Here’s the info via Rufus Publishing:

Robert Plant once compared the end of Led Zeppelin in 1980 to “walking away from a loud explosion, with your ears ringing.” The images in this book celebrate what happened next: namely, the aftermath and the first chapter in what would become his long and wildly eclectic solo career. Plant had just turned thirty-two when Led Zeppelin finished, following the death of his friend and drummer John Bonham. He wasn’t ready to stop making music, but he retreated to his family home, Jennings Farm in Worcestershire, to grieve and ponder his next move. In reality, Plant would spend the next ten years coming to terms with his musical past and, at times, running away from it.

Portraits of Robert Plant- is a photographic celebration of Robert Plant’s journey through the eighties, published as a brand-new coffee-table book tracing his career with a mixture of well-known, rare and largely unseen photographs from some of rock’s greatest photographers, including George Bodnar who toured extensively with Plant and his band. The book is edited by the world renowned Led Zeppelin author Dave Lewis who witnessed over 20 Robert Plant live performances during the1980s and includes a career essay from music journalist Mark Blake, tracking Plant’s career through the decade. This unofficial book is 230mm square, case-bound, 240 pages, printed on luxury 170gsm matt-coated paper. The book comes with a fold out poster and is presented in a black slipcase with a gold foil logo. The main edition comes in 500 numbered copies and sells for £55 plus shipping.

In addition to this, a much larger, ultra-limited Black Leather and Metal Edition measuring 375mm square and presented in recycled leather and a hand welded aluminium metal slipcase with a screen printed logo in a run of 50 numbered copies. This edition also comes with a unique lenticular for framing and will sell for £350.

The books will go on sale on Friday April 26th at 3pm UK time and will feature a 10% pre-order discount if ordered before May 7th. The first 200 orders will also come with a free enamel badge worth £6.00. The books will ship worldwide late July/early August 2024.

Pre orders – 10% off pre orders to May 7:

The books can be ordered here: www.rufuspublications.com/rufusbooks/plant/

A promotional video for the book can be found here: https://youtu.be/ySU4zrz7xxQ?si=YqmRiaNkbnRsUrP7

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A previously unseen video of Atlanta 1977 emerged online

A previously unseen six-minute video of Led Zeppelin performing in Atlanta, Georgia on April 23, 1977 was published online this week.

The film, shot by Ron Gerber, shows the first three songs of that evening’s performance: “The Song Remains The Same”, “Sick Again” and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” along with “Kashmir” and “Rock And Roll”.

Many thanks to James Cook

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

http://ledzepnews.com/

More cine film – Atlanta 1977:

This from Eric at LZ Film

Here is some absolutely stunning Super 8 footage from Led Zeppelin’s sole performance at the Omni Atlanta in 1977. The filmer, Ron Gerber, had his frame rate set to 24fps leading to a movie quality feel to this film despite being Super 8.

Special thanks to Ron for filming and being so gracious during this entire process, AdamBound for roping me in, Nuff from The Pink Floyd Research Group for his incredible color correction, and The Negative Space for their stunning film scan.

View the footage at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tjnar36LSs

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TBL Archive Special: It was 51 years ago… the moment Led Zeppelin elevated from being an exceptional rock band to becoming a worldwide musical phenomenon…they way it’s been ever since…

Led Zeppelin US tour opening  date –  Friday, May 4, 1973 Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, USA:

Setlist (from River City Review)

Rock and Roll, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown

Notes: Other tracks most likely performed but not listed in the review: Celebration Day, Bring It on Home Intro/ Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, The Ocean.  Four Sticks was noted in the review, but almost certainly not performed.

Led Zeppelin wasted very little time on their U.S. tour to demonstrate their incredible drawing power and meteoric popularity, pulling in 49,236 fans (out of the 50,277 stadium capacity).  The concert grossed $246,180 and broke the Atlanta Stadium concert attendance record set by The Beatles on August 18, 1965 (who drew a comparatively modest 33,000 fans).

A closed-circuit TV system projected the group on two 16×24 foot screens positioned on the sides of the stage.  This was the very first time the band had ever employed such screens, specifically for faraway fans.  Unfortunately, the other stadium gigs on the 1973 U.S. tour did not utilize the technology (Tampa, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh); however, large video screens were eventually used again for their 1975 Earl’s Court shows, 1977 Pontiac, Michigan, 1977 Seattle, and 1979 Knebworth shows.

This concert marked the debut appearance of John Bonham’s Ludwig Amber Vistalite drum set.  Bonzo used this set all the way through the last gig at Earl’s Court in London on May 25, 1975.

Although not documented for this concert, Celebration Day was added to the set list on this tour, the first time it had been performed since Charlotte, North Carolina on June 9, 1972.  Out on the Tiles had been replaced by Bring It on Home as the introduction to Black Dog on this tour.  No Quarter was performed live for the very first time and Moby Dick made a return appearance to the set list for the U.S. tour (the first time it had been played in concert since the October 9, 1972 Osaka, Japan show).

The gig was reviewed in the River City Review, a Memphis, Tennessee underground newspaper. Bill Read’s review featured the following comments:

“The band waited until everyone had time to get into the Stadium and get settled before they started the show and 8:30, and even then people were still arriving.  The audience rose to its feet in a gesture of welcome, even as John (Bonzo) Bonham started the group off into ‘Rock and Roll.’  After completing this number, Robert Plant returned the greeting that had been given, and then continued with ‘The Song Remains the Same’ and ‘The Rain Song’ from their new Atlantic release, Houses of the Holy.  Plant then made a reference to the now defunct Atlanta Pop Festivals, and proceeded into ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ and ‘Four Sticks’ (ed. note: he was probably referring to Black Dog).  For those who could not see very well, there were two large viewing screens on either side of the stage, which showed interesting close-ups of the band as they gave their spectacular performance.”

“As John Paul Jones began the rather un-Zeppelinish ‘No Quarter,’ a fogging devise went into play, creating the eerie effect you might expect for the song.  This selection in particular was reproduced in an excellent manner by all members of the band.  Then, Jimmy Page, Zep’s producer and lead guitarist, and Plant put a sensual and intense effort into ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You,’ and, much to the delight of the audience, ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ ”

“As the crescent moon shone above, and as God looked down on all of His children, they bestowed upon the spectators their new rendition of ‘Dazed and Confused.’  During the song Jimmy Page stepped forward with his Customized Led Paul, took out his violin bow and expertly fed his original brand of musical data into an echo unit.  Page sent the head of every person conscious into a world of ecstasy and wonder; and it occurred to me that we might have been given a preview of music born twenty years from now.”

Hit Parader (December 1973) carried an exclusive on tour with Led Zeppelin cover story written by none other than their press agent – Danny Goldberg.  The article read just like Goldberg’s press releases, describing all their record-breaking exploits.  He even quoted the mayor of Atlanta, Sam Cassell, as saying “This is the biggest thing that has hit Atlanta since the premiere of ‘Gone with the Wind.’ ” In his 2008 memoir, “Bumping Into Geniuses: my life inside the rock and roll business,” Goldberg conceded that the quote had actually been contrived by Peter Grant the morning after the Atlanta show.

Saturday, May 5, 1973 Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida, USA

Setlist:

Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, Bring It on Home (Intro)/Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love Medley (incl. Boogie Chillun’), The Ocean, Communication Breakdown (incl. It’s Your Thing)

The band certainly did not have to wait a very long time to top their Atlanta attendance figure.  The next night in Tampa they drew a record 56,443 fans ($297,632 gross receipts), passing The Beatles attendance record for a single artist set at Shea Stadium in New York on August 15, 1965 (attendance: 55,600).

Photos of Robert Plant and the record crowd appeared on the front page of the Atlanta Constitution with the headline “Stadium Rocks – Led Zeppelin Plays to 50,000.”  The article was primarily focused on the crowd itself and mentioned that it was the first time the field had been opened to an audience.  Curiously, it also mentioned that “paper and aluminum cans were trampled underfoot or were skittered across bare parts by the wind.”  Coincidence?

Soon after the Tampa show, an Associated Press article written by journalist Mary Campbell was published in newspapers throughout the United States.  Robert Plant discussed the Tampa concert with Campbell:

“I think it was the biggest thrill I’ve had.  I pretend – I kid myself – I’m not very nervous in a situation like that.  I try to bounce around just like normal.  But, if you do a proportionate thing, it would be like half of England’s population.  It was a real surprise.  Tampa is the last place I would expect to see nigh on 60,000 people.  It’s not the country’s biggest city.  It was fantastic.  One would think it would be very hard to communicate; with 60,000 people some have got to be quite a distance off.  There were no movie screens showing us, like in Atlanta.  The only thing they could pick up on was the complete vibe of what music was being done.”

Plant was asked why the band was more willing to talk to the press this time around and he responded:

“Last summer when the Stones were in America we were doing a tour concurrent with theirs.  We had no coverage.  We were beating their attendance, though…We’ve been aware of how we’ve been doing for a long time.  And I really think some people ought to know what we’ve done.  I’m proud of what we’ve done and what we are doing, and so many more people could dig it.  That is the idea.”

Phil Rogers, staff writer for the Evening Independent (May 7, 1973) newspaper in St. Petersburg, Florida reviewed the gig in an article titled “Led Zeppelin Style: Start Slow to Buiold” (sic).  Here are some key excerpts from Rogers’ article:

“Then the long awaited were on stage.  Zeppelin started slow and built slow, for each song, for the whole show.  Robert Plant’s voice vibrated into the open cavern of people that covered – painted – wallpapered every viewable spot in the stadium.”

“At times attention wandered from the stage.  Someone said she was bored.  At the time the remark was made, I would tend to agree.  No one else in the crowd seemed to be exactly jumping up and down either.  But then, Led Zeppelin was building.”

“Led Zeppelin was starting to warm up.  Jimmy Page took a violin bow to his guitar, drummer John Bonham took a long, very excellent drum solo and the sound started to come alive…The first notes of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ drew immediate applause.  ‘There’s a lady…’  Plant’s voice brought recognition to the rest of the crowd and more cheers for the group.  The best song so far; things were getting better.”

“The finale, ‘Gimme Some Lovin’ (sic).  White doves, released from the stage, flew to the audience in a message of fluttering, wheeling peace.  Thousands, upon thousands of matches spotted the stadium like little eyes looking for the group’s return.  A granted request.”

The Watcher (May 21-27, 1973) underground newspaper (Winter Park, Florida) carried a review of the record-breaking show titled “The Apex of Rock and Roll Attendance – Led Zeppelin Fills Tampa Stadium.”  Written by Michael Crites, the review included the following observations:

“Led Zeppelin performed a predominantly high-energy concert with only a taste of their progressive soul and glamorock experiments of recent days, and their acoustic tunes.  The quality of sound was not good, very little of the patented Zeppelin echo was audible and there was a somewhat fuzzy edge.  Of course, these are natural drawbacks to a stadium show.”

“One of the outstanding numbers from ‘Houses of the Holy’ titled ‘No Quarter’ is indicative of Zeppelin’s schizophrenic nature.  The song included a mysteriously mellow piano, a solid drum beat and disguised heavy guitar.  At the mellotron Jones activated the strings, which are dynamite in your living room and probably would be exciting in a concert hall.  Zeppelin took off in developing an orchestrated piece formed by intricate composition.”

“The fifteen minute drum solo was a useless filler and a condescension to the masses.  I think Bonham is a damned good drummer without continuous beating.  Charlie Watts has never played more than thirty seconds by himself.  ‘Moby Dick’ was the only boring portion of the show.

A three and a half minute news report was broadcast on local TV station, Channel 13.  The feature showed the band getting off their planes and into limos, footage of the crowd, and short clips of the band performing on stage (with Misty Mountain Hop from the fourth LP being played instead of the actual live audio). Part of this feature was used as the intro to their 2007 reunion concert at the 02 Arena in London

DL Diary Blog Update:

Saturday April 27:

Another Saturday – another queue for records – this time for the Victoria VIP Record Fair…

Saturday April 27:

Saturday is platterday – and a whole lot on sale at the VIP Record Fair at Victoria London -I may invest but in newly found moderation!

Saturday April 27:

Great day at the Victoria Record Fair – well pleased to find a Led Zeppelin Presence Greek pressing on Swan Song with the titles printed on the right of the sleeve….you can never have too many!

Saturday April 27:

Another top find at the VIP Record Fair today – the Yellow Zeppelin bootleg of the Whiskey A Go Go January 5 1969 date – great Beatles sleeve parody…

Saturday April 27:

Great to see the always inspiring Mr Dave Ling at the VIP Record Fair at Victoria London today …

Saturday April 27:

The TBL crew of Cliff Steve Livesley Ian Saikia James Bevis Phil Harris Krys Jantzen Paul and Dave Ling in the pub discussing various aspects of our musical passions after the excellent VIP Record Fair in Victoria London earlier…

Sunday April 28: