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CHRIS CHARLESWORTH JUST BACKDATED MEMOIR/LZ NEWS/TBL ARCHIVE SPECIAL 70 – BATH FESTIVAL IT WAS 44 YEARS AGO/FRANKFURT OVER EUROPE 1980/KNEBWORTH 90/DL DIARY BLOG UPDATE

27 June 2024 1,113 views One Comment
During the 1970s, I was well aware of Chris Charlesworth’s reporting in the Melody Maker. He wrote several illuminating pieces on Led Zeppelin, notably a review of their shows in Montreux in October 1972.
Chris had an excellent relationship with Zep as he did with many an artist. When he became the Melody Maker’s US correspondent I followed his weekly column avidly. He always seemed to be right in the mix of what was going on around the New York area.
Chris went on to become the commissioning editor of Omnibus Books. During the late 80s I pitched an idea to write an extensive reference book on Led Zeppelin’s music. After initially rejecting the proposal, thankfully he went with it and the end result was my Led Zeppelin A Celebration book published by Omnibus in 1991.
As he was my editor, I worked closely with Chris and got to know him well. We would go on to work on further Zep books together, In his role as editor on Led Zeppelin the Concert File co-authored by Simon Pallett, The Tight But Loose Files – A Celebration II, Led Zeppelin From a Whisper to a Scream and Evenings With Led Zeppelin co-authored by Mike Tremaglio.
Always a great support to all things TBL, his illuminating on the road tales of his association with Led Zep when he was with Melody Maker has lit up a fair few of the Zep conventions and fan meets I’ve helped to stage – as some of you reading this will know.
Over the years, Chris has been something of a mentor for my own writings. I value highly the fact that he gave me my big break by green lighting the Led Zeppelin A Celebration book which set me on my own journalistic way. I have a lot to thank him for.
Being in Chris’s company or chatting on the phone is never less that interesting as he often recalls his days working on the Melody Maker. He has tales of nights out with Keith Moon, interviewing the likes of John Lennon and David Bowie, seeing Bruce Springsteen early on in his career, buddying up with Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, the many occasions he witnessed his fave band The Who and so many more. He often casually drops in what to me are quite astounding stories.
Fast forward to the development of his Just Backdated blog which became something of a platform for relaying these escapades. It was more than evident to me and probably a fair few others, that Chris’s stories would make a great memoir I put that to idea to him a few times but nothing materialised.
Now finally it has…and I am very excited to have a copy in my hands.
So, firstly congratulations to Richard Houghton for securing the publishing rights to this long awaited memoir just out via Spenwood Books.
Just Backdated – Melody Maker: Seven Years In The Seventies as the title explains, concentrates on the seven years Chris worked for the Melody Maker, initially as a reporter and news editor and then from 1973 to 1977 as the MM US correspondent based in New York.
Boy, am I looking forward to reading this book…
A mere glance at it leads me to the conclusion that this will be one of the most enlightening and entertaining rock memoirs of recent years and an essential read for anyone who has an interest in what remains a truly pivotal decade for music.
So thanks Chris for finally getting around to sharing your stories.
I, and many other will draw much enjoyment from hearing all this relayed by somebody who was right there in the thick of it
As Chris states:
‘Looking back now, from the perspective of the 21st Century, what I did and who I met between 1970 and 1977 seems unreal, a fantasy. Unlike the tightly controlled situation we have today, it was access all areas for rock writers in those years. Perhaps John Lennon’s tragic murder was to blame for that tight control. John tops the list of those I hung out with, along with The Who, Led Zep, Bowie and many more, but my memoir does not name-drop for name-dropping’s sake, just tells it how it was when I was lucky enough to be slap band in the middle of it all.’
Finally, the back page blurb puts it like this:
‘’ If you really wanted to know what it was really like working full-time for a big selling music paper, the topsy – turvy lifestyle that went with it and yes – enjoy a meaty, beaty, big and bouncy dollop of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll – this is the book for you…
Suffice to say Just Backdated – Melody Maker: Seven Years In The Seventies by Chris Charlesworth comes highly recommended –
Ordering details at this link:

https://spenwoodbooks.com/product/justbackdated/


LZ News:

Here’s the latest round up from LZ News

Led Zeppelin

We published The Day on the Green Files

Back in January, after obtaining the New York Police Department file on the 1973 Drake Hotel robbery of Led Zeppelin, LedZepNews sat down and wondered which other police departments in the US might be sitting on interesting documents about Led Zeppelin.

There was one prime candidate to investigate: The 1977 Day on the Green festival, which saw John Bonham, Peter Grant, Richard Cole and John Bindon arrested following backstage violence.

In the end, we never managed to get any police records on the incident and our relationship with the City of Oakland Police devolved into sending them grumpy emails and attempting to enlist the city’s police commission in our search.

But that did lead LedZepNews down a six-month rabbit hole which ended this week with the publication of The Day on the Green Files, a collection of five articles containing more than 10,000 words of reporting on over 300 pages of previously unseen documents about this dark chapter in Led Zeppelin’s history.

We obtained files from the $2 million civil lawsuit filed by the three festival employees who were assaulted. We even convinced the US government to hand over a series of previously unseen documents from inside the State Departnment that reveal a lobbying campaign involving four senators who passed on calls to ban Led Zeppelin from the US.

LedZepNews would like to thank Ned Donovan and Robert Musco who provided financial support for the project and helped cover the cost of a court runner printing hundreds of pages (with the courthouse charging 50 cents per page) and then scanning them and also to fund archivists digging out letters from nearly 50 years ago.

The main longread is here which tells the story of Day on the Green 1977 as definitively as possible. We also published this article on the lobbying campaignthis article on what we now know about the directors of Led Zeppelin’s Dutch tax shelterthis article on Led Zeppelin’s 15-year employment contracts and published all of the files for your reading pleasure here.

Since publishing these articles, we’ve heard from someone who was working with Led Zeppelin when the violence happened and we’re hoping to update the longread to include their recollections.

Now the big question is what should LedZepNews spend the next six months investigating? We have some fun ideas, but we’d love to hear from you with your ideas (or tips).

Robert Plant

Robert Plant is on tour with Alison Krauss

Robert Plant remains on tour with Alison Krauss. This week, they played two shows in Vienna, Virginia on June 18 and June 19 before joining Willie Nelson’s touring Outlaw Music Festival in Alpharetta, Georgia on June 21 and in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 22.

Plant seemed to enjoy performing in Vienna, writing on Instagram: “The Wolf Trap, like home from home! Looking forward to seeing my Wolves play in nearby Annapolis in July.”

Here’s a video of the full June 18 show in Vienna, Virginia:

And here’s a video of the full June 19 show also in Vienna, Virginia:

Nelson was supposed to be the headliner for the touring Outlaw festival but pulled out of the festival’s first two shows this week because of illnessRolling Stone reports that Bob Dylan performed a surprisingly different set with a tweaked band. Plant and Krauss didn’t bring any surprises, however, and played a slimmed down festival version of their standard setlist.


New Saving Grace show announced

Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Bewdley in the UK on September 21, according to a physical newsletter produced by the Bewdley Civic Society that was photographed and shared on Facebook.

Upcoming events:

  • June – Genesis Publications will release its deluxe poster set that includes a poster advertising Jimmy Page’s photographic autobiography.
  • June 23 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss at the Outlaw Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina.
  • June 26 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss at the Outlaw Music Festival in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
  • June 28 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss at the Outlaw Music Festival in Syracuse, New York.
  • June 29 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss at the Outlaw Music Festival in Wantagh, New York.
  • June 30 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss at the Outlaw Music Festival in Holmdel, New Jersey.
  • July 2 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss at the Outlaw Music Festival in Mansfield, Massachusetts.
  • July 4 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss at Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic in Camden, New Jersey.
  • July 6 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss at the Outlaw Music Festival in Bethel, New York.
  • July 7 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss at the Outlaw Music Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania and the Andie Airfix exhibition at the Warrington Museum and Art Gallery will close.
  • July 23 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Southend, UK.
  • July 24 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Woking, UK.
  • July 26 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace at the Cambridge Folk Festival in Cambridge, UK.
  • The end of July – “Portraits Of Robert Plant,” a new coffee table book, will be published.
  • August 8 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Missoula, Montana.
  • August 9 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Missoula, Montana.
  • August 11 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Edmonton, Alberta.
  • August 13 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Vancouver, British Columbia.
  • August 14 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Vancouver, British Columbia.
  • August 16 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Seattle, Washington State.
  • August 17 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Seattle, Washington State.
  • August 19 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Eugene, Oregon.
  • August 21 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Murphy’s, California.
  • August 22 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Stanford, California.
  • August 24 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Paso Robles, California.
  • August 25 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Highland, California.
  • August 26 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Flagstaff, Arizona.
  • August 28 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
  • August 29 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
  • August 31 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
  • September 1 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Vail, Colorado.
  • September 15 – The exhibition “The Wiltshire Thatcher – a Photographic Journey through Victorian Wessex” featuring the original photograph from the cover of Led Zeppelin’s fourth album will close at Wiltshire Museum.
  • September 21 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Bewdley, UK.
  • October 8 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Bari, Italy.
  • October 9 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Naples, Italy.
  • October 11 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Rome, Italy.
  • October 12 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Florence, Italy.
  • October 14 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Bologna, Italy.
  • October 15 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Turin, Italy.
  • October 17 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Como, Italy.
  • October 18 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Bolzano, Italy.
  • October 20 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Padua, Italy.
  • October 21 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Trieste, Italy.
  • October 23 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Brescia, Italy.
  • October 27 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Antwerp, Belgium.
  • October 29 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Paris, France.
  • November 5 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Harrogate, UK.
  • November 6 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Stockton, UK.
  • 2025 – An expanded version of Live at the Greek, the live album featuring Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes, is due to be released.That was our 346th email. Have any questions or feedback? Reply to this email and we’ll get back to you.Follow Led Zeppelin News on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on news as it happens, and check ledzepnews.com for the latest news.

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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More news via LZ News:

Robert Plant’s July 23 show with Saving Grace in Southend has been rescheduled to November 24. The July 24 Woking show has been rescheduled to November 23

Jimmy Page attended a performance in honour of Jeff Beck by Toby Lee, Johnny Depp and Anika Nilles at the Gibson Garage London on June 24.

On what would have been Jeff Beck’s birthday, Gibson held a gathering with some of Jeff’s long-time friends and collaborators to celebrate his memory at the Gibson Garage London, with the launch of the Gibson Custom Jeff Beck “YardBurst” 1959 Les Paul Standard.
At this intimate event, attendees included Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons, Chris Robinson, Graham Coxon and Sandra Beck, who gathered to remember the guitar legend at a show curated and hosted by Imelda May, which included performances from Toby Lee, Johnny Depp and from Jeff’s live band, Anika Nilles.

https://www.facebook.com/Gibson

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TBL Archive Special 1: It was 54 years ago…

Friday June 28 marks the 54th anniversary of one of the most famous Led Zeppelin performances -their bill topping appearance at the 1970 Bath Festival.

Too mark that event here’s the details of that performance as chronicled in the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book with thanks to Mike Tremaglio 

June 28, 1970 – Bath Festival of Blues & Progressive Music ‘70 – Bath & West Showground – Shepton Mallet, England

Setlist:

Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Dazed And Confused, Bring It On Home, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Organ Solo/ Thank You, That’s The Way (introduced as ‘The Boy Next Door’), What Is And What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, How Many More Times Medley (inc. Rice Pudding, Mr. Soul, Beck’s Bolero, Down By The River, The Hunter, Think You Need A Shot (The Needle), Honey Bee, Long Distance Call, Boogie Chillun’, Hideaway, El Paso Blues, The Lemon Song, I Need Your Love Tonight, That’s All Right, etc.), Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown (inc. Sing A Simple Song, It’s Your Thing, etc.), Long Tall Sally (inc. Say Mama, Johnny B. Goode, That’s All Right

 Background Info:

Much has been said and written about Led Zeppelin’s historic performance at the 1970 Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. It was certainly a key turning point in the band’s career, especially in their homeland. Just over two months earlier, The Beatles had officially called it quits, and by the time the Bath Festival had wrapped up, it was clear that Led Zeppelin was now the most popular band in the world. “Official” declaration of this fact came in the form of the Melody Maker Poll Awards in September, when Zeppelin had seized the mantle from The Beatles and were named the World’s Top Group.

Unlike the 1969 Bath Festival which was held at the Recreation Ground in Bath, the 1970 Bath Festival was held at the Bath & West Showground in Shepton Mallet, 15 miles south west of Bath. The attendance at the 1970 Festival was significantly higher than the previous year, with over 150,000 fans in attendance (the 1969 Festival was considerably smaller, with Zeppelin performing to approximately 12,000 fans).

The band played on the second day of the festival, June 28, and started their performance at 8:30 pm. The set opener was the newly-penned Immigrant Song, which bore little resemblance to the LP track as Robert had ad-libbed much of the lyrics. For the next two hours and twenty minutes, the band put on one of the greatest performances of their storied career.

Press Reaction:

Melody Maker (July 4, 1970) – Cover Story: Five Encores for Zeppelin!

by Chris Welch & Chris Charlesworth:

 “Led Zeppelin stormed to huge success at the Bath Festival. As about 150,000 fans rose to give them an ovation, lead singer Robert Plant told them: “We’ve been away a lot in America and we thought it might be a bit dodgy coming back. It’s great to be home!”

            “They played for over three hours – blues, rock and roll and pure Zeppelin. Jimmy Page, in a yokel hat to suit the Somerset scene, screamed into attack on guitar. John Paul Jones came into his own on organ as well as bass, and John Bonham exploded his drums in a sensational solo. And the crowd went wild demanding encore after encore… a total of five!”

           “They kicked off with a new riff from their next album called ‘Immigration Song’ (sic). They actually took some time to warm up the crowd, but this may have been intentional as they built up to a fantastic climax with an act lasting over three hours… They had made all the hang-ups worthwhile and given the crowd a night to remember – whatever else happened. In their final minutes, they paid tribute to the Masters of Rock and Roll with the songs of Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.”

 Bootleg Recordings – 2 audience sources (129 & 119 minutes):

For years, the only bootleg recording available of Zeppelin’s set was a barely listenable audience recording. Fortunately, a major upgrade of the recording appeared in 2010 from a second generation tape. The taper recorded the performance on a Sony tape deck with a stereo microphone attached to a pole twelve feet in the air, 200 yards from center stage. While certainly not perfect, the recording captures the festival atmosphere and gives the listener more of an appreciation for the outstanding gig.

Beginning with a different lyrical arrangement of the recently written ‘Immigrant Song’ as the show opener, the band started strong and never let up in delivering one of their all-time greatest performances.

The encores were especially epic, with many rarities played during the ‘How Many More Times’ medley (with the total number of available concert recordings of each song in parentheses): Buffalo Springfield’s ‘Mr. Soul’ (1); Muddy Waters’ ‘Long Distance Call’ (6); Big Joe Williams’ ‘El Paso Blues’ (2); Elvis Presley’s ‘I Need Your Love Tonight’ (3). Little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally’ included Gene Vincent’s ‘Say Mama’ (2); Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B. Goode’ (1).

Many thanks to Mike Tremaglio  

Extract from the book Evenings With Led Zeppelin by Dave Lewis and Mike Tremaglio (Omnibus Press)



Staying with the Bath Festival…a report of the existence of film footage of the Bath appearance from 2017:

Icons of The Hall Event – Led Zeppelin Royal Albert Hall footage screened – Led Zeppelin at Bath 1970 film discussed…

  Before proceedings had got under way I studied the contents of a special display case that had various memorabilia on show – part of that was a vintage film label marked Led Zeppelin at Bath. I have previously been aware that Peter Whitehead had shot film of the band at the Bath Festival in 1970 but here was tangible evidence.

This was backed up by Professor Steve Chibnall during the forum when I asked a question about the Bath film. Steve revealed he had viewed the 20 to 30 minute silent colour footage (the label says B and W but Steve says it is colour ) and though it was rather dark in places it was usable and he hoped one day it could be restored and see the light of day.

Here’s the full transcript of the question I asked via the LZ News site:

Tight But Loose editor Dave Lewis: Hi there, my name’s Dave Lewis, I’m from the Led Zeppelin magazine, so all this has been fascinating. I’m very intrigued to hear you tell me that the Bath Festival was filmed and so you’re saying that the Led Zeppelin show was filmed?
SC: Indeed, yes.
DL: Can you tell me how much of that was filmed and still remains?
Steve Chibnall: There’s 20 to 30 minutes and a lot of it is backstage. I’ve only seen the footage, I haven’t seen it with sound. The problem, according to Peter Whitehead, was that A. He was stuck in traffic and had trouble getting to Bath so he arrived late. He was supposed to film the band arriving by helicopter and he missed that.
And then when Led Zeppelin played, they played in the dark and there was insufficient stage lighting for his cameras. So he reckoned that the footage, the live footage, was not usable. It is usable because, I mean, it can be, it can be restored now. So you can raise those lighting levels, you can see more digitally.
It looks beautiful to me and I think it was recorded, the band probably have a recording of it, I would think. So there is a possibility. He was supposed to do interviews with the band members as well, which I don’t think that ever happened. But certainly there is 20 or 30 minutes of footage from Bath. And if you look in the display case there you can see what was once a label attached to a can of film which says precisely that.
DL: That immediately made me think ‘wow.’ So, is it colour film?
SC: Yes.
DL: And who actually owns it?
SC: Peter Whitehead owns the film but Led Zeppelin, no doubt, will own the music.
DL: So could you see that coming out at some point?
SC: I’d love to see it come out, I think it would be a really good project for 2020, don’t you? The fiftieth anniversary of the Bath Festival.
DL: 2018?
SC: No, it was 1970.
DL: Oh, sorry, it would be, yeah. It would probably take that long to work it out.
SC: It would, but it would be lovely to have that, wouldn’t it?
DL: Superb, thank you very much.

Like I said, I had previously been aware that Peter Whitehead had shot the Bath Festival in 1970 but this was real tangible evidence it exists and it was great to chat to Steve afterwards and hear first hand from someone who has actually viewed it. Quite weather it will ever see the light of day officially only time will tell. It was incredibly exciting to be right there as this revelation news was unfolding.

Sadly there ahs been no updated information on weather the film will surface – it’s surely on every Zep fans wish list…

And finally on Bath 1970:

There’s some great Bath 70 pics and stories on this website link:

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/ZEP2.html


TBL Archive  Special 2: It was 44 years ago – Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980: 

This month marks the 44th 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. I was lucky enough to attend five of those gigs. This is all chronicled in my Led Zeppelin Feather In The Wind Over Europe 1980 book

Here’s is a further extract – my on the road account written at the time and first featured in TBL issue 5…

Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980:

Frankfurt Festhalle – It was 44 years ago …

Flashback to the Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany – on the evening of June 30th, 1980 around 8pm:

I am in the confines of the grand Festhalle venue in the heart of Frankfurt and I am standing no more than ten feet away from the four members of Led Zeppelin. The occasion is the tenth gig on the current tour of the band who have reigned supreme as the world’s greatest live rock attraction for much of the past decade. However the 1980s are upon us, and many things have happened since Led Zeppelin undertook their last full scale tour some three years ago.

The musical landscape they one stood over like a colossus, has changed radically. The onset of punk rock and new wave has challenged the status quo of the mega-bands – the so called dinosaur acts.
In fact, Robert Plant will make reference to the dinosaur tag on more than one occasion on this tour. Aside from the new wave of bands who rely on sharp, incisive three minute blasts of power pop, a new movement of rock outfits, spawned on the hard and heavy riffs that powered Zeppelin to the top, are in the wings ready to take dislodge their crown.
Within the next twelve months, the likes of Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head, etc., will begin to dominate the music press in a similar manner in which Zeppelin were once courted, ushering in a movement that will be termed ‘’The new wave of British heavy metal.’’

Led Zeppelin are performing in Europe in an attempt to thwart such challenges and re-establish themselves as a working band. That aforementioned last tour, a gargantuous trek across America in the summer of 1977, attracted a combined audience of nearly one million. Last August over 200,000 came to pay homage to them over two Saturday gigs at Knebworth.
Things, though, have moved on considerably, even since then. This tour has garnered little publicity back home, and though a hardcore of UK followers have made the trip over, by their standard this is a very low key affair.

Tonight, though, they are playing one of the larger venues on the tour. The 13,500 capacity Festhalle . Ten years ago, Zeppelin became the first band ever to play this venue and their return is much anticipated by the German audience. Tonight’s crowd is also boosted by the presence of a number of US servicemen based at the nearby US Army base where Elvis Presley did some of his time for Uncle Sam way back when.

Understandably, the four members look a little apprehensive as they mill around the short stairway that will soon usher them on to the stage. This is the second show of the tour that my friend Tom and I are taking in. Twelve days ago, we witnessed their vibrant second night in Cologne. Since then the tour has not been without it’s problems. Last Friday, John Bonham collapsed on stage in Nuremberg after just 16 minutes and the show was cancelled.
When we met with security man Dave Moulder earlier in the day, he was keen to play down the events saying John had merely suffered from nervous exhaustion. A show in Zurich last night appears to have gone well. The heavily bearded drummer seems his boisterous self as he banters with Robert Plant. Plant is again wearing the green cap sleeve top and jeans attire that has been his ever present uniform for the tour. He too looks upbeat, if a little bit nervous. John Paul Jones, with suave short hair and smart shirt, is interacting with them. Jimmy Page is dressed in a white suit with a green top and matching green sneakers. He looks slightly sweaty, but is smiling warmly as the imposing frame of manager Peter Grant points out the all important presence of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun – the man who has guided their career at the label from the very beginning.

The lights are dimmed, and road manager Phil Carlo shines a torch through the dark and leads them up to the stage. Bonzo climbs the rostrum to the drums, Jonesy turns right where his tech assistant Andy Ledbetter straps on the Alembic bass, and Jimmy Page walks onto the stage to the left, followed by Robert Plant.

As they walk into the glare of the spotlights, those assembled in the Frankfurt Festhalle finally view all four members of Led Zeppelin and the place erupts.

Guitar tech Ray Thomas straps on the Gibson and Jimmy moves to the effects pedals. A few snare shots and bass shuffles from John Bonham is the signal for the guitarist to lean back and exhort a fierce moaning wail from the Gibson. Robert stakes a stance to his immediate right –the spotlights pick out the pair in regal splendour  and then BLAM!

They launch into Train Kept A Rollin’, the old Johnny Burnette barnstormer The Yardbirds used in their heyday, and indeed Zep played on their first US tours. Now it is being revived to kick start what will be two hours of full-on power and excitement.

Tom and I are extremely fortunate to be watching all this action unfold just a few mere feet from the stage. As the band begin their ascent to the stage, Peter Grant acknowledges us and nods approvingly as Dave Moulder ushers us to the side of the stage. In effect, we have been allowed into their tight-knit inner sanctum.

Watching Led Zeppelin live on stage from this ultimate vantage point is, unsurprisingly, an astonishing experience and one that I will repeat in Mannheim and Munich later in the week.

To be continued…

Extract from the book Led Zeppelin Feather In The Wind – Over Europe 1980 by Dave Lewis.


 

 

TBL Archive Special 3:

Knebworth 90 – It was 34 years ago:

Thoughts on the Record Store Day Robert Plant Live At Knebworth 12 inch single…

The 2021 Record Store Day Robert Plant Live At Knebworth 12 inch single was a timely reminder of a remarkable performance and it brought back many warm memories of what was something of a golden summer all of 34 years ago.

To backtrack on it all – it was certainly memorable  for us here for a number of reasons – not least the arrival some six weeks early of our daughter Samantha Elizabeth Lewis on Monday June 4, 1990.

I was due to see Robert Plant at the Hammersmith Odeon that night and in something of an astonishing series of events, witnessed the birth of our daughter at 2.30pm and some five hours later made it on time to see Robert’s opening number -I also attended the second show the next night.

Looking back those were quite crazy decisions – however there was to be a reprise of this gig going activity when it was announced that Robert Plant would be joining an all star line up of Silver Clef award winners at Knebworth on Saturday June 30. Robert had just received the award – I was toying with the possibility of attending the show and my decision was swung when I had it on good authority that Jimmy Page would be appearing as a guest with Robert.

So once again I was on my travels. Gary Foy secured two tickets at late notice and we found ourselves back at Knebworth on a rather windy and dull Saturday.

The bill includeed Status Quo, Cliff Richard, Genesis, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney.

Robert Plant was introduced by Radio One’s Gary Davies (the event was broadcast live on Radio One) as “A singer who is no stranger to big crowds – he played to 380,000 on his last visit here eleven year ago”. Plant hit the rather  the windswept stage at 4.45p.m. The first part of the set  ran as follows:  ‘Hurting Kind’, ‘Immigrant Song’, ‘Tie Dye On The Highway’, ‘Liars Dance’, ‘Going To California’, and ‘Tall Cool One’.

Before bringing on his special guest Robert stated : “Well, this little award given to me last week, not particularly for anything I’ve done but for what has happened between 1966 when I made my first record and today. I’ve been working for the last four years with these guys and it’s been a wonderful time and I owe a good portion of this to these chaps behind me. I also owe a major proportion to my good friend who has just joined me on stage… Jimmy Page.” With cherry red Gibson in hand, Jimmy Page proceeded to add vast influence to enthusiastic work outs of ‘Misty Mountain Hop’, a superb ‘Wearing And Tearing’ (never before played live) and a rousing ‘Rock And Roll’.

Jimmy Page said afterwards : “We were having a really good time. We’d had a rehearsal before we did it and that was great fun. It’s really good playing all the old numbers… especially ‘Wearing And Tearing’… it really was on a wing and a prayer that we went on with that at Knebworth. We were back to living dangerously again.”

It was incredibly exciting to see the pair back on stage and the performance of Wearing And tearing remains one of my all time greatest gig going moments.

So to the Record Store Day 12 inch single. It comes packaged in a low key black sleeve with minimal artwork – a generic design also used for similar Live At Knebworth Record Store Day 12 inch singles featuring Status Quo and Genesis. and that

It’s pressed on vivid yellow vinyl – the credits are retained from its previous release as part of the multi artist LP and CD set Knebwortht 90 – this has Jimmy Page listed as being courtesy of Geffen Records –back in 1988 his solo album Outrider had been released on that label.

It kicks off with Hurting Kind (I’ve Got My Eyes On You) – the rockabilly flavoured up-tempo opening track of the Manic Nirvana album and also the first UK single. It’s a good representation of where Robert and the band were at during the turn of the 90s. Manic Nirvana released earlier in the year was an enjoyable romp – harder edged than Now And Zen – a full on production with some heavy choruses of which this track was one.

Live on stage it was always a crowd pleaser and here Robert’s echoed vocal soars above it all and there’s a panache and swagger throughout. This version of the Plant band were well melded now Chris Blackwell’s elaborate drumming and Charlie Jones steadfast bass holding it together over the flamboyant keyboards of Phil Johnstone and the delightful guitar playing of Doug Boyle. He really was such a quality player. As for the singer he was perhaps in the last throes of his full on golden god phase – with lots of Zep like vocal gymnastics in evidence – he would refine this style with the emergence of the Fate Of Nations era and beyond.

On stage at Knebworth in 1990 with the wind blowing he cut an impressive figure.

Next up Liars Dance preceded by some Plant words about the days of festivals of old. This was a brave set list choice on the day – to perform an acoustic duo between him and Doug could have gone right over the heads of many in attendance – on the day it certainly didn’t feel like that and on record here the intensity of the performance shines though. Doug is exquisite on this and lyrically it’s another throwback with that repeated ”lady who’s sure” refrain.

Over on Side Two Tall Call One arrives in a barrage of Led Zep samples. This was another on stage crown pleaser of the time delivered here with total conviction and complete with Phil Johnstone’s Kylie Minogue I Should Be So Lucky insert. The finale see’s them zip into a slice of Custard Pie and ends with a decisive blast of The Ocean riff.

There’s a burst of crown applause and Wearing And Tearing kicks in. What a delight this was and is with Jimmy in total full on speed riff mode. Again there’s a total conviction in the playing and for a brief moment we had a Led Zep for the 90s. Outside of the 02 reunion this has to be right up there as one of their finest post Zep moments. ”Robert Plant and Jimmy Page” says the announcer who if I recall was the late Dave Dee.

This Record Store Day 12 inch single is welcomed reminder of a truly great performance. However, it does feel a bit of a missed opportunity  – it would have been preferable to issue the whole Robert Plant Knebworth 90 set  as a fully fledged album. – Pink Floyd took that stance with their Live At Knebworth release covering their performance that day.

Finally I’d like to dedicate this piece to the late Phil Johnstone – RIP…

Dave Lewis June 26 2024


DL Diary Blog Update:
Thursday June 20:
Loving the new Paul McCartney & Wings One Hand Clapping album – so many great Wings songs from the 1973/4 era and sounding mighty fine as the sun shines…
Thursday June 20:
Ahead of the England v Denmark match Thursday afternoon treats at the always excellent Slide Record Shop…well pleased to acquire the newly released David Bowie Rock’n’’Roll Star! collection of outtakes from the Ziggy Stardust album…here’s hoping Harry Kane can be the Starman (or Phil Foden and Jude!) in the game later- come on England…
Post match Postscript – no Starman tonight just a disappointing 1-1 draw…
Friday June 21:
It was 46 years ago this week
The remarkable run of six Led Zeppelin concerts at the LA Forum – this will be my playlist for the next few days…
Friday June 21: 
It was 46 years ago today…
Loading up the incredible Led Zeppelin Listen To This Eddie 3 CD bootleg set on the Empress Valley Supreme label.
Recorded 46 years ago today at the LA Forum June 21 1977 – as captured by the late great taper Mike Millard – one of their truly great performances…

Saturday June 22:

Saturday is platterday…on the player a bit of early morning Cat Stevens…

Saturday June 22:

Saturday is platterday – some early evening Fleetwood Mac -the Record Store Day Alternate Tusk album sounding mighty fine…

Sunday June 23:

It was 47 years ago today…
Loading up the 3 CD Led Zeppelin For Badgeholders Only set as recorded on this day in 1977 at the Los Angles Forum. Generally regarded as one of the finest performances of the latter era…Keith Moon guests on the encores…
This version is the recent excellent Jon Wizardo Master Cassettes Complete Edition.

Sunday  June 23:

June 23 is a day when Led Zeppelin fans commemorate the anniversary of a famous Led Zeppelin gig recorded on this day in 1977 at the Los Angeles Forum and a famous bootleg recording known as For Badge Holders Only.
The title comes from Robert Plant’s on stage banter in which he states “Tonight’s word of the concert is badge. If you are a badge holder of a rock star, you are somebody to be reckoned with. Are you a badge holder?“
I’d say I very much am but the question is – which badge?
I have a few to choose from…
Tuesday June 25:
England 0 Slovenia 0
Another dull England performance but we are through to the next stage…
Wednesday June 26:
Just coming out of Sister Ray record shop earlier I bumped in to the esteemed film director and all round top man Mr Alan G Parker – he gave me an update on his forthcoming John Lennon Borrowed Time movie which sounds great – always a pleasure to catch up with one of the Soho Vampire gang…
Wednesday June 26:
On the way across London to meet with some esteemed Zep enthusiasts where the talk will no doubt include obscure bootlegs – gig memories and more…
There was of course time to pop into the TBL Office also known as The Spice Of Life – the playlist in there included Them Here Comes The Night, Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil, David Bowie Young Americans and Golden Years and Simon & Garfunkel’s America – every time I went to leave I had to stay and listen to another gem – my sort of music in my sort of pub….
Wednesday June 26:
A 7 inch gem found in Reckless Records earlier – Whole Lotta Love Japanese pressing oh yes!
Thursday June 27:
A great meeting of musical/Zep minds yesterday at the Old Fountain pub in Old Street London.
All of them dear friends of mine for many years…
Billy Fletcher down from Scotland who has seen more Robert Plant gigs than anyone I know, Rudi O’ Keefe who has seen more gigs by countless bands than anyone I know (including over 100 Jethro Tull gigs), Dave Fox long time Zep tape collector, Eddie Edwards formerly in the Zep tribute band Simply Led and writer of the brilliant Garden Tapes Zep Madison Square Garden 1973 log, Simon Pallett who co-authored the pioneering Led Zeppelin The Concert File book with me back in the mid 90s and Dave Linwood creator of the TBL website back in 1995.
We had our own mini Zep convention and there was much fun, laughter and insights into our passion for Led Zeppelin and more.
We also had a toast for the much missed Andy Adams…
All very life affirming, though I am nursing a bit of a hangover this morning – all worth it of course to be in such great company.
Thank you guys!

Thursday June 27:

It’s a Happy Birthday today to our very good friend Mr Graeme Hutchinson.
Long time TBL supporter and contributor, massive Zep collector, co organiser of the 2005 Zep Express UK convention and all round top man
Graeme is pictured here by me with Jason Bonham – Happy Birthday from Janet and I have a great day mate!
Thursday June 27:
It’s a Happy Birthday today to the legendary music journalist Charles Shaar Murray.
I was lucky enough to interview him for the TBL magazine back in 2013. We chatted for hours in a lovely West Hampstead pub garden on a hot July afternoon. A wonderful memory and one of the best interviews I have ever conducted. Incredible to think it’s ten years ago…
During the interview we discussed his early writing career at the underground magazine Oz, how he got to play on the Oz benefit single in the company of John Lennon, his reviews of Led Zeppelin in the NME, The Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie, Beatles etc. He also added great insight into the times he saw Zep in LA in 1973 and at the Kezar stadium gig.
All fascinating stuff and a huge thrill for me to meet and interview a writer whose work was such an inspiration to me in first wanting to put pen to paper and write about rock music myself when I was a mere teenager back in the 1970s.
As Robert Plant advised from the Earls Court stage in 1975 ‘’Charles Shaar Murray – keep taking the pills’’…have a great day CSM…

Thursday June 27: 

It was 52 years ago this week…
Loading up the simply awesome Led Zeppelin How The West Was One 3 CD live set originally issued in 2003. This has recordings from the LA Forum on June 25 1972 and Long Beach on this day June 27 1972
I always felt this got lost a bit when it was released alongside the five hour DVD – it really is another of their standout live performances…
Update here…
I’ve been enjoying the Euros so far -it’s just a shame England have yet to out of first gear – Slovakia beckons and here’s hoping they can improve  –
they really are going to need to if they are going to progress further…
Elsewhere there’s been work on plans for the promotion of the forthcoming Portraits of Robert Plant – Through the Eighties book. More on this to follow.

Thanks for listening…   

Until next time…

Dave  Lewis –  June 26 2024

TBL website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis

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One Comment »

  • Graham said:

    Looks like the Bath Festival footage has been pulled from YouTube as those links don’t seem to work. Maybe this is a good sign… Perhaps an official release is in the works. I always thought that the 2003 DVD should get a blu-ray upgrade with the newly-discovered Bath footage included.

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