55 years ago on September 7th 1968, the line soon to be known as Led Zeppelin performed their very first concert in Gladsaxe Denmark. – the first of two appearances that day… 

REMEMBERING 55 YEARS GONE….

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7th, 1968

GLADSAXE, DENMARK

TEEN CLUB BOX 45

DATE:                         September 7, 1968 (1st show)

VENUE:                     Teen Club, Egegård Skole

LOCATION:              Gladsaxe, Denmark

Billed as: “Yardbirds”

Support Acts: Fourways; Bodies

With The New Yardbirds line-up complete, there was an outstanding engagement to fulfil that was left over from the old Yardbirds’ date sheet ­- a ten-date tour of Scandinavia. Billed as ‘The New Yardbirds’, the group that would become Led Zeppelin made their stage début on September 7 in Denmark.

They would not perform as ‘Led Zeppelin’ until six weeks later – at Surrey University on October 25, 1968.

The venue for their first ever performance was the Teen Club in Gladsaxe, Denmark, a Copenhagen suburb. The Teen Club was actually a gymnasium at Egegård Skole (School), which was converted into a rock club on Saturday nights.

The band was fulfilling an old Yardbirds commitment to perform at the club. In New Musical Express (July 13, 1968), it was noted that the Scandinavian tour would start on September 14th; in fact, for many years this date was generally acknowledged as the date of their very first gig. The following week’s Record Mirror (July 20, 1968), correctly mentioned that the tour would start on September 7th.

Among the 1,200 – 1,400 youngsters who witnessed rock and roll history was a 17-year old student, Jørgen Angel, the photographer for the club’s in-house magazine, Teen Club Nyt (News). Thankfully, Angel took plenty of outstanding photos of the new band with his mother’s camera.

Angel recalled the historic concert for Jaideep V.G. of Rave magazine: “I was pretty disappointed because The Yardbirds were supposed to play that night. It was sometime in the evening that I heard a band called The New Yardbirds would perform. I thought maybe that has nothing to do with The Yardbirds. Maybe there’s just one person left from The Yardbirds, which turned out to be right, it was only Jimmy Page from The Yardbirds who played that night. And the others I had never seen or heard of. But when they went on stage it was something very special and different and spectacular. They were full of energy and they were different. I had no idea they were going to be big.”

“Standing by the side of the stage it was obvious that there was a chemistry,” said Peter Grant. Robert recalls: “We were very green – it was a tentative start but we knew we had something.”

The stage act for the début tour was based loosely on the set The Yardbirds had been performing on their final US tour. ‘Train Kept A Rollin’ was the opener and ‘Dazed & Confused’ the centrepiece, with Page using the violin bow. Old blues chestnuts ‘I Can’t Quit You’ and ‘You Shook Me’ were also delivered in the arrangements that would later appear on their first album. Early self penned numbers included ‘Communication Breakdown’ and ‘How Many More Times’ – the latter built around Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘How Many More Years’.

The act was fleshed out with a variety of covers – something that would remain a feature of their sets for many years to come. Elmore Gantry’s ‘Flames’ and Garnett Mimm’s ‘As Long As I Have You’ were early staples at this point. They also came up with a dynamic arrangement for the folk standard ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’. Page had played the Joan Baez version to Plant on their initial meeting. “I want to do a version of this but with a certain dynamic edge,” he told his new singer.

It was obvious to them all that even on this début tour the line-up had an identity all of its own. Page: “We realised we were working under false pretences, the thing had quickly gone beyond where The Yardbirds had left off. We all agreed there was no point in retaining the New Yardbirds tag so when we got back from Scandinavia we decided to change the name. It was a fresh beginning for us all.”

Photographer Jorgen Angel also revealed to told Huge Jones’ Proximity magazine ”I took a number of photographs There wern’t many actual lights on stage in those days -at least nothing you could use, so I used a flash. I used my mother’s holiday camera and my father’s old flash and I just snapped away. When I first knew of the gig I was disappointed even before the concert because I was looking forward to seeing The Yardbirds again and what we were getting was one Yardbirds member and three totally unknown guys. My disappointment was only up until they started performing because it was a great concert”.

PRESS REACTION:

Teen Club Nyt (October 1968) by Bent Larsen:

“The English group YARDBIRDS had been rehearsing their new set most of the afternoon. So when they entered the scene they were really hot to get started and give it all. Their performance and their music were absolutely flawless, and the music continued to ring nicely in the ears for some time after the curtains were drawn after their show. Let me in particular give my praise to JIMMY PAGE who has made a great job with the 3 new men. They really succeeded and in particular the guitar solo by Jimmy Page created huge applause. We can therefore conclude that the new YARDBIRDS are at least as good as the old ones were.”

DATE:                         September 7, 1968 (2nd show)

VENUE:                     Brondby Pop Club, Nørregårdshallen

LOCATION:              Brondby, Denmark

 Billed as: “The Yardbirds with Jimmy Page”

Support Acts: The Day of Phoenix;

The Eyes; Ham

BACKGROUND INFO:

The band wasted little time in getting the next concert under their belt, performing a second show of the day in another Copenhagen suburb. The Brondby Pop Club was very similar to the Gladsaxe Teen Club, in that it was a rock club located in a school gymnasium.

PRESS REACTION:

Glostrup Handelsblat (Sept. 11, 1968):

                “When you start a new season you always try to make the opening night a little better than you need to. The ‘little better’ this time was the fantastic Yardbirds in a whole new lineup…The Yardbirds however, requires a closer examination. Jimmy Page has again put a new band together. The music is the same, only better than ever.”

                “Robert Planto (sic) should face some small criticism and a lot of praise for an excellent performance. There is no doubt that he is a good singer but he doesn’t have to twisht his body like he’s having a ruptured appendix, or does he? Musically the band is super-great. Their hard disciplined beat is amazing. Of course it was foremost Jimmy Page that was responsible for this but the drummer should also be mentioned; a drum solo so wild and good is hard to find. It was so good that one almost wished that John Bonham wouldn’t stop.”

Thanks to Mike Tremaglio for the above info as researched for the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book.

In 2013 this historic occasion was marked by the unveiling of a plaque at the original school they performed that first show at

Jerry Ritz who was there back in September 1968 reminded me of this great  website –

http://www.ledzeppelin1968.com/ZEPPELIN_DEBUT.html

Many thanks to James Cook 

The complete Led ZepNews email goes out periodically. To receive it sign up here:http://tinyletter.com/LedZepNews

STOP PRESS:

Wolverhampton date added to the Saving Grace tour…

DL BIRTHDAY 67 AT 67:

67 OF MY FAVOUITE SINGLES RELASED IN THE YEAR 1967:

Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane – The Beatles

Massachutes – The Bee Gees

Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix Experience

To Sir With Love – Lulu

Daydream Believer – The Monkees

Light My Fire – The Doors

Happy Together – The Turtles

Sweet Soul Music – Arthur Conley

Let’s Spend The Night Together/Ruby Tuesday – The Rolling Stones

For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield

Somebody to Love – Jefferson Airplane

Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison

The First Cut is the Deepest – PP Arnold

Handbags and the Gladrags – Chris Farlowe

A Whiter Shade of Pale – Procol Harum

With A Little Help From My Friends – The Young Idea

Hole in My Shoe – Traffic

Reflections – Diana Ross and The Supremes

On a Carousel – The Hollies

Even The Bad Times Are Good – The Tremeloes

Up, Up and Away – The Fifth Dimension

San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers In Your Hair) – Scott Mckenzie

Georgy Girl – The Seekers

Dedicated to the One I Love – The Mama’s and The Papa’s

White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane

Gimme a Little Sign – Brenton Wood

Green Green Grass of Home – Tom Jones

I Can See for Miles – The Who

Don’t Sleep In the Subway – Petula Clark

Paper Sun – Traffic

See Emily Play – Pink Floyd

Our Song – Robert Plant

Itchycoo Park – The Small Faces

All You Need is Love – The Beatles

Flowers In The Rain – The Move

Matthew And Son – Cat Stevens

I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman Whistling Jack Smith

Little Games – The Yardbirds

Zabadak! – Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich

Hi-Ho Silver Lining – Jeff Beck

Sunshine Superman – Donovan

Waterloo Sunset – The Kinks

Pink Floyd – Arnold Lane

Pictures Of Matchstick Men -Status Quo

Ode To Billy Joe – Bobby Gentry

Alternate Title – The Monkees

Keith West -Excerpt From ‘A Teenage Opera’

Observations From a Hill – Family

Baby Now That I’ve Found You -The Foundations

Everybody Knows – The Dave Clark Five

Puppet On a String – Sandie Shaw

Homburg – Procol Harum

Respect – Aretha Franklin

Fakin’ It – Simon & Garfunkel

Long Time Coming – Robert Plant

She’s That Kind of Woman – John Williams

I’ve Been a Bad Bad Boy – Paul Jones

We Love You – The Rolling Stones

To Love Somebody – The Bee Gees

Silence is Golden – The Tremeloes

You Only Live Twice – Nancy Sinatra

Kites –  – Simon Dupree & the Big Sound

Alone Again Oor – Love

King Midas In Reverse – The Hollies

Groovin’ – The Rascals

Say You Don’t Mind – Denny Laine

Hello Goodbye – The Beatles

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VIP Victoria Record Fair Saturday September 9,2023: TBL Meet…

The VIP Record Fair is staged at the Horticultural Halls, 80 Vincent Square, Victoria, London on Saturday, September 9 – always an excellent Record Fair  attend in nearly three years. I am aiming to be in attendance and this will act as a bit of a post Birthday extended celebration and TBL meet -there will be an adjournment at lunchtime to the nearby pub The Royal Oak to toast my coming of age.  I look forward to seeing all that can make it along

The pub details are here:

https://www.royaloakpimlico.co.uk/

Here’s all the VIP Record Fair info::

BIGGEST RECORD FAIR WEEKENDER – JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Saturday  September  9 2023
LONDON VICTORIA
Horticultural Halls, 80 Vincent Square, Victoria, SW1P 2PB.
London’s very own Vinyl Fest. – the biggest and busiest Record Fair in the
UK

Admission 12 noon £5. Early entry £10 at 10am. Doors close 5pm.

The BIG ONE returns.
London Victoria
Sat 10th September.

http://www.vip-24.com/venues/londonvictoria.htm

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

DL Diary Blog Update:

Friday August 25:

Latest DL seven inch single acquisitions…

A couple of very nice Rolling Stones singles I had not seen before purchased at last week’s excellent Bedford VIP Record Fair..

Saturday August 26:

A trip to Milton Keynes to meet with Phil Harris and check out the newly re sited Off The Record Willen Hospice charity music shop.

This was previously housed near The Point building. Now it has a modern spacious unit in the Centre MK.

So here’s what’s on offer:

The main attraction is the centre aisle racking which is stock full of second hand vinyl records. Neatly divided in an A to Z run it covers all genres with the emphasis on rock and pop. There’s also a run of 12 inch singles.

The pricing of albums is a bit variable. There’s an element of Discogs being used as a guide – other times it’s quite random.

There was a Led Zeppelin I –the K numbering 1972 issue priced at £50 – £30 might be more realistic. I was also surprised to see the Derek & The Dominoes Layla double set priced at £50. That said, there’s a lot of good stuff in the £10 to £15 price range.

There’s a selection of new vinyl priced £25 to £30

At the end panel of the racking there’s a selection of 60s/70/s80s singles at around £2 to £5 – again some Discogs pricing in evidence – I saw a Beatles Hey Jude single at £10.

The far wall has a large selection of second hand CDs. Prices vary from £2 to £5 and above.

Another wall has a large selection of cassettes –something I haven’t seen in a shop for a good while.

There’s a small side room full of rock and pop books, music magazines and sheet music.

Add to that a selection of acoustic guitars and second hand audio equipment .

The staff were very friendly and while we were there, it was good to hear The Rolling Stones Black and Blue and Bob Dylan’s Desire being played in store.

I came away with the following:

It’s a Beautiful Day – It’s a Beautiful Day at Carnegie Hall £2.50 –UK CBS original

String Driven Thing – The Machine That Cried – US Charisma label £10

Danny O’Keefe – -Danny O’ Keefe -1971 UK Atlantic plum and orange label produced by Ahmet Ertegun £6

Marsha Hunt –The Other Side of Midnight 1978 – 12 inch single on the Magnet label £3

Paul McCartney- Memory Most Full CD £2

Yusuf/Cat Stevens – An Other Cup CD £1

Summary. There’s a lot to look at in Off The Record and though it might not be the place to strike an obvious bargain, it’s well worth a visit and of course all in a very good cause.

Afterwards Phil and I visited his local pub The Cricketers in Oldbrook to watch the Bournemouth v Spurs match – a fine 2-0 win for Spurs and chat and share our memories of our much missed friend Tom…a top day all round…thanks Phil…

 Sunday August 27:

Andy Adams two years gone today and so missed…

Love this pic of Andy and I and the good lady Janet at the Coda 50th anniversary concert to mark Led Zeppelin’s first London show. This was at the O’Neill’s Wardour Street, London on October 18, 2018.

RIP you amazing man who shared so much passion…

Thursday August 31: 

It’s a Happy Birthday to Mrs Janet Lewis – pictured here with one of her favourite boys -grandson Ollie.

We’ve been celebrating her Birthday together every August 31 for the past 40 years – I feel a very blessed man to be doing so again today…

Thursday August 31:

In the fair city of St Albans for a Birthday day out for Janet with Sam and with the ladies shopping I could not resist a quick trip to the always excellent Empire Records – I of course could not leave this one in the racks – Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti US Swan Song label in very good condition original pressing – £20 – Bargain! I’ll take it! You cannot have too many copies of my favourite album of all time…

Thursday August 31:

On the way back from a splendid time in the company of the Birthday lady Janet and our Sam – in the fair city of St Albans – here’s the good lady Janet and I in The Boot one of our fave pubs – with an iconic Bob Dylan image looking over us and a Rolling Stones playlist overhead including Janet’s fave track She’s a Rainbow – feeling very blessed indeed…

Update here:

Thanks for listening 

Until next time…

Dave  Lewis –  September 1 2023

TBL website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis

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