TBL Archive Special – Knebworth August 11 1979 – Then as it really was…45 years gone…

It’s that time of year again…

The anniversary of Led Zeppelin at Knebworth always resonates  – Saturday August 11h 1979 – just writing that date sends a tingle of excitement because that is the day when it all occurred for a second time back in that field just outside Stevenage all of 45 years ago.

On Sunday August 11 I, and thousands of other fans will no doubt be thinking back to that glorious second Zep gig day in the summer of 1979 when finally, after all the waiting, Led Zeppelin were back doing what they did best – performing live on stage. With each passing year, the Zep Knebworth legacy grows that little bit more important as they really were some of the days of our lives.

To mark the 45th anniversary of the Knebworth August 11th performance here are further extracts from the Led Zeppelin Then As It Was  – At Knebworth 1979 book: 

Book Extracts:

This is the original text written for Tight But Loose, issue number 3 – now available as part of TBL 45..Whilst much of it bathes in a rose tinted glow, it certainly succeeds in capturing the pure wonderment of the event as seen through the eyes of a starry eyed twenty two year old fan eager to put pen to paper before it all became a blur.       

AUGUST 10TH 1979:

Thousands of fans have stayed on to camp out the week ready for the second concert…. By Friday night the familiar smell of campfire smoke once again fills the air…Unfortunately the night itself is wet and rainy…Morale at this point is not at its highest…

AUGUST 11TH 1979:

Early morning….morale is quite definitely not at its highest…The trek to the arena seems longer this week. Maybe it’s something to do with the sprinkling of rain that descends upon us….Inside the arena the rain gets heavier…For over an hour it pours, this is no fun…But miraculously by 9am the clouds begin to clear and by 10am the sun is shining…Thank you Lord….Chas and Dave open the live music to nil reaction…Commander Cody and his band follow and it’s loud…too loud, take a walk… The site is filling up but nowhere near as fast as last week… Southside Johnny And The Asbury Dukes arrive on stage and play (to these ears) a dull set…The sun is beating down strongly, it’s hot…Extremely hot….By mid afternoon most of the punters have settled in the arena, some eighty thousand this week…The atmosphere is not quite so vibrant and expectant as last week, but there’s still a lot of people here, many no doubt for their second week…A few clad in Stones T-shirts here for the Barbs…That’s a long way off though…

Todd Rundgren’s Utopia hit the stage, Todd, in a less wanger-showing outfit this week.  He performs an erratic but professional show marred again by his over-indulgence…Late afternoon, still very hot, The New Barbarians due at 6pm…6.30pm arrives and the stage set up is complete…still no sign of Ron and Keef though…Nicky Horne appeals to the crowd to cease the trading of cans by air, but he’s clearly talking to a frustrated audience….7.30pm still no Barbs…Makes me wonder if these stoned chaps are not knocking back barbs or something of their own….8pm.  At last they arrive on stage. Frankly it’s all a bit of an anti climax….Honest Ron proceeds to dominate the stage with his loony stage antics (boring after ten minutes), while Keef restrains himself to a low key power-chording.  ’Honky Tonk Women’, ‘Before They Make Me Run’ and an encore of ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ get the required response but really it was a fuss about a whole load of nothing as far as I saw it.  Nicky-the-H tells us we’ve got an hour and fifteen minutes to wait for the change over…Well we’ve already waited longer for less.  Nearly time, the stage is set, my heart skips a few beats in anticipation…After all, this is Zeppelin’s first gig anywhere for a whole week…and it’s not often you can utter that statement is it?…

It’s after 10.30pm when the canned music dies down and the lights flash on to the stage, the signal means they are ready.  Nicky Horne is the man who announces (not unlike the way he did at Earls Court) “Ladies and Gentlemen…Jones, Bonham, Page and Plant – Led Zeppelin.”  Once again, the sight of them on stage again performing ‘The Song Remains The Same’ is incredible.  They go on to perform practically the same set as the previous week.  Robert is quick to backlash the music press when he states early on:

“Well, it didn’t rain, but it rained on us in the week from one or two sources, and we’re just gonna stick it right where it really belongs.”

The general atmosphere is not quite so electric as last week, and the band encounter one or two technical hitches early into the proceedings.  During ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’ several speakers blow loudly’ just before the chorus and Robert is forced to swap mikes half way through.  To their credit they manage to plough on unaffected by this, but the last straw is when Jimmy breaks a guitar string during the closing bars.

The sound trouble continues through ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ but the band recovers well, and things are back to normal with the next track, a peerless ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’.  One other slight hitch occurs when the screen goes a bit crazy during ‘No Quarter’, but apart from that it’s all plain sailing.  Robert is in fantastic voice, Jimmy is sweating and grinning cheerfully – playing a feast, while Bonzo and Jonesy are keeping it rock steady behind them.  Incidentally, the entire band is wearing the same garb as last week.

Robert dedicated ‘Hot Dog’ to the Texas Road Crew, and makes a very interesting statement following that song, maybe hinting at something?

I’m never going to Texas anymore, but we will go to Manchester. Around Christmas should be good, and Nottingham, you’ve got a lot going for you already, and Worcestershire…, and Wolverhampton…yeah, I know…”

They leave out ‘Ten Years Gone’ (shame) this week but do a magnificent ‘Rain Song’, and as they hit the home straight the power of the performance just keeps on climaxing.

‘Kashmir’, ‘Trampled Underfoot’, ‘Sick Again’, ‘Achilles…’, Jimmy’s violin bow episode and ‘In The Evening’) – still fantastic second time around – leap from the stage…and of course Robert’s introduction of ‘Stairway To Heaven is full of sentiment.

“…and when it comes to the time now when we really gotta thank you for hanging about for four years, you English folk, and you French people, for hanging about since – Oh, I don’t know how long.  And I’d like to thank everybody who’s come from everywhere to create part of the atmosphere we’ve had. The other bands that we’ve had with us – Commander Cody, good, good, good, good. Todd, Keef and Ronnie… Peter Grant (come on!). Thanks everybody.”

‘Stairway to Heaven’ is an incredible finish tinged with sadness (this weeks ad-libs – “I’d like to say I hope so…Our stairway lies on the whispering wind…Sometimes that’s all you’ve got…”).  They encore with ‘Rock And Roll’, (“Good evening! Can you do the dinosaur rock?!”), and return a second time to perform the re-vamped ‘Whole Lotta Love’, that this week segues into ‘Let That Boy Boogie’.

Finally, an old chestnut is re- roasted…. …’Communication Breakdown’ crushes everyone.  It’s that sort of performance and it’s a fitting end.

With that Robert turns and with the rest of the band leaves the stage.  Led Zeppelin at Knebworth is over.

“It’s been great, thank you very much indeed…We’ll see ya soon…very soon. I dunno about the Marquee but somewhere soon – Goodnight – Bye.”

A triumphant return – no doubt about it.  Of course the majority of the critics slammed it, but Led Zeppelin don’t play for critics…they play for their fans.  It was all about the hundreds of thousands who came to see them at Knebworth, and it’s their reaction that mattered. Everyone who I saw loved it.

Led Zeppelin returned to the stage with a performance that didn’t rest on their laurels and this was no exercise in going through the motions.  They set their own standards and pushed themselves to the limits with a display of dynamic emotional rock and roll energy.  The very nature of the material they chose to play made it a joy to listen to.  Gone was the excess and self indulgence of the past.  I for one was not sorry to see the omissions of marathons like ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘Dazed and Confused’.  What we did get was a balanced programme that included just a little spice of everything that is Led Zeppelin.  A performance that took you to the highest high, at its mightiest able to rock you ’till your bones trembled, while on the other side of the spectrum also move you near to tears.  And all this talk of being old and dormant…I just fail to see it.  Zeppelin more than lived up to their reputation and not only that…actually bettered it.  One of their best performances ‘In The Evening’, being a track previously unheard… proof that it was not a case of trading on former glories.

Enough of this though.  I don’t have to justify Led Zeppelin’s performance at Knebworth.  They did that themselves, and in doing so created a little bit of heaven for everyone to share, and after four years they can still do that…give thanks.

Dave Lewis, August 16th 1979.

Text extracted from the book Then As It Was Led Zeppelin At Knebworth 1979 

Here are some more comments, recollections and memories from the out in that field…as featured in the book:

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“This is a small little up-tempo ditty that we’ve been asked by some people in Vancouver – It’s all there in the end baby….  It’s called Trampled Underfoot’’ 

‘Robert Plant from the Knebworth stage August 4^th  1979 

“Some people from Vancouver’’

My friend Roger Grais won the radio station competition on CFOX-FM our Vancouver rock music radio station.  Although we had only got to know each other that summer, he told me I was going with him as I met the two requirements – I was over eighteen and I liked Led Zeppelin.  His girlfriend met neither requirement.

So two weeks later we head to London for a week, airfare, hotel and two concert tickets in hand.  Roger even got a passport on three days turnaround.  We arrived on August 1^st probably, and spent two days doing the tourist thing and visiting as many pubs as possible.  We lost count of the number of Green Man pubs in the environs of our hotel – The Whitehouse near Regent’s Park.

On the Friday afternoon we took the tube to the train station and headed out to Stevenage station where we got off ( I think).  We were loaded with three dozen beers, food, binoculars, a blanket and a crummy portable cassette recorder.  Grabbing bootleg t-shirts we headed into one of the massive campgrounds.  We wandered about chatting with people who couldn’t believe how we made it to Knebworth from Vancouver, Canada.  As darkness fell we guzzled beers and chatted with two lovely girls from Leeds.  After midnight we discovered that people were already gathering near some huge wrought iron gates.  Around 4:00am the gate came down and the mad rush along dirt paths began to the main concert site.  I lost a shoe and nearly lost Roger in the scrabble and charge but we made it and survived the jostling for what seemed like hours before we got in around 6:30 am.  Roger refused to surrender his ticket stub and retains his complete ticket to this day.

We charged down the hill and found a good spot, we thought, slightly stage right and well in front of the mixing board.

The cool day (who said it was warm?) passed quickly as we absorbed the building tension.  Hopes of a mid afternoon acoustic set sadly evaporated.  Fairport were excellent especially Swarbrick’s violin playing and Rundgren in his yellow jump suit was quite good we thought.  And then dusk came on, the gradual darkness engulfed the area illuminated by torches, matches and camera flashes.

Our anticipation was so tense as we watched the myriad of stage hands finalize the stage prep and the light and video crew ascended the ladders to the upper light trusses.

9:30pm and the cheers and applause kept building as we awaited the event.  I had seen Zeppelin in Seattle on the 1977 US Tour but this would be even more special.

9:40pm and the hand held torches signalled stage activity.  Guitar notes and drum rolls sent us into a frenzy and then the opening sustained note of ‘The Song Remains the Same’ began and what seemed like every light came on and bang there they were, our four heroes on stage again at last and sounding awesome.  Plant dressed in black and Page in slacks and the soon to be sweat-drenched shirt.

The massive backstage screen was amazing as close ups of Page, Plant Bonham and Jones flashed across.

Plant’s quip about Jimmy doubting people would come at all was warmly received.

Many others have gone through the set list song by song but for us the early highlights of ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’, ‘Black Dog’ and ‘The Rain Song’ were special indeed.

‘Hot Dog’ was well received as the first new number but when they brought out the stool and Jonesy’s triple-neck I knew what was next.  ‘Ten Years Gone’ was amazing and Jimmy’s phrasing on the overlays was sublime.

Regardless of the beer cans and wine jugs flying in our area we were all riveted to the stage and the stunning audio and visual spectacle before us.  Roger snapped pictures frequently, and I tried my best to keep the lousy mike in the air to record it all.

Then our special moment arrived.  Plant said this next song is for “some people from Vancouver”.  We were ecstatic – our request had gotten through.  The radio station had given us Danny Urweider of Atlantic Records as a contact if we needed help.  We phoned him as a courtesy and he asked what he could do.  So as Zeppelin had not played ‘Trampled Underfoot’ in Seattle, I asked if he could ask them to play it for us.  Special thanks forever to Danny for getting the request passed on and to Robert who remembered us – some people from Vancouver.

So with, “a ready Mr. Jones”, it began and Page’s solos on ‘Trampled’ were amazing indeed.

‘White Summer’ segued into ‘Kashmir’ as every light came on as that opening ‘Kashmir’ note was struck and there was the sway back from the audience and ‘Kashmir’ just blew us over.

Page’s violin bow solo heading to the drum intro for ‘In The Evening’ was another highlight.  And then probably the best song of the show, a truly unbelievable ‘Achilles Last Stand’.  Bonzo’s drums on that one were in a different class, and Page by that time was joyous but exhausted, just kept pushing it on.  There is a smile from him mid point on that song that just exemplifies for me Page at his best.

And then ‘Stairway’ with the clock now well after midnight.

To get three encores was astounding and as Plant said over 100,000 people in a chorus of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is was spine-tingling.

So after a final bow from a clearly very satisfied band, the stage lights changed, ‘Communication Breakdown’ came over the sound system.  We gathered our stuff, and bid farewell to the people we shared the day and the experience with and headed toward the exits.  Surprisingly we met up with the two girls from Leeds who somehow had ended up a short distance from us.  They invited us back to their tent but we thought it best to head to the train station – big mistake in hindsight.

After train delays we headed back to London and talked about the show with everyone.  Roger, a drummer raving about Bonham’s powerhouse effort and me revelling in Page’s guitar genius.  Into London late Sunday morning, we then staggered into our hotel – dishevelled, lacking sleep, and me hobbling on one foot as the other lacked a shoe.

We slept and then phoned the radio station to report on the best concert ever.

We enjoyed our last few days in London talking through highlights and listening to our terrible recording.  On knowing we were going, we promised ourselves a visit to the Marquee Club to see some band – any band.  Luckily it turned out that that Monday August 6^th was Simple Minds first London gig.  Our music tastes have always been very broad and to see the best band ever – Led Zeppelin, and a very good up and coming band was great.

We returned to Vancouver with great memories of a great time.  Roger and I remain steadfast friends and music compadres.  We have been to hundreds of shows since (from the Grateful Dead to Dream Theater), but nothing has come close to that wonderful August night in a field in England.

It was special indeed, and to see video of it today brings back so many good memories.  With a special “thanks again” to Danny Urweider and to Jimmy, Robert, John Paul and John (so sadly missed) thank you thank you.

By the way, who were all those lucky people on the stage riser to the left of Jimmy’s amplifiers? They must have been deaf by the end of the night!

Joseph Whiteside and Roger Grais

 “Some people from Vancouver”

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“It was an April morning when they told us we should go…”

In late April 1979 the air crackled with an electric expectation; whispers grew to a muted roar and, as the supercharged clouds of rumour gathered, finally the news broke.  Full page ads in that familiar long-legged typeface bestrode the music press: Led Zeppelin would play Knebworth Park in August.

Pandemonium.  Tickets were sold out almost instantly and clutching ours, we were overwhelmed with anticipation and pride.  It was to be a day-long festival, not that anyone cared about any other of the bands playing.  We would see Led Zeppelin play on English soil, the first time they had done so since the Earls Court 1975 concerts.

This was it, but, nearly two hundred miles north and without personal transport, this would also be a bit of a problem.  Trains were out of the question.  There was no way we’d get back in the early hours.  Hitching was not really a possibility, as there would be four of us and none were blonde and good looking.  We’d go by coach.  But no. After ringing around none of the coach operators had a clue what we were talking about. Hmmm?. After a bit of head scratching an idea broke.  We would hire our own coach and, as well as getting ourselves to the gig, we’d fill up the remaining seats with Zeppelin fans from the North East.  We rang the local coach hire company and a 44-seater was booked. To advertise the trip we stuck an ad in the local paper The Evening Gazette. You had to have your own concert ticket, which by now were gold dust, and for £5 you’d be taken from Guisborough to Knebworth and back.

It seems we were not the only ones who had been stuck for travel to the gig.  Just over a week after the ad had appeared the seats were sold.  Still enquiries came.  We rang the coach company.  Yes, we could have a bigger coach; were we sure we could fill it?  Yes, not a problem.  The extra seats sold the next day.  We were to travel overnight to be there for the whole of the day.

