Robert Plant Presents Saving Grace featuring Suzi Dian

On the spot report from Mick Scullion…

November 5 2024

Harrogate Royal Hall

Set list:

Oh my goodness, where to start…this ever developing band just sends me somewhere else.

No Product, No Programmes, No Merch …..They just keep moving. Tonight we saw a mélange of previously heard/unheard covers & a smattering of Zep. I’ve taken this band so much to my heart…I said it before but I’ll repeat having seen them quite a number of times , In my more than humble opinion this is the best thing Robert has done since Zeppelin

I love them dearly I think the show has shifted ever so slightly in the direction of vocal attention, the lads on strings remain vital & a force for sure but the soaring harmonies of Mr Plant & Ms Dian dominate affairs. Mind you Matt Worley delivered a stunning vocal performance on one number.

Tonight saw the introduction of a new member of Saving Grace. Barney Morse-Brown. It was his first gig & he is a fab addition. He plays Cello but deviates along the way to play the instrument as a stand up (seated) bass -been a while since I saw a bow …that drone was beautiful …reminded of some days of yore !

Mick Scullion  November 5 2024

Stockton Globe Wednesday November 6:

The second night of the re-arranged dates from April saw Saving Grace in the palatial surroundings of The Globe Theatre in Stockton – a sold out 3,000 strong audience. The venue originally opened in 1935 & in it’s heyday hosted many of the great & good, Beatles/Stones to name but two. As with many such buildings it closed it’s doors in 1997, but re-opened after a long term project in 2021, the character & décor has been retained whilst the facilities have been modernised to great effect .

As with Harrogate Royal Hall the previous evening the acoustics were superb, every sound, every note, every beat was heard in fantastic clarity The set was the same both nights and  it’s a testament to the songs & the musicianship that even though I was taking them in on a “Second Listen” basis those numbers are already sounding familiar.

For me, the stand out numbers were Higher Rock, Orphan Girl (stunning vocals from Ms Dian) & the beautiful I Will Never Marry as first encore. Add to that the three Zeppelin numbers & May Queen from Robert’s solo oeuvre and you have quite spectacular show.

Robert was once again in fine form & humour with the chat between songs and you can see the onstage banter between these quite remarkable troubadours – It all makes for a joyous event. I noticed to a greater degree the vocal talent of Matt Worley, not only does he excel in his solo song Move Along Train, he also harmonises beautifully with both main vocalists throughout the show.

There is the addition of that new member of the band to talk about, A cellist, Barney Morse-Brown – another superb musician, his playing adds a real depth/colour/texture to what was already a great sound. He plays with a bow in the orthodox manner but also plucks away double bass style to give out some really full bottom end rhythm along the way Another stellar show by this much loved ensemble, Robert did mention “Our CD” a couple of times so here’s hoping

Mick Scullion  November  7 2024

Many thanks to Mick for the on the spot report and pics.

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 AT LAST – THE BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN FILM IS ON THE WAY!

Monday November 4 2024…

Now this is a great start to the week – it’s been a long time coming but the first ever officially authorised Led Zeppelin documentary with input from Jimmy Page, Robert Plant ,John Paul Jones and a previously unheard interview with John Bonham is on the way.

Becoming Led Zeppelin, which chronicles the early days of the band up to 1970 will be released by Sony Pictures next spring. Here’s the first official trailer – this is going to be something very special – count me right in!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGgeogZNMA0

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LZ News:

Here’s the latest round up of news via the Led ZepNews Update:

The ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ trailer emerged online

The new trailer for “Becoming Led Zeppelin” has been showing in US cinemas since October 24 and it still hasn’t been officially released online. So one Led Zeppelin fan decided to do what Led Zeppelin fans do best: Release a bootleg recording of it.

On November 2, a YouTube user uploaded a copy of the trailer that they filmed in a cinema.

We teamed up with LedZepFilm to publish this shot by shot breakdown of the trailer, analysing all of the footage it contains.

The trailer contains previously unseen footage of Led Zeppelin performing at the Atlanta Pop Festival on July 5, 1969. And it includes Tim Pace’s footage of Led Zeppelin performing at the Laurel Pop Festival on July 11, 1969 that was deleted from YouTube by the filmmakers using a copyright claim.

There is no sign of the promised unseen Fillmore West 1969 footage that was claimed in a press release earlier this year. And there is no sign of Bath Festival 1970 footage being included either.

The trailer falsely claims that the John Bonham interview in the film is “never-before-heard”. However, the interview has been widely available for years.

