feet dancing, clapping and shouting for 35 minutes, they were still calling them back for more. I spoke to ‘Sir’ Jimmy Page after the show and he confessed that the whole band had suffered extreme nerves beforehand, mainly because people like John Lennon, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck had requested tickets.”

Record Mirror (January 17, 1970) also gave the band high marks, noting that, “Jimmy Page proved he is one of the best musically-equipped guitarist(s) on the pop scene” and “Robert Plant puts his lines across with a roar and sometimes insinuating sexiness in his movements.”

            Top Pops And Music Now (January 17, 1970) chimed in with another positive review of the show, saying the “group contains four of the finest musicians around, (though) they are not musicianly. Nor are they particularly progressive. But they are extremely good. Very exciting. The Greatest Bopper Group in the World… they built an atmosphere and backed it with good solid rock.”

Given the lack of audio or video evidence, there had been some question whether or not ‘Since I’ve Been Loving Lou’ was played. The answer came in the form of Raymond Telford’s Melody Maker (January 17, 1970) review, as he called that song one of the best numbers played that evening.

Official Release:

Led Zeppelin DVD (Atlantic 2003)

Bootleg Recordings (113 minute multiple soundboard & video sources):

‘Heartbreaker’, ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’, ‘Organ Solo/Thank You’ and the ‘Long Tall Sally’ medley were all excluded from the DVD release (though the ‘Long Tall Sally’ medley video is available on bootleg). he band introductions at the beginning of ‘How Many More Times’ as well as ‘That’s All Right’ from the medley were edited out of the DVD. The guitar solo in ‘Communication Breakdown’ was also edited down by almost half a minute.

‘We’re Gonna Groove’ (with overdubs) and ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ from the posthumous 1982 Coda LP were both taken from this show.

‘Heartbreaker’ (cut after 4 minutes, just as the guitar lead gets off the ground) and ‘Long Tall Sally’ both exist on audio, despite being excluded from the official DVD. ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ and ‘Organ Solo/Thank You’ have never surfaced in audio or video form (other than the short audio snippets on the DVD menu).

January 13, 1970 – Guildhall – Portsmouth, England

Background Info:

The second and last time Led Zeppelin performed at the Guildhall in Portsmouth (they had last played there on June 26, 1969).

January 15, 1970 – City Hall – Newcastle, England

Background Info:

The second of five times the band played the Newcastle City Hall.

January 16, 1970 – City (Oval) Hall – Sheffield, England

Background Info:

The first of two times the group played Sheffield City Hall (the other being the January 2, 1973 show).

January 24, 1970 – University of Leeds, Refectory – Leeds, England

Background Info:

The venue for this concert was listed in the UK music papers as either the Leeds Town Hall or Leeds University. Extensive coverage of the concert in the University’s Union News removes all doubt as to where the show was performed.

The Who’s legendary Live At Leeds LP was recorded just three weeks later at the same venue on February 14, 1970. Spring 1970 term was a banner time for Leeds University students as Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Ten Years After, Yes, Joe Cocker, The Small Faces and Mott the Hoople were among the renowned artists who performed at the Refectory during that spring term.

Press Reaction:

”Chris and Vic” of the University News (January 30, 1970): “Their ‘two hour’ hop at the Union took nearly three hours. The fact that there were six encores only emphasizes their terrific performance. The refectory was a mass of people captivated by the sounds put out by the incredible Led Zeppelin.”

February 17, 1970 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh, Scotland

Support Act: Barclay James Harvest

Background Info:

(Rescheduled from February 7, 1970)

This one-off gig in Scotland was originally scheduled for February 7, but had to be postponed due to Robert Plant being injured in a car crash on January 31. Plant was returning from attending a gig by Spirit at the Mother’s Club in Birmingham that night and was involved in a car accident. He sustained facial lacerations and damaged teeth when his Jaguar had a collision with a minivan. As a result, the gig was postponed 10 days, giving Plant the time necessary to recuperate.

The band was supported by Barclay James Harvest, the only time they were supported by another band in 1970 (besides the two festival dates – the June 28, 1970 at the Bath Festival and August 29, 1970 at the Man-Pop Festival).

Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh promoted the concert, and a programme was produced to commemorate the event.

Extract from the book Evenings With Led Zeppelin by Dave Lewis and Mike Tremaglio

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TBL Archive – it was 50 years ago…

TBL Led Zep 1975  Snapshot: Number Five:

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6th,1975

MONTREAL, CANADA

MONTREAL FORUM

Set: Rock And Roll/Sick Again/Over The Hills And Far Away/In My Time Of Dying/The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song/Kashmir/No Quarter/Trampled Underfoot/Moby Dick/Dazed And Confused (inc. San Francisco)/Stairway To Heaven/Whole Lotta Love – Black Dog/Heartbreaker

Snapshot Listen:- How it sounds now:

I have this on the 1975 World Tour vinyl double album and the When The Levee breaks /World Tour ’75 CD set. I’ve always had a bit of affection for the World Tour bootleg – it was one of the first I got of the 1975 US tour. It’s a fair to good audience recording but very lively.

This is an enjoyable performance though Robert’s voice is still struggling. Sick Again really rocks while Over The Hills appears in a unique arrangement as Page’s guitar lead cuts out and Plant fills in as JPJ carries the rhythm. After ”The Rain Song, Robert lectures the crowd on the Mellotron: “It’s a very peculiar instrument because every time we take it somewhere, it goes out of tune. It’s built and comprises of tapes inside the box, and to simulate violins is not an easy job when you’re travelling to North America. In fact, we’re gonna try to simulate some Eastern violins now.” Kashmir is growing more powerful with each performance and is rapidly turning into one of the highlights of the show. No Quarter clocks in at 19 minutes and pleasingly so.

Moby Dick is now stretching to 25 minutes and Plant refers to  Bonzo as “Karen Carpenter”, a reference to a recent poll in Playboy magazine which placed Karen Carpenter as ‘Best Drummer’, above Bonzo. At the time Bonzo’s first hand response was captured in an interview with Lisa Robinson: “Karen Carpenter couldn’t last ten fucking minutes with a Zeppelin number!”

Dazed And Confused (only it’s third outing on the tour) includes a very delicate version of San Francisco and is now recapturing some of its former glories. Page’s solo on Stairway To Heaven is also developing a previously unknown intricacy. Instead of Communication Breakdown they throw in a ragged but welcomed version of Heartbreaker as a second encore.

“Montreal – you are the best! Maybe the snow has melted all around the hall.” is Plant’s parting comment.

They were on the up, and there were some great performances imminently ahead.

To be continued…

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Record Collector with Physical Graffiti at 50 feature…  

Many thanks for all your kind comments re the Record Collector Physical Graffiti feature.

Copies are on sale at all major newsagents and online vis the Record Collector site – see link below

https://recordcollectormag.com/issues-list

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Recent DL bootleg LP box set acquisition:

The Beatles Get Back Songtrack – 6 LP box set on Fab and Gear Records.

I’ve had a nigh on 56 year affair with The Beatles’ Get Back/Let It Be album and sessions..

It all began way back in April 1969 when The Beatles released a new single titled Get Back. As previously chronicled, this was the inspiration for me to get right back into music after a brief infatuation with The Dave Clark Five when I was seven years old.

James Bond, Thunderbirds, The Daleks and football took over for a while but aged 12 I was ready to tune in once again

It was Get Back that really attracted me back to music. I had heard it on Tony Blackburn’s Radio One breakfast show and repeatedly on the juke box in our local café.

Being an avid reader of the NME I noticed they had reported that The Beatles next album would be titled Get Back and comprise of recordings made in early 1969 to accompany a film of the same name. This was planned to be released in 1970.

During the early months of 1970 I eagerly scanned the news pages of the NME for more news. It transpired the album and film would now be titled Let It Be and in early March 1970 the Let It Be single was issued backed with the quirky You Know My Name (Look Up the Number). The single came in an eye catching picture sleeve. I of course loved the single and the accompanying film clip of it shown on Top of the Pops.

On April 10, the Daily Mirror broke the story that Paul had quit The Beatles. The acrimonious reasons behind the split dominated the pop headlines over the next12 months. The Beatles had out grown The Beatles and as Lennon would put it – the dream was over.

However, there was one more Beatles album release and it came on May 8, 1970. Let It Be was packaged in an outer cardboard box that contained a deluxe book and the actual record catalogue number PX1. It sold for a penny less than £3.

Far too much for my pocket money but the same older friend did buy it and we marveled at that package, the book and the album’s contests. Let It Be for me sounded like a great album -with it’s off mic comments and raw playing, tender moments, jams and quirky singalongs –the informality of it all touched a chord – this was The Beatles presented in a unique way as never before.

Not everyone was enamored with this final chapter. The NME called it a cheap cardboard epitaph. To this day I disagree with such a notion.

On Thursday June 18, 1970 I went to the Granada cinema in Bedford to see the Let It Be film. We had the day off school as Britain was going to the polls to vote in a general election that saw Edward Heath gain a shock Conservative win over Labour’s Harold Wilson.

It was also Paul McCartney’s 28th birthday.

The film was a poignant farewell – the highlight being the final footage of them performing live on the on the rooftop. I loved the film for its illuminating inside look at The Beatles at work.

Over the next few years, The Beatles Get Back/Let It Be era was never far off my radar.

When I started buying bootlegs in 1972, alongside the Zep titles, I eagerly invested in The Beatles Get Back Sessions and the curiously titled Renaissance Minstrels Vol 1 , Both these albums contained various outtakes and unreleased material from the Let It Be/Get Back period.

They provided key insight to this captivating last gasp. The likes of The Walk and Teddy Boy sounding like lost jewels.

Fast forward to Christmas 1975 –the BBC screened the entire film on Boxing Day and it looked fantastic.

During that first TV showing I even listed down for my own reference all the songs that appeared during the film – I still have that hand written note as can been seen here.

The BBC screened it again four years later on Boxing Day 1979. On that occasion my very good friend Dec taped it all on his newly acquired video recorder. When I got my own video recorder rented in 1981, Dec made me a copy of the Let It Be film – I now had all that marvelous footage at the flick of a button.

The bootleg CD explosion in the early 90s led me to many more recordings of the Get Back/Let It Be period as title after title appeared – notably a complete version of the fabled January 30,1969 rooftop gig – and the Let It Be film on DVD. I also have a bootleg of the original Get Back album as first proposed by producer Glyn Johns – complete with the intended cover of that photo of them in early 1969 at EMI in Manchester Square -re creating the Please Please Me cover shot. The 1969 image was later used for The Beatles red and blue compilations issued in 1973 (I bought both of those on the release date).

Over the years, The Get Back/Let it Be saga has continued to fascinate me and I’ve invested in a fair few books and magazines about the subject. The official Beatles Anthology made available some of those unreleased recordings I had craved on those bootlegs. Paul McCartney then re-invented the album by releasing Let It Be Naked – a fresh pre Phil Spector mix of the stark original versions of the Get Back/Let It Be project. I avidly soaked up that one with it’s 20 minutes of bonus recordings.

Peter Jackson’s incredible Get Back documentary film series was of course, another huge Let It be related thrill.

I of course have various pressings of the album – notably a French pressing and the US pressing with the gatefold sleeve and in 2019 I also managed to obtain a copy of the original 1970 box set package.

The 2021offcial Let it Be box set packages were incredibly well done adding yet more insight into the whole Get Back/Let it Be saga.

So, late last year I could not resist a new Beatles Get Back/Let it Be related bootleg package that surfaced.

Released on the Gear And Fab label, The Beatles Get Back Songtrack is a six LP set issued in a limited run of 300 – of which I have copy number 69 – rather appropriately as all this occurred in that year.

Basically this is the soundtrack of the Peter Jackson Get Back documentary film spread over 2 sides of music and dialogue. It’s presented in the running order of the series and has material from all 21 days of the Twickenham and Apple Studios performances – recorded all of 56 years ago. It does omit the rooftop performance but I already have that on a fair few bootleg LPs. The sound quality of this set is excellent throughout.

There’s a four page insert with informative notes about the making of the Peter Jackson Get Back series.

I’ve said before, I am a sucker for these type of bootleg vinyl box sets and this one is a welcomed addition to my Get Back/Let it Be collection. It’s a real delight to be able to dip in and out of this fascinating immersive piece of Beatles recorded history.

It’s the act we’ve known for all these years close up and personal – and yes John, you and Paul, George and Ringo more than passed the audition and this six LP box set is yet more ample proof…

Dave Lewis – January 28 2025

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Victoria VIP Record Fair:

Being inspired by the joy of collecting…

Victoria VIP Record Fair January 25 acquisitions:

I well pleased to find this Dutch copy of Pentangle’s Light Flight single. This theme from the BBC’s Take Three Girls  was a minor hit for them in early 1970. It’s long since been one of all time fave singles .

I have a couple of UK original pressings copies on the Big T. Transatlantic label but this Dutch release is in a picture sleeve and bills them as ‘The Pentangle’. It’s also on the Stateside label. A very nice find indeed

Here’s what  I wrote about Light Flight back in 2016 in a Record Collector feature on rock singles that made an impression on the charts for artists that were known for their albums rather than singles.

It mirrored  the changing fortunes of the traditional 45 rpm single. The switch to stereo , the use of 33/3 playing speed and the advent of three or four track so called ‘maxi’ singles (itself a throwback to the EP format) were all factors in making the single format an increased  attraction for album making artists to reach out to a wider audience.

Light Flight (Theme From Take Three Girls) – Pentangle (1969 Big T. BIG 128. Highest UK chart position: 43 – 3 weeks on chart)

Along with Fairport Convention, Pentangle broke out of the folk circuit to achieve considerable commercial success. Their Basket Of Light album was residing in the top ten album chart around the time they released Light Flight. This jaunty affair beautifully sung by Jacquie McShee was the theme from BBC’s Take Three Girls series which aired from November 1969 to January 1971. The series focused on the lives of three young girls flat sharing in  London and stare a young Liza Goddard.The single reached 45 –one place below their only other hit, Once I Had a Sweetheart issued a year earlier.

More Victoria VIP Record Fair January 25 acquisitions:

Here’s a roundup of what I searched out at the excellent VIP record fair at Victoria on Saturday…

Dave Mason -At His Best – promotional LP pressing on the Blue Thumb label

The Bob Dylan Songbook played by the Golden gate Strings -UK Columbia LP 1965 release – I am a sucker for cover version albums and this is a very quirky one with a great cover.

Badfinger – Timeless The Music Legacy -compilation Apple CD £5 bargain

Pentangle -Light Flight Anthology – excellent 2 CD compilation another £5 bargain

Thrillington -Percy ‘Thrills’ Thrillington – this is a Japanese CD pressing of the infamous orchestral version of Paul McCartney’s Ram album -I’ve been looking for a copy of this for a good while.

Duran Duran -Thank You – 1995 covers album including their rather good version of Zep’s Thank You and features Page and Plant on the cover.

Fair Weather -Lay it On Me – 1971 single on the Neon label from Andy Fairweather Lowe’s progressive outfit.

Family – Strange Band 1970 maxi single including Weaver’s Answer  – pic sleeve on Reprise

Humphrey Lyttelton’s Bad Penny Blues single – 1956 recording reissue.This was the first British jazz record to get into the Top Twenty, and stayed there for six weeks. Its success was very much due to the very catchy boogie piano riff, played by Johnny Parker and brought to the front by producer Joe Meek. Paul McCartney based his piano part for the Beatles’ song “Lady Madonna” on this riff.

Dennis Edwards – Don’t Look Any Further -great 1984 Motown hit

The Who – Substitute – 1966 original single on the Reaction label

Another quirky one – Frank Sinatra Reads from Gunga Din – one sided Reprise label 1966 acetate produced by Audio Devices Inc in New York. Note Audio Devices produced the white label advance US pressings of Led Zeppelin I one of the reasons I purchased this one!.

All in all, an excellent haul and all lovely inspiring stuff…

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DL Diary Blog Update:

Saturday January 25:

Countdown to the Becoming Led Zeppelin screenings – eleven days to go and counting …saw this poster this morning at Kings Cross tube – it’s getting a bit exciting now!

Saturday January 25:

With Mark Palmer in WHSmiths in Victoria station on the way to the record fair – pleased to see they had copies of the new issue of Record Collector – while stocks last!

Saturday January 25:

Saturday is platterday – and there’s a whole lot of them at the VIP record fair in Victoria today…

Saturday January 25:

Tuesday January 28:

Marking the first anniversary of the passing of the great Tom Verlaine so loading up the much underrated second Television album Adventure – this one the excellent CD reissue with bonus tracks…

Wednesday January 29:

Thursday January 30:

On the player The Beatles Get Back The Rooftop Performance – 2022 remastered version bootleg LP on white vinyl…