The weeks to the concert soon passed and come August 10th, the coach was parked and ready in Guisborough.  Everyone had been asked to meet up at the coach park.  A few late comers from out of the area arrived at my parents’ house.  This involved my mum dispensing tea and biscuits to various bemused put polite leather and denim clad blokes and their girlfriends as we waited for the departure time to draw nearer.  Then, after a short walk down the lane to the coach we could see the result of our bit of private enterprise as a few dozen disparate souls bound by a common desire to see their favourite band assembled to board the coach.  Names were ticked off and everyone climbed aboard.

Myself and my good friend and Zeppelin nut, Graeme Hutchinson, sat near the front of the coach.  My other friend Graham and my very lucky twelve year old brother Kenny, sat in the seats in front of us.  It seemed hours before Kenny settled and he was the target of largely good-natured encouragement to ‘pipe down’ as he knelt, hanging over the back of his seat chatting to us about everything and nothing.  A watering stop en route was uneventful as tired looking eyes blinked in the alien light at a quiet service station.  On we drove through the night.

We arrived to a bright morning and thousands of fans.  A village of tents and sweet smoke; a gathering of the clans.  We took a place in the grassy amphitheatre and ate and drank through the day.  Trips for more provisions or to answer nature’s call required bearings to be taken from flagpoles dotted throughout the vast crowd; proclamations from the attendant tribes.

The concert passed too quickly, but my memory is punctuated by vivid moments.  Most memorable for me was Jimmy threading his way through the intro to ‘Achilles Last Stand’ and John Bonham tripping his bass pedal and detonating hurtingly bright lights, blinding and white into the night.

And the return home?  Well,…… I counted them all out and I counted them all back.  A very successful campaign.

Mike Robinson, Guisborough UK.

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By the time the Knebworth concerts were announced in May 1979 I had developed into a real “Zep head”. I discovered Zep in 1975 when a lad at school was selling off his “old” rock albums to concentrate on new bands like The Ramones (he soon became the school’s number one punk rocker). Having initially bought Led Zep 1, II, IV and Physical Graffiti for £1 each I now had the complete Zep album catalogue plus the US singles and even a few vinyl bootlegs and live cassette tape recordings. At the tender age of sixteen and still with a half decent paper round, I spent every penny I earned on all things rock music related and most of it on Led Zeppelin.

So when I heard on The Old Grey Whistle Test that Led Zeppelin were to play Knebworth my heart starting racing with the possibility of seeing Zep live for the first time.

I was desperate to go but £7.50 was a lot of money and I had no idea how the hell I was going to get to Knebworth and back – the furthest I’d been on my own was Newcastle. By the time I’d got my act together tickets to the first (and at the time only) concert were sold out. My good mate Mike Robinson and I were devastated as we were addicted to Zep and just couldn’t miss this opportunity to see our band. But the gods were on our side and in early July a second Knebworth date was announced and we made sure we got tickets to the  August 11^th event.

Soon after Mike came up with a cunning plan to hire a coach and sell seats though advertising in the local newspaper. This went so well that we ended up hiring an even bigger coach that took our merry men (and even some women) from the North East of England on a magical mystery tour to Hertfordshire to see the “power, glory and the hammer of the gods” that is Led Zeppelin.

We set off late Friday night and arrived at Knebworth in the early morn’. As I recall it was a relatively damp morning though it soon cleared up and the afternoon was beautiful and sunny. As we entered the Knebworth natural amphitheatre I remember my disappointment when the people at the gate took BOTH halves of my ticket. I’m not sure what the reason for this was but it meant no ticket memento from the most important gig of my life.

I was with a group of about half a dozen and we found a good spot centre stage and about 80 yards back to park ourselves for the day. Even this far back the stage was amazing and the PA looked massive.

The excitement and anticipation was palpable. There was terrific banter and tomfoolery throughout the afternoon. I remember smoking a packet of Marlboro red tops. I’d previously been an Embassy Regal smoker until I’d read somewhere the Jimmy Page smoked Marlboro’s and so I switched brands. It’s pathetic when you think about it but I was a kid and in total awe of Led Zeppelin and so you did these kind of things.

I wasn’t particularly interested in the supporting acts though I tried to get into The New Barbarians given Keef and Woody were involved but they were a bit too loose for my liking.

As it got darker the anticipation grew and grew. We had a good idea what to expect in terms of the set list from the reviews from the Copenhagen concerts and first night and this just added to our hunger. At about 10.30pm (I can’t recall exactly) the band came on stage and the crowd went beserk. A strum of the guitar, a roll of the snare drum and then the opening chords and sheer power that is ‘The Song Remains The Same.’ Thirty years on I can’t remember lots of detail but I do remember the butterflies in my stomach and the total euphoria I felt when I saw Led Zeppelin live for the first time – even at a late stage in their career.

It’s hard to pick highlights as the entire performance was my ultimate concert highlight however a few things stand out; the opening with ‘The Song Remains The Same’, Jimmy breaking a string break at the end of ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’, everything about ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’, the power of ‘Kashmir’ , the intensity and bright white lights of ‘Achilles Last Stand’ (and another broken string), Jimmy’s bow solo and the revolving green laser pyramid and the finale of ‘Communication Breakdown.’ What a night. What a day. What a fucking band!

I know it is generally understood that the first night was better and  also featured ‘Ten Years Gone’ but it doesn’t matter to me. Led Zeppelin at Knebworth on the  August 11^th 1979 was and forever will be the greatest rock performance I have seen and heard.  I’ve listened to and watched a number of recordings of the concert, so I know that there were mistakes made by the band. But on the night it all sounded perfect – I didn’t hear a single fluff other than a guitar string break. The sound was great, the band looked the part and the sheer power from the stage and 100,000 watt PA could have launched a Saturn V rocket.

I will forever remember my Knebworth with the best of memories and as my best concert ever. No one could touch Led Zeppelin then, nor since.

Graeme Hutchinson, Peterborough UK.

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Knebworth was the first and only time I saw (the original) Led Zeppelin live. The first album I got was ‘Physical Graffitti’ in 1976, and so I therefore missed out on the magic of Earls Court.  It is also now hard to believe that Led Zeppelin played in what was my home town of Edmonton at the ‘Cooks Ferry’ Inn in March 1969, although I was only 8 at the time and more interested in Football..

I went with two friends – Colin and Tony to Harlequin Records in Barnet to buy our tickets for Knebworth.  We had just missed out on tickets for the first show, and so ended up with 3 tickets for the second show on 11th August.

We all had motorbikes at the time, but Tony had recently got a rusty old Ford Cortina MKII.  We all piled into his car on the Friday evening and headed towards Knebworth.  Tony unfortunately thought that Knebworth was on the M1, so we ended up having to take a detour at J12, and eventually ended up at the site entrance just off the A1(M) J7 at around 10pm. The site entrance was gridlocked due to thousands of pedestrians and cars arriving.  I had never been to any concert before and was only 18 at the time, so this was a whole new experience!

We eventually were allowed to drive onto the site.  This was after being diverted around the roundabout three times by the Police, who were tightly controlling access to the site.  We then parked up and pitched our tent next to the car, and tried to get some sleep.  I couldn’t sleep with the excitement though, and went for a walk at around 3am to buy souvenirs, such as badges, Knebworth scarf (which I still have), and the essential program.  I was disappointed at the time, as I unwittingly bought the red ‘bootleg’ program which at £1 was more expensive than the official program.  I hadn’t realized there were 2 versions.  (NB: That bootleg programme is now worth around £80!).

I can remember what seemed to be a very long walk to the field where the stage was set up.  We found a place dead centre, around two thirds  of the way back.  I had taken a (primitive) camera and took a few pictures throughout the day.  The day itself seemed to be extremely long as there was only 1 band we had come to see!.  There was plenty going on to help get through it though. I can remember hippies wandering around shouting ‘pot for sale, hash for sale’.  The food was not like at the well organised events these days.  The toilets were worse, and were no more than an open pit over which wooden cubicles had been constructed.  The vile smell wafted over us whenever the wind blew from that direction.

Then it finally happened.  It was absolutely pitch black…, the anticipation, and then those wonderful opening chords to ‘The Song Remains the Same’ ringing out from Page’s double neck.  It was like being hit by a sledgehammer! I still remember the excitement whenever I see the bootleg video, although it took me around 13 years before I eventually tracked down a copy.  It is so easy these days on the Internet!

I can remember on the screen seeing Jimmy smile when his guitar string broke at the end of ‘Over The Hills and Far Away’. I can also remember the new songs that I had never heard before – ‘In The Evening’ and ‘Hot Dog’.  ‘White Summer’ was also unknown to me, as I did not possess any bootlegs at that time.

Tony also swears that he can remember John Bonham taking a running jump and literally jumping over the drum kit, which I have no recollection of at all.

Sadly, we never got to see the encores.  Tony decided we all needed to leave just after the end of ‘Whole Lotta Love’ as he wanted to avoid the rush leaving the car park.  We tried to change his mind, but were in no position to argue as home was a 35 mile walk away.  We therefore could only listen to the encores gradually getting quieter as we made the long walk back to the car park, where we found the car was wedged in with no chance of going anywhere for hours!

For this 18 year old, it was a truly magical evening that will never be forgotten.

Ian Avey Hitchin, UK.

Pic above of Ian with Colin

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I went to the August 11th show.  I was fifteen, and it was my very first gig – some debut!  At that age it was a huge adventure.  My mate Andrew Dillon got the tickets and his dad took us down in the car the night before.  I’d spent the previous month on a crash course of Zeppelin albums being a Genesis fan first and foremost at that time.  It was a real eye-opener camping out alongside all the hippie-types on the Friday night.

Inside the arena we found a spot on a raised mound.  It was a strange support act line up, and as the day went on the arena kept filling up. The toilets were dreadful, and finding your way back to your own spot was also very difficult.  I had my first (and last) joint which I have to confess did nothing for me at all.

Then there was the long wait for The New Barbarians who proved to be a real disappointment.  As the stage was set up for Zeppelin the adrenaline kicked in and any tiredness disappeared.  I’d seen The Song Remains The Same movie but this at last was the real thing.

The roar of the crowd when they came on was just unbelievable and the combination of that and the lights and the sound inspired a rush of tears through the sheer emotion of it all.  To be honest the gig was a bit of a blur.  Jimmy’s laser bow being the most vivid memory.

Over thirty years on the critical view is that they were great but a little rusty but I prefer to remember it just as an incredible emotional experience that has stayed with me ever since and has led me to many more fantastic Zeppelin related experiences.

Gary Wade, Cheadle UK.

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My story starts a few days prior to the gig.  I am a cousin of Ronnie Wood, and as a result of him playing support together with Keith Richards in the New Barbarians, I knew that I had a good chance of getting a ticket for the show. I contacted another cousin of mine who happened to be Ronnie’s PA in the UK and politely asked her for a ticket.  She told me that Ronnie would be over at his mother’s house the Friday before the show and that I should pop over and that he would give me a pass. I was an 18 year old long haired kid who loved my rock music ever since I had been blown away by Hawkwind’s In Search Of Space and Sabbath’s Master of Reality some years before. And now being a total rock convert, I wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity to see the greatest rock band that will ever be. So suffice to say I was at my Aunt’s house nice an early that Friday awaiting Ronnie’s arrival. Sure enough he showed up. I asked him if he had a ticket for me. To my delight, Ronnie produced for me a rather superb back stage pass. It was beautifully coloured and was of a woven material with a sticky back.  I think it had all the bands that were to play on it. It was very cool. I took it, and right at that moment in time it was probably my most treasured possession.

I remember Ronnie saying he had a bit of a panic on because up to that moment the New Barbarians hadn’t gotten a bass guitarist for the show. Ronnie said to me “You can’t play bass guitar can you?” Regretfully I could not!

I often wonder what would have happened if I could.

The next thing that I really recall after all these years is actually going into Knebworth itself.  I remember waiting my turn in a long line of people hoping to God that the pass that I had now stuck to my shirt would get me in. You can imagine my delight when the guy checking tickets looked at it and waved me through. At that point I knew for sure that I was going to get to see Zeppelin. I kind of milled around for a while amongst the crowd and then I got to wondering where the pass I had would allow me to go. I approached the front of the stage area which I believe was fenced off with only a couple of heavily guarded access points.  I thought I’d try my luck, and hey presto I was waved straight through no questions asked whatsoever.  I suddenly found myself behind the scenes…an awesome experience!

I remember seeing Lemmy walking about.  He is a good mate of Ronnie. Many years ago before, Ronnie showed up at his mum’s house with Lemmy and asked her if she could put him (Lemmy) up for a few days as he had nowhere to go. Not sure exactly about the time scales but I believe he ended up staying with Ronnie’s mum for a couple of years. There’s quite a few “soon to be Rock stars” that she did that for, bless her.

Anyway, I remember going up to Lemmy and introducing myself. We walked off towards a load of cars talking about Hawkwind and how he got thrown out of the band. We made our way over to a makeshift grassed car park. We headed over to an old beat up burgundy coloured “Maxi.”  It containing Fast Eddie Clarke and Filthy Animal Taylor. Both of them were totally wasted… I left Lemmy with the other two members of Motorhead and headed back off towards the back stage area to see what I could find.

I went over to the New Barbarians mobile unit. There was a big guy standing at the door on security.  I thought to myself ‘this is the big test’ as I approached him. To my surprise, he opened the door, stepped aside and waved me in.  I stepped inside and to my amazement there was Keith Richards sitting all alone. He looked up at me and said something like “Hello mate, sit down.” Now bear in mind here… I am an 18 year old kid. Totally and completely out of my depth to say the least. I wouldn’t say boo to a goose in those days…..and suddenly here I am one to one with the legend that is Keith Richards!!!  I sat down and we spoke undisturbed for the best part of an hour I guess. I told Keith that Ronnie was my cousin and he kind of warmed to that and I think he ended up asking more about me than I ever did about him. I remember at one point some people outside who couldn’t get in the unit knocking on the window. Keith and I ended up feeding them fruit from a huge bowl. When I say feeding them, I mean we were throwing it through one of the windows at them!  It was all good fun and all very well-natured. Keith seemed a great guy. He is one of the easiest people I have ever met to talk to – just an awesome bloke… He is the kind of guy you could meet for the first time, go down the pub with and feel you’ve known your whole life.

The New Barbarians eventually came on and I stood at the side stage and watched the whole thing.

At one point during the Barbarians set I was aware of someone standing behind me. I turned around and standing there alone was Robert Plant. I said “Hi” and we shook hands. I remember thinking to myself “Ooh my God, I’ve got Planty standing just behind me !!!  Robert said to me “They were a little late on stage I believe,” I said “Yes they were,” and that was it. I turned around to face the stage really not knowing what else to say. It’s kind of weird. I mean, I love Zeppelin with a passion. I had spent many hours thinking about how talented these guys were, how I’d love to meet them. How I’d have so much to say if I ever did meet them. They were my hero’s then and still are today I guess, and  yet when it actually came down to it I couldn’t really think of anything to say! A couple of minutes later I turned around and Robert had gone. I had not seen him leave.

The Barbarians finished their show and I wanted a grandstand view of Led Zeppelin. The side stage was good but I wanted to see Zeppelin full on – to take it all in head on. I found out that there was a press enclosure which gave a brilliant view of proceedings. I got in there with my trusty pass and waited for Zeppelin.  I remember the anticipation from the crowd was electric.  It was infectious.  It was like having a ticket to the World Cup Final…only better. Better because you knew what was coming, better because the outcome wasn’t in doubt, better because you knew Zeppelin were gonna rock the foundations.

When Zeppelin came out on stage the excitement I felt was fantastic.  I wish I could have bottled the emotion and adrenalin that I felt. It was the best gig I have ever been to in my entire life.

After the event, I left the gig along with everyone else and having missed the last train spent the night crashed out on the concrete floor of the train station, but I didn’t care. I had just experienced an unforgettable day, one that I will always take with me.  I had seen Zeppelin and I felt privileged to have done so…still do, to be honest.

What happened to my beloved backstage pass ?… Now this bit still rankles with me to this day.  I remember tearing it off my shirt at the train station, screwing it up and throwing it away…What the hell was I thinking?!   But it’s a fact, that’s what I did with it.  I regret that more than you can know. But I thought to myself at the time, ‘’It’s not a problem I will see Led Zeppelin again…’’

None of us knew that John Bonham would pass away the following year and Led Zeppelin as a live act would be no more.

Mark Stanley, Stevenage, UK.

and this from Larry Bergmann..…

The past 42 years and all of its ups and downs notwithstanding, there is no denying the awesome power of Led Zeppelin at Knebworth.  As we’ve touched on, the emergence of the official DVD as well as both full shows on bootleg leaves it all there for anyone who have an interest.  But forget the video footage for a moment…listen to the audio of the gig…at the beginning of the August 4^th tape, the audio picks up before the stage lights have gone down, and the crowd is hearing ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd being played over the PA.  As the song fades and the lights go down, the deafening, monstrous and passionately heartfelt roar of the fans as Led Zeppelin takes the stage tells the tale.

Those thousands of fans in that field, on that night in 1979 understood……  And all the fans, old and new, forty years on still do today. Tuesday may be gone…but Saturday remains the same…

Larry M. Bergmann Jr

…………………………..

And one more Ian Dixon on the bootleg DVD release:

Knebworth II – The Final Cut

Sandwiched between the euphoric anticipation of the first Kenbworth concert, Aug 4 1979 and the dark days of late 1980, Zeppelin’s second Knebworth show of Aug 11 1979 is a relatively forgotten child. History has it down as being besmirched with technical difficulties, rear of house tensions and a poorer performance from a band knocked by press criticism of the previous week’s comeback event. But this is a piece of history, the quartet’s final UK stage performance, is it then time to re-appraise?

First off having access to DVD footage, of whatever quality is a huge improvement on would be a slightly sterile CD performance. The interaction between the performers, the shapes Robert throws, Jimmy’s wry grins when a solo fails to light up, Jones’ prowls, all bring life to the music. Zep live was always a tightrope and by this stage of the party a few wobbles were inevitable.

Kicking off, of course, with Song Remains The Same the story of the night unfolds. A confident start doesn’t quite flow into the vocals and Page’s first solo is rushed and twangy. Though when the microphones, and the harmoniser do not work against him, Robert is doing a sterling job and also in Celebration Day, injecting life into the show. Jones is so locked in the groove as to be almost unnoticeable and Bonzo solid, but on this mix not such a driving force as at Knebworth 1. The first truly satisfying song is Black Dog where Jimmy matches Robert point for point. While Nobody’s Fault has some magical moments, such us when Bonham kicks in.

But the next, Over The Hills is a shambles, broken string and all, causing Robert to ask the world in general and Page in particular “What’s going on.” Blaming “the samosas”, the collywobbles affect both Robert and JPS’s keyboard set up in Misty Mountain. Since I’ve Been Loving You may not be the eloquent statement of old, but is a fine group performance, with greater emphasis on the piano and a competent solo from Page.

No Quarter follows with Jones taking his cue to shine, Bonzo is an excellent support and Jimmy’s entry is somewhat more fluid. His final solo is top notch, until the point he starts to think about what he is doing! For me it’s Robert who doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Despite its later reputation Hot Dog is something of a highlight, maybe the throwaway nature of the track meant there was no self-induced pressure. The Rain Song always threatens to be sublime, Jimmy is literally sweating over it, only somehow everyone tries a bit too hard and the rust makes it more tight than “but loose.”

After the earlier miss-fires it is a pleasure to see and hear Jimmy get it together on the Dan Electro for White Summer/Black Mountainside, neither too long or too shabby. The switch by the band into Kashmir is stunning, Page’s smile matching my own. As for that song, it is a perfect match for latter day Plant vocal style and everyone does their bit. Bonzo seems on great form but the mix does not do him justice. Everything is going swimmingly until my DVD player can’t cope with the end of the track or the following Trampled Underfoot.

Switching to DVD 2 for Sick Again there is some fine work from Jimmy at the top end of the fretboard, and the driving beat of Bonzo, but neither the performance or mix can match 4th Aug from the official DVD that really opened my ears to this song. The nerves and bad Karma return for a snatched Achilles, only Bonham is unaffected and his toms crash through, pushing Page to raise his game. The beginning of the guitar improv/ lazer violin bow segment undoes some of the good work of White Summer but the traditional Dazed riff shines in all senses and the green pyramid weaves a magic, even in less than perfect definition. The piece leads into In The Evening via John Bonham’s treated timpani that sounds like a spitfire impression played on oil drums, the main course contains some great keyboard and a spirited Fender solo, though better performances would be aired Over Europe.

The emotion of the occasion is starting to get to Plant in the farewell intro and vocals of Stairway, curiously Jones and Page seem unable to lift him and it’s left Bonzo’s rustle in the hedgerow to get any sort of momentum going. Whatever level he is finding on the riser Page cannot on this occasion match it in the solo. But the audience still love it and are rewarded with a rejuvenated encore. The ‘Dinosaur Rock’ … and Roll stomps all over the field, fabulous interaction between all on stage and Jimmy shows that he can still solo and duck-walk simultaneously. Then Whole Lotta Love in its reinvented form is well played, my only gripe being a personal dislike to this arrangement!   But watching Jimmy pull out a boogie turn, the mix of total concentration and delight on his face is wonderful. It is Jimmy that propels the band into a final Communication Breakdown, driving over Robert’s squeaks.

The final result is Zeppelin warts and all. Technical glitches, age and pressure has caught up with them. The band are mortal after all, but there is a lot more good than bad in this set. Kenworth was never meant to be an ending but a new beginning, making Robert’s closing comments of “We’ll see you again soon” all the more poignant.

Posterity has been kinder to this footage than critics were at the time. Flawless it most certainly isn’t, but that adds a human element to the story and anyone lucky enough to have attended either Knebworth show should be proud.

Ian Dixon with thanks to Dave Linwood.  

……………………………….

KNEBWORTH SOME FINAL THOUGHTS…

Some thoughts final on Led Zeppelin at Knebworth – 45 years gone …

If you were lucky enough to see Led Zeppelin in the 1970s, chances are you probably saw them at Knebworth

When Led Zeppelin performed two concerts within the grounds of the famous stately home in August 1979 it prompted an astonishing show of devotion by their fans. This in a musical climate that according to the music press was dominated by punk and new wave.

Since their arrival on the scene in late 1968, this British group of four unique musicians had toured their way to superstardom. Under the maverick management of Peter Grant they flouted convention disdaining to conform to the accepted practices of the music business. Instead, they built their reputation on a series of influential albums and spectacular concert performances.

Such was the musical appetite of the four, their albums encompassed musical leanings that criss-crossed from rock to folk, blues to country, east to west and loud to soft.

By 1975 their latest release Physical Graffiti was number one on both sides of the Atlantic, they travelled in their own private jet and could command the highest concert fees in the land.

A five night run of sold out shows at London’s Earls Court in May of that year was the crowning glory. Regrettably it was to be the last of their peak years.

Ahead lay tragedy and misfortune for Robert Plant that would severely test the character of the band.

So in 1979 it was a very different Led Zeppelin that approached the Knebworth shows to the one that had walked off stage after the triumph of Earls Court four years earlier. The setbacks and tragedies had taken their toll. They had not performed live for two years. In undertaking a comeback of Knebworth size proportions they had a lot to lose.

The air of expectancy in the build up to the first date of August 4 1979 was tangible. Certainly for the thousands who camped out prior to that momentous first Saturday.

DJ Paul Gambaccini writing in the official Knebworth programme recalled how upon it’s release he had risked his ratings by playing Whole Lotta Love on his drive time US radio show He need not have worried – the track went on to become a US top five smash .

‘’Led Zeppelin did not let me down that afternoon in 1969’’ he commented.

‘’They will not let you down today’’.

By and large that statement proved entirely correct. Though a little rusty from the long lay off, when they really gelled they were still utterly sensational. As an event Knebworth was pure Zeppelin theatre and it put them right back in the spotlight. The irony of course is that there would be little opportunity to see how they might have developed from there. Led Zeppelin at Knebworth could and should have been a new beginning. Just over a year later the group were forced to disband following the death of drummer John Bonham.

Knebworth therefore turned out to be their last concerts on home soil with Bonzo. Being there to unknowingly wave them goodbye was a truly unforgettable experience.

Led Zeppelin at Knebworth is a story of simpler times. Despite the grand scale of it all, there was innocence about the whole affair – a sense of belonging to something, a blind devotion to being, as Robert Plant observed from the Knebworth stage “On a blind date”.

On that Saturday of August 4 1979 and again a week later on Saturday August 11 1979 , for the thousands in attendance seeing really was believing…

45 years on it still is…

Dave Lewis – August  7 2024

Tuesday August 6:

It’s a Happy Birthday to our very good friend Mr Ian Saikia – big Led Zep fan, long time TBL supporter, fellow record collecting comrade and all round top man – Happy Birthday from Janet and I – have a great day mate!

• Thursday August 8:
• It was 55 years ago today…
  Some Abbey Road memories …

  
  55 years ago today on the morning of August 8 1969 The Beatles staged the famous photo shoot that would adorn the then forthcoming Abbey Road album
  Here’s a pic of me taken by the good lady Janet on July 28 1983 of me walking across the famous Abbey Road landmark – all of 41 years ago…
  Janet and I were about to enter the building to attend The Beatles at Abbey Road presentation by the late DJ Roger Scott in the hallowed walls of Studio number one where the majority of the Beatles magic was recorded. Back then EMI opened the studios for this presentation for a few weeks during that summer.
  The playback included many then unreleased gem such as the 1963 recording of One After 909,the rejected How Do You Do It single and the acoustic version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps – these tracks would go on to be much bootlegged and then officially released in the 90s on the Anthology albums .
  Hearing them back then on that July afternoon inside Abbey Road was incredibly exciting.
  It was some afternoon and I’ve been lucky enough to be in the Abbey Road Studios on three more occasions since then…

  Two occasions were for Beatles book launches for author Mark Lewisohn in 1988 and 1992. At the latter launch Jimmy Page and David Coverdale happened to be in one of the studios working on their album and I spoke briefly to David.
  The last time I was in Abbey Road was in February 2010 for Robert Plant’s appearance at the Sound & Vision charity event in aid of Cancer Research UK another memorable occasion…see pic…

  It will all be in the DL memoirs…
• Friday August 9:

• • It’s a Happy Birthday to Mr Adam Lewis – 29 years old today!
  Update here:
• Working on one or two projects here for the autumn and awaiting on further news of the Portraits of Robert Plant photo book.
• :
  • Thanks for listening…   

    Until next time…

    Dave  Lewis –   August 7  2024

    TBL website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis

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