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DAVE LEWIS DIARY: T-SHIRTS/TBL MEET AT GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL NR HASTINGS BAR W5 IN EARLS COURT /GRADUATION/HIGH VOLTAGE/VINYL/TBL 30

29 July 2011 9,057 views 13 Comments

Mr Foy’s wry observations on the rock t-shirt culture at the High Voltage Festival was a good prompt to remind you that the coolest Led Zeppelin  t–shirt to be seen in this summer (and beyond) is the exclusive limited edition Led Zeppelin  Feather In the Wind Over Europe 1980 design. A smart Fruit of the Loom black t –shirt already much in demand –guaranteed not to languish in the back of your wardrobe. You will want to wear this one with pride as I am above next to Mr Foy and as did the Lewis ladies below.

You can secure this vital fashion accessory now by ordering at the link here. http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/?page_id=9972

Still on the t-shirt theme here’s a pic of the young DL amongst the many t-shirts from my collection that I dragged down from the loft to display at the 1992 Celebration Days Led Zeppelin London Convention. There were indeed some gems here as the second pic illustrates.

Talking of conventions, the great British Beer Festival is staged next week at Earls Court and inspired by Phil Tattershall’s heads up a while back, we have singled out next Thursday
afternoon (Aug 4th) for an informal TBL meet at the event. The TBL crew will be pitching up for a drop of the old Black Dog and one or two other choice ales and we look forward to all that can make it along. We hope to be on a table in the main area – from around 2pm .To search us out on the day ring myself on 0794 126 0997 or Gary on 0791 374  3878

Phil has identified a good place to meet  by the bank of tables opposite the  Hastings Bar W5, which is on the left hand side of the hall as you   go in from the Warwick Road entrance

There are a couple of good reasons for being there (aside from the ale!). It may be one of the last occasions to revel in the surroundings of the legendary Earls Court exhibition buildings  (scene of course of the epic Zeppelin five night stand in 1975) as there are plans to redevelop the area next year. August 4th is also a key date in the Zep calendar being the occasion of the first Knebworth concert all of 32 years ago. It will be nice to be in the company of fellow fans to toast those occasions and I’m sure there will be one in memory of dear Howard as well.

There is a facility to pre order tickets for the event via a print out ticket – (thus avoiding the queues) all the details can be found at http://gbbf.camra.org.uk/tickets

Last week the proud Lewis parents travelled up to Norwich for a couple of days to attend Sam’s Graduation ceremony at the University of East Anglia. It was a truly wonderful event
and superbly organised. Here’s some pics of the Lewis clan on the day.

No sooner was I back from Norwich on Sunday lunchtime – I was on a train with my good friend Terry Boud bound for the High Voltage Festival. A great afternoon and evening ensured  -it has to be said that such events are really built on the weather and we hit absolute paydirt  with the lovely hot sun that engulfed Victoria Park in the afternoon. Watching Black Country Communion under the blue London skies was an absolute delight. Here’s some pics from the day.

DL, Liz Barnes from Planet Rock Radio and Terry B

Jimmy,Carol and Gary Foy

DL and TB

DL, TBL’er Simon Cadman and GF

Whilst in Norwich I managed to visit a rather splendid vinyl shop and came away with four fine purchasers. In the light of all my recent waxing lyrical on the album (the results of which can be seen in the August 14th issue of Record Collector), I couldn’t resist an original Track Deluxe pressing of Who’s Next, alongside a US Warner’s original pressing of Alice Cooper’s Love It To Death, a nice Small Faces compilation and an absolute curio I’ve seen before but not snapped up – Zager & Evans In The Year 2525 on RCA -the album cut from the 1969 one hit winders.  Ahh vinyl don’t you just love it?. There was a great feature by David Hepworth in last month’s The Word magazine musing on the issue of the collectability of vinyl and the renaissance of the LP as a preferred format for many. Ironically it’s 20 years ago this month when the Our Price record shop I managed had a massive vinyl sale clear out in preparation of it’s predicted demise as a format. I wish I had purchased a few of the many vinyl platters we had at giveaway prices but like many others, I considered CD to be the way forward. Don’t get me wrong I love CD’s (I’ve got enough of the little buggers!) and the convenience factor of them, but it’s vinyl that offers the real thrill.

Here’s an extract from David Hepworth’s Word feature:  As Neil Young once said to me in an interview ”if you play an album on vinyl you get a sense of wellbeing that you just don’t get with a CD”

There is something additional about actually playing records that does not apply when you put a CD on. The unsheathing of the inner bag:the slipping of the disc into the open palm,the flipping of the disc to find the preferred side,the noise the spindle makes when it connects with the hole,the dropping of the stylus on the first track,the crackling forplay that promises so much.The ceremony of playing a record reconnects you with one of the things you used to love about long-playing records,which was the sence of communing with the immaterial world via a physical object.”

That is a statement I am in total harmony with. It’s that tangible connection with the physical artifect of an LP record – the sleeve design,the sleeve notes, and of course the music –  uncompressed and breathing clarity and resonace with every groove. My own deep affinty for vinyl continues to be a source of great joy – ah yes it’s the little things in life, or in this case 12 inches worth at 33 and a third RPM.

Stop Press: More vinyl delight! A trip to nearby Hitchin Market today with our good friends Marian and Terry found us boys seeking out the vinyl. Terry scored an original Argent album All Together Now  album on Epic – I got Ginger Baker’s Airforce double album on US Atco, Trapeze with Glenn Hughes You Are The Muisc We’re Just The Band 1972 album on Threshold , an album by Stray Dog on US Mainticore plus The Shadows Out Of The Shadows on the rare Columbia green label- the lot for £12 – Bargain! The collector price for The Shadows album is £30-result!

Next plan here is to get underway with TBL 30 and there’s already some great stuff lined up. There’s been a good initial reaction to the half page advert I took out in this month’s Classic Rock for the Over Europe book and it’s been encouraging to welcome on board some new customers for the book and some new TBL subscribers – a trend I hope continues. The upcoming TBL will have Mike Tremaglio’s late summer of 1971 tour log and as I’ve waded through the text, I had on an excellent 3 CD set Live in Japan (Thank you EE) – that wonderful September 29 recording from Osaka which captures Zep in full on improvisation mode witness the likes of Friends, cries of Mr Bonham, a rendition of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and that electric intro into Whole Lotta Love. This was a clear case of How The East Was Won – more spirit of ‘71 and a whole lot more in the next TBL…You know you need it…

 

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13 Comments »

  • Adolfo Sleight said:

    Oh dude I adore this service. It will be the brand new We saw it however I Loved it.. Surely will certainly come back, you actually picked up many of discussions in right here 😀 ok returning to tasks then 🙂

  • Dave Lewis (author) said:

    Re Beer fest Phil has identified a good place to meet by the bank of tables opposite the Hastings Bar W5, which is on the left hand side of the hall as you go in from the Warwick Road entrance.

    Greg -might have been Lizard Records – it was in St Benedicts st

    Phil H – my Earls Court t- shirt transfer fell off within days!

    Dave – the beer vouchers were an opening offer when you commenced the site in 1995!

  • Greg Purling said:

    Congratulations to Sam, and a great pic of the Lewis clan on the steps of the UEA, just a stone’s throw from my local gig venue. Must have been Soundclash or Circular Sounds for the vinyl, as they’re pretty much the only two left in Norwich now (RIP Lizard Records, Andy’s Records….)

    Enjoy the ale at EC – very timely, given the hot weather !!

  • Chris Wright said:

    Hi Dave,

    5200 miles of land and sea will prevent me from being at your beer-driven get together, but I will be there in spirit and will spare a thought for the impending demise of Earl’s Court Arena. It’s a hopelessly outdated ,of course, but oh what a tale its walls can tell!

    And here we are approaching the 32nd anniversary of Knebworth – and we all thought 25 years was like a lifetime ago!!! – and yet, as you often say, a lifetime and yet a moment.

    Good to see that Jimmy is reflecting “Kneb” events on his website, with a nice rehearsal pic on the home page today.

    Your evocative observations of vinyl are, of course, well placed. And timely, as we remember the release of ITTOD – perhaps one of the most ambitious sleeve concepts.

    Your vinyl sojourn in Norwich reminds me of many a happy Saturday afternoon trawling that city’s better than average selection of platter emporiums.

    Let’s talk soon 🙂

  • phil harris said:

    Can’t see an Earls Court red t-shirt in your colection!!

  • Dave Linwood said:

    See you at the Beer Festival Dave.
    2pm? Bit Hard-Core! Probably a bit later.
    Re Phil’s Comments: Wasn’t there a free-beer coupon in the back of my copy of “Feather in the wind”?? 😉

  • andrew R said:

    Dave if that trapeze lp is a 1st press you did well, values for a mint copy are well on the up! LONG LIVE VINYL! safer than the dollar or stock exchange methinks!.

  • shelfsidemark said:

    Two o’clock start…! Strewth,you lot will be nissed as pewts by the
    time I get there,around six.Pace yerselves guys,don’t peak too early…
    it’s a marathon…not a sprint ! I think (as the ’79 shirt doesn’t fit)
    I’ll be modelling my new Jimmy shirt….featuring the double neck,with
    ZOSO on a Marshall amp….so if anyone is still there and wants to chew the fat,please say hello.Aside from ‘Black Dog’…Triple FFF brewery may have ‘Stairway To Heaven’ and Acorn brewery may have ‘Kashmir’ which I sampled last week.I recommend the spicy pork pies to help soak
    it all up too ! The only drawback is generally uninteresting music….
    I said last year that we should petition for a Zep tribute band !

  • Kathy Urich said:

    Congrats to Sam on her graduation its a special day. It reminds me of how long ago is been since I received my degree the years seem to melt away. Great family pics of they Foy & Lewis clans. Vinyl the one thing I love about the experience is/was the smell of a fresh record when you open the package; the carefull cleaning of the disc before the needle touches down….there’s nothing like it. My husband and I were lucky enough to have our Alice Cooper Billion dollar babbies cover signed by the man himself a few years back, we cherish that one. The album covers, the art also so cool. Wish I could be at the beer fest with you. Cheers!

  • Michael Brazee said:

    Dave,
    I’ll be proudly wearing my TBL Zeppelin Over Europe T-Shirt next Friday when I see ‘The Sound Remains the Same’ Zep Tribute Band, here in good ol’ Rochester NY. Pretty decent band.

  • Steve said:

    In the year 2525 , now you are talking 🙂

  • Philip Tattershall said:

    Dave, you forgot to mention that you’ll be buying the beer for all TBL subscribers next Thursday. (Only kidding folks!)

    Hope to see lots of you there.

    Phil

  • Alastair Chorlton said:

    Will be at EC nex Thursday hope to meet you at last Alastair

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