We discovered something bizarre: The quote from Bonham at the end of the trailer in which he can be heard describing Led Zeppelin’s first rehearsal is actually edited together using four different audio clips from the same Australian radio interview from 1972. And two of those clips were of him talking about The Beatles, not Led Zeppelin.

Bob Ludwig is auctioning his Led Zeppelin II test pressing

Mastering engineer Bob Ludwig is auctioning his vinyl test pressing of Led Zeppelin II, it was announced this week.

Ludwig’s test pressing of his famous “hot mix” of the album is being sold by him through Heritage Auctions. The item has a starting bid of $1,500 and the auction will end on December 4.

Photographs of the test pressing published by the auction site show an inner sleeve with handwritten annotations. They include the date September 5, 1969, the album’s matrix numbers 691671 and 691672 as well as the album’s Atlantic Records catalogue number 8236 and “from Pitman”, which presumably indicates the test pressing was made at the Columbia Records pressing plant in Pitman, New Jersey.

If you’re not familiar with Ludwig and his career, there is an excellent profile of him on the Stereophile website. Part one is here and part two is here.

Pat Bonham is ‘on the mend’ following her health issues

Earlier today, Jason Bonham released an update in which he confirms that his mother Pat Bonham is recovering from her period of poor health and has been discharged from hospital.

“I’m grateful to share that she’s on the mend and has been discharged from the hospital! She’s now home and recovering, which brings me immense relief,” he said in the statement.

The ‘Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love’ book has been delayed

Publication of the upcoming book “Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love: A People’s History” by Richard Houghton has been delayed until March 21, according to the website of publisher Spenwood Books.

The book, an expanded version of the 2019 book “Led Zeppelin – The Day I Was There” which collected people’s memories of seeing Led Zeppelin live, was due to be published on November 2.

Robert Plant

Robert Plant is still on tour with Saving Grace

Robert Plant was still on tour in Europe with Saving Grace this week, although the band’s frenetic pace of live shows in continental Europe has come to an end.

The band performed in Paris, France on October 29. They’re now due to play four shows in the UK beginning with a November 5 show in Harrogate.

Here’s a closeup video of the band performing “The Rain Song” on October 27 in Antwerp, Belgium:

And here are two Instagram posts with photos from that Antwerp show:

YouTube user Gnac17’s channel has five videos shot from seemingly the front row of the October 29 show in Paris, France. Here’s “For The Turnstiles” from that night:

While in Paris, Plant posed for photographs with two members of the band Chéri Chéri:

Is pro-shot footage of Robert Plant’s Baloise Session performance on the way?

An interesting rumour surfaced this week claiming that we could be about to see the first pro-shot footage of Saving Grace (not counting clips on the band’s mysterious YouTube channel) when footage of the band’s October 25 performance at the Baloise Session festival in Basel, Switzerland is released on Swiss television and on YouTube later this month.

That’s according to the user “zeppcollect” on the official Led Zeppelin forum who made the claim. With no sign of Saving Grace’s debut album on the way, any pro-shot live footage of the band will be the next best thing. But is this actually going to happen?

Plant performed at the same festival in 2010 and that performance was pro-shot and broadcast on TV and online. So it seems Plant is likely on board with the way the festival records its performances.

But there is no concrete information on when Saving Grace’s October 25 show may be released. The festival didn’t respond to our request for information, but we did manage to speak to an employee of a Swiss television channel this week.

This channel routinely broadcasts performances from the festival but it’s currently in the dark as to whether it will be given a copy of Plant’s performance.

“The Baloise Session is very strict with its rules of broadcasting the shows,” they said. “Now, we don’t even know whether we will get the Robert Plant concert or not. Baloise Session will contact us in January 2025 to tell us which shows we are allowed to show on TV and when.”

Robert Plant stars in an Italian train ad

Here’s something we didn’t see coming: Robert Plant is the face of a new promotional video for high-speed Italian trains. He and his Saving Grace bandmate Suzi Dian can be seen in the video enjoying some luxurious train travel around Italy from their recent tour.

Upcoming events:

• November 5 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Harrogate, UK.
• November 6 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Stockton, UK.
• November 13 – The Playing For Change album Songs For Humanity, featuring John Paul Jones on a cover of “When The Levee Breaks”, will be released.
• November 23 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Woking, UK.
• November 24 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Southend, UK.
• December – Gibson is expected to release regular production models of its replicas of Jimmy Page’s 1969 Gibson EDS-1275 double neck guitar.
• December 4 – The auction for Bob Ludwig’s test pressing of Led Zeppelin II will end.
• Late 2024 / Early 2025 – Jimmy Page’s amp company Sundragon will release its new Nymph amps
• Spring 2025 – An expanded version of Live at the Greek, the live album featuring Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes, is due to be released.
• March 21 – The book ‘Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love: A People’s History’ will be published.
• May 3 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Brussels, Belgium.
• May 5 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
• May 6 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
• May 8 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• May 9 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Malmö, Sweden.
• May 11 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Gothenburg, Sweden.
• May 14 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Oslo, Norway.
• May 16 – ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ is likely to be released in cinemas around this date and Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Stockholm, Sweden.
• May 18 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Tampere, Finland.
• May 19 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Helsinki, Finland.
• May 21 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Tallinn, Estonia.
• May 23 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Vilnius, Lithuania.
• June – The book “Rock Visions”, which has a chapter on Led Zeppelin memorabilia, will be published.
• September 11 – The book “Valhalla!: The A to Z of Led Zeppelin” by Paul Brannigan will be published.
• October – John Paul Jones’ song cycle for Dame Sarah Connolly will premiere in London.That was our 365th 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 his continued excellent LedZep News coverage. 

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TBL Archive: The Song Remains The Same London European Premiere – it was 48 years ago…

After the excitement of The Song Remains The Same soundtrack double album release, 48 years ago this week saw the European premiere of the accompanying movie. This occurred at the Warner West End cinema in London’s Leicester Square although such was the demand the film was also screened at the nearby Shaftesbury Avenue ABC Theatre.

My girlfriend Fiona and I  got tickets by queuing overnight in early October. Sleep was at a minimum that night as the disco next to the Warner West End cinema blasted out a diet of Barry White and the like until the early hours. All worth it of course…
Two nights before the premiere ,The Old Grey Whistle Test screened the famous river boat interview with Peter Grant and Robert Plant and the violin bow segment of Dazed And Confused leading up to the coloured swords being brandished . ‘’That’s an amazing piece of film’’ murmured the legendary Bob Harris -and indeed it was. Incidentally BBC’s Film Night aired a clip the following Sunday for which the long running presenter Barry Norman in his familiar style commented ‘’Let’s all go down like a Led Zeppelin…and why not.’’
The premiere on the night of Thursday November 4 1976 was another unforgettable occasion with many memories ingrained on my brain:

Here’s a few: Jimmy being ushered up the stairs of the cinema on arrival by John Bindon right next to me….shaking hands with Peter Grant and Bonzo as they waited for the photo call….standing up to allow Roy Wood and Billy Connolly to get to his seat two along from where we sat….a standing ovation as Jimmy, Robert, John and Bonzo took their seats…..spontaneous applause after every song performance -it was almost like attending a gig…. Bonzo and Jonesy with families gathering in the foyer afterwards…passing Paul McCartney on the way into the toilet. Robert eyeing the cardboard obeleisk/object card board cut out that I wore around my neck entwined with my scarf for the occasion as we chatted in the foyer.

Let me explain this interesting fashion look. Basically I took one of the cardboard obelisks that made up the hanging Presence mobile I had and swung it around my neck in a unique (plainly odd!) fashion statement – I cant it say it’s a look that caught on but hey it was for a special occasion!….The aforementioned Billy Connolly telling me the film had been ‘’A wee bit brilliant’’ in his famous Scottish brogue…watching them all get into limos as they sped off for the aftershow party in Covent Garden. A simply unforgettable night in their company.
Fiona and I were back for the screening at the Warner West End the next night and on the Saturday. I went on to see the film over 30 times in various cinemas over the next 18 months – along with those first three nights it played in London, I saw it in Cambridge a couple of times the next week, every night (twice on Friday) of its seven day residency at Bedford’s Granada the following January , at a run down cinema in Western Favell in Northampton on a snow bound night that involved catching two busses to find the place…at a midnight night showing along with a couple of porn films in Luton and then there were periodical trips to a small picture house in London’s Wardour Street I think called the Electric Cinema that showed seasons of rock films in rotation (anyone else remember that tiny place?).
In early 1981 I brought it on a dreadful quality VHS bootleg copy in a shop off Tottenham Court Road – all colour drop out but hey any time I wanted I could rewind to Jimmy climbing that mountain so who cared!

All that endeavour seems a bit crazy now considering it’s all on YouTube …but back then it was the thrill of the search and as they couldn’t play live during that period, then the film was definitely the next best thing -and 48 years ago this week it was all happening at the Warner West End cinema. Being there in the cinema with the members of Led Zeppelin to see it unfold for the first time is an unforgettable memory…

Dave Lewis – November 2 2024

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More TBL November Archives..

More Wembley Empire Pool magic….in 1978..

When I first witnessed Led Zeppelin live on stage back in November 1971 at the Empire Pool Wembley, this then 15 year old could neve have imagined the events ahead and that I might one day actually meet and speak to Robert Plant in this very same venue.

But that is what came to pass as seven years later on November 4, 1978 I did just that.

By then my enthusiasm for all things Led Zep was pretty off the scale. I had met them all backstage at Earls Court and The Song Remains The Ssame premiere in London and at Heathrow Airport in May 1977.

The tragic passing of Robert’s son Karac had rendered the band inactive for many months –though there had been some stirrings in the spring of 1978 with a get together at Clearwell Castle. I had kept in contact with the Swan Song office and I knew that the recording of a new album was on the cards.

That year was a very memorable one for me – not least for leaping on stage at The Who Shepperton filming gig on May 25. Around the same time I was commissioned by Geoff Barton a journalist on Sounds music paper to work with him on an extensive feature they were running in September to mark the tenth anniversary of Led Zeppelin. Over the summer I collated a Zep career timeline plus an extensive discography that duly ran over four issues in September. It was an incredible thrill to see my work in print and it further fuelled my ambition to produce a Led Zeppelin magazine. This was an idea I had first mooted in late 1977 – I had already designed a few proto type pages and I had a name for it – ‘Tight But Loose’ – a phrase Jimmy and Robert had coined to describe the ban’s music in separate interviews during their 1977 US tour.

One more footnote – little did I realize that many years hence on the night of December 10 2007 the pic of me and Robert laughing would be featured on the BBC Six O Clock News in their coverage of the Led Zeppelin 02 reunion which included a few words from me before the gig..

This incredibly memorable 1978 Robert Plant rendezvous all of 46 years ago today occurred when I was just 22 years old – I’m now 68 – as he once put it, it’s been a lifetime -but a second…

Dave Lewis – November 2024

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TBL Archive:

THE WALKING INTO EVERYWHERE TOUR WATCH DIARY -JIMMY PAGE & ROBERT PLANT UK TOUR 1998 – ON THE SPOT REPORTS…

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3 1998

Manchester

“It’s just another day… this one’s for the budgies’’

After the intimacy of the ULU it’s quite a shock to be in the cavernous surrounds of the Evening News Arena, but it’s a smart place. Transglobal Underground have just finished their set and it’s down the front for what is becoming a familiar ritual.

Plant stomps on in black short sleeve shirt, Page back to the black sweat shirt. The sound is well up to scratch – the real revelation tonight is Robert who seems in a very good mood and very talkative. In fact he’s in one of those great spieling moods that were such a part of Zeppelin, and even unfolds a strange tale of supporting budgerigars in Manchester years back. “Back in the Sixties Jimmy played here with The Yardbirds, and somebody was telling me in the hotel today that they saw me at the Princes Domino social club in between performing budgerigars and female impersonators. Not much has changed. We’ve still got the female impersonators – and the budgerigars we’ll play with later!”

He will return to the budgie theme again during the gig, rather like the Badge-holders in LA 1977. Plant’s jovial mood ups the enjoyment level considerably – it’s a shame he doesn’t come out with this sort of banter more often. I also spot a new mike technique during the solos in ‘Clarksdale’, nonchalantly throwing it over his back and swaying around the stage.

“This is a song we intended to write in 1968,” is Plant’s slightly cryptic intro to ‘When The World Was Young’. Page takes the Gibson cherry red and in my enthusiasm for this piece I manage to bash the guy next to me on the head.

Things are a bit calmer for ‘California’ (“I don’t know if it was a leaning to budgerigars that made us write this next song – one thing’s for sure it’s been played in Manchester before”), and ‘Tangerine’ and after the well-received ‘Gallows’, they play ‘Heart In Your Hand’. Plant’s phrasing reminds me of the late great Frank Sinatra at times and Jimmy’s strung out lines eerily echo across the stage.

There are some minor set list variations. During the “Oh baby” finale of ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’, Plant wanders into lyrics from ‘If I Were A Carpenter’, the Stairway tease receives a rapturous applause. ‘How Many More’ times leads into the excellent ‘That’s The Way’ with Jimmy strumming the sort of minor key changes that used to light up the likes of ‘Woodstock’ and ‘San Francisco’ way back.

Another Plant observation: “You may wonder why we still do this? Well we really kick ass up here, there are journalists who will no doubt use that as a headline.” (Which the Manchester Evening News duly roll out the next day.)

Then it’s a grand welcome back for the mad March anthem ‘Most High’ which once again confirms its more than successful transition from studio mediocrity to on stage rouser. A compact ‘Whole Lotta Love’ which finds Page deploying minimum use of the Theremin takes us out.

They’re back on soon enough, “Thanks a lot folks… it’s just another day.” Disappointingly there’s no ‘Night Flight’ or ‘Trampled’ or ‘Misty’ tonight but there is a great return for ‘Thank You’, sung with the now expected conviction. “Here’s one for the budgies!” ‘Rock And Roll’ closes proceedings and Plant’s predominantly good mood continues to his final stage action, signing off with an enthusiastic “Suck it!” after Michael’s extended flurry.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 5 1998

Wembley Arena

The London crowd has its drawbacks – there’s always a bit of the ‘go on then entertain me’ attitude. Tonight’s crowd are pretty receptive but down the front there’s little of the friendliness of Dublin or good natured banter of Manchester. The set is something of a disappointment for those expecting any real deviation. Robert also lacks the rapport that he seemed keen to develop in Manchester.

There is, however, one reflective comment early on when he tells the audience, “Well it’s been a long time since the performing pigs and the high wire all for 15 shillings. But it’s still happening here.” It was back in 1971 when Zep performed here supported by various circus acts.

Overall, the performance is acceptable if not exceptional. ‘Clarksdale’ finds Plant adopting his swinging mike technique. ‘Heart In Your Hand’ is again superbly performed with Page’s final chord ringing out across the arena. “It’s been a long time since the performing pigs and highwires,” states Plant in a rare moment of reflection. The insert for ‘How Many More Times’ is a piercing ‘Season Of The Witch’. The encores line up as ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Rock And Roll’. By their standards it’s an average night – although most of those in attendance will not have noticed that. Perhaps that’s one disadvantage of seeing a few shows close together.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6 1998

Wembley Arena

For a Wembley crowd the atmosphere is excellent, the Egyptian intro being greeted with a huge roar. And there they are. Page, no surprise in black; Plant back to the black short sleeved shirt.

From the opening blast you can feel that they are up for this one, Plant’s mood perhaps evident from the tying of a Wolves scarf next to the amp. To add to our delight there are also several set list variations, the first of which is a superbly applied take on ‘What Is And What Should Never Be’ occupying the space normally reserved for ‘Ramble On’.

The absolute stand-out performance comes with ‘When The World Was Young’, which is perhaps the best musical moment of this whole 1998 adventure. The reason is simple. Jimmy Page approaches the solo with all the on-the-brink fluency of the ’77 ‘Over The Hills’. It’s much extended from its studio counterpart as the man scratches out new plains of abstract beauty from the cherry red Gibson. There he is strutting around with such unforced passion and joy, turning to Robert for the final chorus in a scene reminiscent of the classic ‘Achilles’ pose of old. From there, ‘California’ and ‘Tangerine’ both enjoy a huge reception, as does the crowd pleasing stomp of ‘Gallows Pole’. There’s also a very welcome return for the powerful ‘When I Was A Child’, a highlight of Shepherds Bush which again finds Plant in superb voice, meandering away from the mike to deliver the final lines. The good times keep on coming. ‘If I Were A Carpenter’ is back in the break of ‘Babe’, ‘Most High’ rocks furiously with Plant offering one of those great raised key vocal effects for the verse, “Where are the words of the king who moves the stars and the sun”.

‘Down By The Seaside’ enjoys another revival in ‘How Many…’ and after ‘Whole Lotta Love’ they’re back for the first encore, a spirited ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ quickly followed by the re-scheduling of ‘Ramble On’. Finally, it’s a second encore and in a fitting finale it’s a most welcomed reprise of ‘Night Flight’, perhaps baffling some of the audience, but those in the know heeding its significance. Then it’s ‘Rock And Roll’, then Plant takes up the wolves scarf off the amp and they’re gone. The 1998 UK tour is over.

Dave Lewis – November 1998

To be continued

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DL Diary Blog Update:

Thursday October 31:

Friday November 1:

Friday is platterday – first time I’ve made it to the Spitalfields market for a good while – first stall full of cool US singles – records are going to be purchased! With Lee Abrahams

Excellent record fair at Spitalfields with my fellow record collecting comrade Lee -records have been purchased…and of course you can never have too many copies of Led Zep 1 !

November 1:

Checking out my Spitalfields acquisitions in the George and Dragon – lovely stuff!

Saturday November 2:

Saturday is platterday – and there will be a fair few on offer at the always excellent VIP Record Fair today…

Monday November 4: