It was back to the scene of those halcyon May days of 1975 last week when I attended the London Trade Book Fair at Earls Court.
The treasured old building still looks much the same from the outside though with the addition of the adjoining Earls Court 2 arena it has increased in size. It was comforting to see that the white surround that separates the tiers was still intact and the big old clock is still in place. Probably not the one of course that seemed to visibly slow as …

Really enjoyed the show. The last time my wife and I together saw Robert was at Knebworth in 1979. We were not at the front then but we were on the beach in Abu Dhabi. The show was relaxed and the crowd were not. They were out to see Mr Plant and they were not disappointed. Some of the Middle Eastern guys knew the words and sang to Rock and Roll. The encore started with Whole Lotta Love and went into something Arabic which they understood and I did not. …

It has been announced that Robert Plant is to join forces with Strange Sensation guitarist Justin Adams and the West African riti (a one-string violin) master Juldeh Camara for the finale of the three day Womad Festival in Abu Dhabi. Around 50,000 people are expected to attend each of the free Womad concerts, which will take place on the Corniche public beach from April 23 to April 25.
The signing of Plant is regarded as a coup for the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach) and for Womad, …

John Paul Jones appeared with Sarah Watkins on the Jimmy Fallon show in the US on April 13 performing live in front of a studio audience a version of “Long Hot Summer Day” from Sarah’s self-titled Jones produced album, with Sarah’s brother Shaun and drummer Questlove. Follow this link www.johnpauljones.com , to John Paul Jones own site for exclusive video of the performance.

The new issue of Record Collector (May 2009 edition)
has an extensive feature written by Dave Lewis on the 40th anniversary of the debut Led Zeppelin album. see www.recordcollectormag.com

Another week of ups and downs.
The downers: well have to say I got it wrong with taking the Borders job.
After a few days it was evident to me that this just wasn’t going to work out. For a variety of reasons I have therefore taken the decision to resign from Borders.
I thought being back in retail would re-energize me – and I’d cope fine but it just opened up all the old Zavvi wounds.
The shift patterns of the job would also have adversely affected my work/life balance …

The debut solo album from Nickel Creek singer songwriter Sara Watkins produced by John Paul Jones is out now via Nonesuch Records. In an interview for TBL John Paul Jones told Dave Lewis “The really great thing about the whole process of making the album is that we achieved exactly what we set out to do. As for myself as producer, the entire vision I had for this record came to fruition. I’m really pleased with it. I wanted her voice to be really to the fore with a sparse …

John Paul Jones and alternative rock legends Sonic Youth have collaborated on an original musical piece for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and will perform together in Brooklyn, New York. “Nearly Ninety,” a new full length work composed by Sonic Youth, Jones and mixed-media sound composer Takehisa Kosugi, will debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on April 16, Merce Cunningham’s 90th birthday. The piece and its debut performances are part of “Merce Cunningham at 90,” a four day festival celebrating the choreographer’s work and influence. After its world premiere …

On March 21 Jason Bonham joined renowned tribute band Led Zepagain during their 77 tour revisited set at the House of Blues Sunset Strip Hollywood. He got up and performed Rock And Roll during their encore.
See link at www.zepagain.com.

As reported here two months ago Jimmy Page appeared at this years Rock & Roll all Of Fame held in Cleveland to induct guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck into the famed Hall Of Fame. During his speech remembered his friendship with Beck going back to when there were 13 – 14 years old and into the Yardbirds.
He also said of Jeff solo work “Jeff started making solo records, and I carried on with the Yardbirds for a while, and we both started to continue in our own sort of way. …