A TBL Christmas Story:

Yet more Christmas TBL Nostalgia:

Here’s some reflections from the Christmas period of 1978. At that time I was ensconced in writing text for what would emerge as the first issue of a magazine about Led Zeppelin titled Tight But Loose. I was compiling all that in between working full on at WH Smiths in Bedford – it was the beginning of my balancing my retail record shop job with the Zep work -something that would be prevalent over the next few years.

The following text is something of a preview of the material I am preparing for my DL Memoirs – so here’s a bit of TBL history…

45 years ago, I was well aware there were other fan clubs and societies of other name rock bands bands – notably The Who, Genesis and Simon Robinson’s Deep Purple Appreciation Society –in fact Simon’s Darker Than Blue magazine would be a huge influence on the TBL mag in the early 90s alongside the Bruce Springsteen mag Backsteets.

It occurred to me that given the fact I had built up a bit of a rapport with various fellow collectors/enthusiasts, I might take on the challenge of forming some sort of appreciation society. The term ‘appreciation society’ though did not feel right – I needed something different, something more substantial… and behold, it was staring me in the face, on the cover of the NME etc., every week.

For this was 1977 and a new musical phenomenon known as Punk Rock was sweeping the nation. Punk Rock was built on do it yourself ethics from the playing to the presentation. Thus, when it came to documenting on paper this new movement the magazines that chronicled bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Stranglers, Buzzcocks etc, were crude, hand written but highly effective affairs dubbed ‘Fanzines.’

So called as they were literally produce by fans. The leaders of this particular pack was Sniffin’ Glue and Ripped And Torn. At the time I was a frequent visitor to the Vintage Magazine Shop in London’s Cambridge Circus. They regularly stocked the US mags such as Circus, which I was always eager to buy if Zep were featured. This particular visit I noticed a copy of Ripped And Torn and promptly invested.

This was a light bulb moment, for wading through the crude hand written but brilliantly enthusiastic prose of this so called ‘fanzine’, I thought, would it not be a good idea to produce a similar volume purely based on the world of Led Zeppelin? This would eradicate any rather old fashioned ‘appreciation society’ methods of linking like-minded fans and provide an outlet for my scribing.

It would of course be with some irony that, given punks distain of the old guard dinosaurs of rock (of which Zep were the forerunner) I would go on to create such a fanzine, blatantly inspired out of the do it yourself punk tactics of the likes of Ripped And Torn.

Although underneath all the hype of the time, it’s now known that Johnny Rotten and co actually liked Zep and in turn both Page and Plant lauded the punk movement, even visiting the punk club, The Roxy in early 1977.

Anyway, punk rock or not, in the autumn of 1977 I set about hand writing my first edition. At the time, I had little money to invest in this idea and also no access to a typewriter. So black ballpoint pen it was.

What was also need of course was a title for this hot new fanzine.

Initially, I went through the more obvious ones of which Candy Store Rock was a one time leader. I felt, though, it needed something more individual something that projected the air of mystique that was so associated with Zep at the time.

What I need was a wording that described their music – not in an obvious way, something more oblique – a mission statement, if you like, and I found it not unsurprisingly, in the pages of the music press.

In separate interviews during their 1977 tour, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant both mentioned a phrase that rang out like a bell for me. In an interview with Circus magazine talking about their on stage appearance Jimmy was quoted as saying ‘’There were some tremendous perfoamces las tnight.It was very intense…we were tight,yet loose..Loosley tight’’.

In an interview with Melody Maker’s Ray Coleman, Robert also used the phrase. Talking about their legacy, he said, ‘’We have to bring out our very best all the time because kids have a right to expect that, but we don’t have to produce it in a stiff upper lip way or it comes out the wrong kind of way.. It’s got to be Tight But Loose. That’s probably the title of the next album’’

There was a risk, of course, that they may well use the phrase as the title for the next album. Putting caution to the wind, I went with it anyway and the first prototype pages of what would become Tight But Loose issue one were photocopied at the local Bedford library in early 1978.

At that point I had amassed a fair bit of text. This included a feature on what a chronological Zep live album might contain (this never did make the TBL mag but I later used it to form the basis of the Led Zeppelin Live chapter in the A Celebration book), a Swan Song discography with commentary about each release, another feature that never made it into the mag) plus a long rambling piece on the Earls Court gigs which I had begun writing in the summer of 1975. The latter would go on to be the centrepiece of the first issue.

With Zep off the road following the tragic curtailment of the 1977 tour I was launching this new fanzine in a fallow period. However, my plan to publish in the summer was delayed by a series of game changing events.

In early 1978 I replied to a query in the Wax Factor column in Sounds – one of the weekly music papers of the time. This column was run by the late Barry Lazell and basically offered information to queries sent in by readers. One such letter requested how to obtain Hey Hey What Can I Do. Under the guise Dave ‘Ace Zep Fan’ Lewis (more on that to follow), I replied giving the correct info. I made similar correspondence with Barry over a query about the Blueberry Hill bootleg – both of these were published.

Having given myself a bit of identity by labelling myself Dave ‘Ace Zep Fan’ Lewis in my correspondents with Barry in Sounds, I also began signing off my letters with same. I’d seen the expression Ace Fan in a copy of the underground magazine, It in a feature on The Rolling Stones. I thought (rather pretentiously, in hindsight) it laid my credentials out as a serious fan. Wisely, I dropped this tag after, I think, TBL 3. I can tell you dear Howard Mylett ribbed me about it for years after!

In late May (around the time of my ‘leap of faith’ with The Who at Shepperton), I received a call from Geoff Barton, at Sounds. He had evidently seen the Wax Factor replies and wanted to enlist my assistance on an upcoming Led Zeppelin feature. This was to be an ambitious three week series celebrating the band’s tenth anniversary.

The brief was for me to supply a timeline history of the band for Geoff to work with, plus a full discography. I suggested to Geoff that we include a bootleg listing and other pre and post session details. I’d only ever seen the basic Zep discography and I saw this as a major opportunity to present an extensive showcase of the band’s recording history to that period.

In June 1978, I met with Geoff Barton at the Sounds office in Long Acre, Covent Garden, to discuss all this at length. I took in a whole load of memorabilia for them to photograph to illustrate the feature – programmes, photos, and a fair few vinyl bootlegs (no jpeg scanning in those far off days!). Looking back, I was a bit naive entrusting them with all this and one or two items did go missing.

Back in the Dents Road bedroom during the summer of ’78, I set to work on collating all the info required – all hand written, I might add. It was a real thrill to be finally finding an outlet for the masses of info I had collected and logged, and knowing that it would be seen by fans across the country. I was also in touch with Swan Song and told them of my involvement. I have to say there did seem some tetchiness between Sounds and Swan Song. Not that it was any of my business, this uneasiness would later result in Sounds being banned from having press passes for Knebworth – which is another story altogether.

So, by early August all my info was at the Sounds office ready to be incorporated into this lavish series. Boy was I excited.

On Thursday, September 14, the first part appeared – with a cover photo of the now much seen group posing by the car shot taken by Dick Barnatt (see TBL 35 for the full story). The series was dubbed ‘The Complete Led Zep’.

Looking over it now, it’s very evident that presenting this outpouring of Zep info in Sounds back in September 1978 was clearly the moment I broke out of my bedroom, as it were, and found a true connection for my thoughts, passion and enthusiasm for Led Zeppelin.

Following the running of the series two things happened. Firstly, I began to get letters and correspondence via Sounds from fans requesting further info and discussion on the info I’d presented.

It’s worth mentioning here that being a Zep fan back then was quite an insular thing. There was no social media to share this enthusiasm, but as I said, I myself was in touch with a few fans, notably Howard Mylett and Brian Knapp in the US. The Sounds piece did much to galvanise a lot of interest and through the feedback I was receiving, I quickly realised there were many fans out there as keen as I was on the band.

Secondly, I got paid for the feature and hatched a plan to use that money to fund the printing of the first issue of Tight But Loose. During October, November and December of 1978 I carried on scribing away on the contents of the hand written first issue.

The centrepiece as mentioned was the impassioned overview of the Earls Court shows, principally the May 24 show for which I had transcribed many of Robert’s between song comments.

I had already decided that the format of the mag would flow in much the same way as the NME – with specific features and headlines, ie., a news section, major central features, a reviews section, plus a free ads section for readers to place ads for Zep items and I also had what I described as a Hip Pen Pals listing for fellow fans to get in touch. All very quaint when matched with today’s social media interaction. The reviews included the then recently released Ballcrusher bootleg, Robert’s early solo single Our Song and the Trampled Underfoot UK promo single.

There was also a quiz to enter, with the winning prize being that Trampled Underfoot UK promo, it was won by Mick Humphries who is still a subscriber. There was also a Loose Talk column which rounded up small news items in the manner of the NME’s Teasers column.

Also in the debut issue was o a report of the very inspiring conversation I had with Robert Plant at the Goldiggers football tournament he took part in at the Empire Pool, Wembley, which I attended on November 5th, 1978.

As for photos and illustrations, initially there was scant regard for copyright or ownership. I merely cribbed a few of the pics I’d collated over the years. That policy would quickly change to a more ethical one moving forward.

And as for proof reading, that was fairly non existent. Just winging it, there were some howlers that got through. Looking back I should have employed the services of my good friend, Dec who’s actual job was in the proof reading department of one of the local papers. Spell checkers were yet to be invented and again some of my spelling was, well… erratic. I guess what it lacked in finesse and professionalism, it made up for in enthusiasm.

In fact the whole editorial stance was that this specialist periodical was being written by a fan for the fans. A value that that 40 years on still stands. This now may be what I do for a living as editor author and publisher, but fundamentally I am still a fan.

Considering I don’t have great handwriting (writing mostly in capitals, at least it looked presentable), I laid out the designed text in much the same way I had my scrapbooks – pasting it all up in an A4 format.

I took the master sheets off to a local print and photocopier, Jaycopy. The young lady, Elaine was very helpful in sizing it all up and their machine rolled out 200 unbound editions.

I had to staple the pages together myself and I still have a slight scar on the second finger of my right hand where I stapled said finger to the page! Such were the trials of these early days.

The first advert I placed was a simple one in the NME in late 1978, and I repeated the same ad in Sounds. I’d hoped to publish at the end of 1978 but the UK was hit by a bout of icy snow conditions. I can vividly recall trudging through the snow carrying a box of the hot off the press TBL issue 1.

The first letters back from the early ads were sent a flyer advising that TBL 1 would be published on February 10th. I set a price of 35p and away it went.

It’s worth noting that I only ran the mag on an issue to issue basis. There was no subscription offer. I think that was down to my rather tentative approach to it all. I never really saw the full potential of what I might achieve with it – a naïve view, looking back. As for the idea of making TBL a profit gaining venture –that was never in mind. The objective was to ensure there was enough cash flow to fund the next issue.

Further ads with the price and details went in Sounds. The response was excellent. Within a month I’d sold out the initial 200 and had another 100 printed.

Hand written and low budget it may have been, but TBL was on the map. The second issue appeared in May and a Knebworth special in October. The platform of communication between like minded fans across the globe was well and truly established.

That Christmas of 1978 was therefore an exciting one for me with the prospect ahead of documenting the world of Led Zeppelin. In between the usual socialising and playing for the Wallbangers football team, I immersed myself in writing about the subject that I was most passionate about.

Fast forward 45 years on and not much has changed. Writing about Led Zeppelin and the music that inspires me continues to be part of my DNA.

Dave Lewis – December 2024

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Picked up the excellent new Record Collector special on John & Yoko today – edited by the always diligent and enlightening Daryl Easlea – so on the player the superb John Lennon Gimme Some Truth compilation set….We all shine on…

Tuesday December 17:

Sorting out a few Christmas albums from the DL collection – I’ll be taking one or two of these to the pre Christmas Pete Burridge Record Club tonight at The Castle…

Tuesday December 17:

A bit of Marc Christmas Bop on the player at the festive Pete Burridge record club at the Castle

Wednesday December 18:

Wednesday December 18:

As Keith recorded one of his greats riffs (Street Fighting Man) on cassette – marking his Birthday here with some choice cassettes namely the Keith Record Store Day release from a couple of years back.

This comprises of cassette versions of his Talk is Cheap and Keith Richards And The Expensive Winos Live at The Hollywood Palladium. Alongside it  the classic Rolling Stones Rolled Gold double cassette compilation – proof that the Human Riff sounds great on any format…

Wednesday December 18:

Great to meet my oldest friend Mr Dave Corp this afternoon for a pre- Christmas drink or two – we have known each other since we were seven years old back when we lived in Dents Road – the talk was of Chelsea doing well and Spurs not so – the charts of 1964 which I brought along , how we were both told we were too small to be goalkeepers when at school plus family Christmas plans and more – A life affirming meet as it always is with this special man – Merry Christmas Dave and all yours !

Thursday December 19: