Jimmy Page & Robert Plant MTV Unledded – 30 years gone….TBL Archive Special: 

30 years ago this month, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant reunited for two performances filmed by MTV at the London TV Studios for their Unplugged series. Appropriately dubbed Unledded, this saw the pair roll back the years with an inspiring re-evaluation of the Led Zeppelin catalogue.
In its way this was every bit as significant as the 2007 O2 reunion as they sort to put into perspective their past achievements. The omission of John Paul Jones was in hindsight, …

Robert Plant on the occasion of his 76th Birthday: 

Robert Plant is 76 years old on Tuesday August 20…
From his initial forays in the Midlands scene in the mid 60’s leading to his first record being released in 1966, through to his vital contribution to Led Zeppelin and on to an always compelling solo career, Robert Plant has occupied a unique position at the forefront of the music world for over five decades…
With his recent gigs with Alison Krauss and more Saving Grace dates ahead, he continues to enthrall and delight…
Happy …

TBL Archive Special – Knebworth August 11 1979 – Then as it really was…45 years gone…
It’s that time of year again…
The anniversary of Led Zeppelin at Knebworth always resonates  – Saturday August 11h 1979 – just writing that date sends a tingle of excitement because that is the day when it all occurred for a second time back in that field just outside Stevenage all of 45 years ago.
On Sunday August 11 I, and thousands of other fans will no doubt be thinking back to that glorious second Zep gig …

Led Zeppelin at Knebworth: 45 Years Gone today…
The Knebworth stage under construction in the early morning of Thursday August 2 1979. Pic by Dave Lewis from the book Then As It Was – Led Zeppelin at Knebworth 1979.
It’s that time of year again…
The anniversary of Led Zeppelin at Knebworth always resonates …Saturday August 4th –just writing that date sends a tingle of excitement because that is the day when it all occurred back in that field just outside Stevenage all of 45 years ago.
45 years ago on August 4  Led …

The Prelude to Knebworth…the Copenhagen warm-ups – it was 45 years ago:
Here’s a couple fascinating first hand views of the Led Zeppelin warm up shows all of 45 years ago…

A 24 month break separated Led Zeppelin’s walking offstage in California on July 24th 1977 and their return to the concert stage in Copenhagen almost two years to the day on July 23rd 1979.
In a tactic that echoed Peter Grant’s original launch of the band in 1968, Led Zeppelin flew to Copenhagen on Monday July 23rd to perform two warm up shows for the …

TBL Archive – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant – UK tour 1995 – it was 29 years ago…
29 years ago this week a fair few of you reading this were tearing up and down the highways and byways of the UK to catch the long awaited on stage return of   Jimmy Page & Robert Plant.
It was incredibly exciting few days -I was lucky enough to catch the dates in Glasgow, Sheffield, St Austell, Poole and two nights in Birmingham and London. Along the way there was many a TBL meet …

It was 44 years ago…
 Marking the final Led Zeppelin concert with John Bonham on July 7 1980
 Here’s my review of the Casino Records 3LP bootleg that was released  in 2020.
 My thoughts on…
Led Zeppelin
A Memory Frozen Forever
Casino Records Limited Edition 3 LP 180 gr gold vinyl 350 only.
This is the latest in the Casino Records series of Led Zeppelin vinyl presentations. Previous releases have included This follows their excellent Berkeley Days Second Night package in a limited run of 400, I Told You Baby Long Time Ago – Scandinavia March 1969 …

TBL Archive Special :
It was 44 years ago – Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980: 
This month marks the 44th anniversary of the final Led Zeppelin tour – a low key 14 date trek taking in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Austria and Switzerland. I was lucky enough to attend five of those gigs. This is all chronicled in my Led Zeppelin Feather In The Wind Over Europe 1980 book
Here’s is a further extract – my on the road account written at the time and first featured in TBL issue 5…

TBL Retro Archive: Led …

During the 1970s, I was well aware of Chris Charlesworth’s reporting in the Melody Maker. He wrote several illuminating pieces on Led Zeppelin, notably a review of their shows in Montreux in October 1972.

Chris had an excellent relationship with Zep as he did with many an artist. When he became the Melody Maker’s US correspondent I followed his weekly column avidly. He always seemed to be right in the mix of what was going on around the New York area.

Chris went on to become the commissioning editor of Omnibus Books. …

Howard Mylett Remembered : 13  Years Gone…

June 19th, marks the 13th anniversary of the passing of Howard Mylett, the legendary Led Zeppelin collector and original author.
He wrote the first ever biography of Led Zeppelin published in 1976 and went on to write a series of superbly researched Zep books. .
Howard Mylett had an engaging dry wit, incredible enthusiasm for collecting all things Zep, and above all, was always so generous in sharing his passion. He could be a cantankerous old bugger at times but that was all part of Howard’s make up.
It …