TBL ARCHIVE SPECIAL 1: JUNE 2002 – STILL DREAMING OF WORLD CUP SUCCESS… 18 YEARS GONE… 
18 years ago, as the World Cup got underway in Japan, Robert Plant was back in the forefront again promoting the just released Dreamland album. Here in the UK we had a Storytellers TV recording and a one off London date in the space of a few days – all occurring at the time Sven’s England were attempting to triumph in the World Cup in Japan.
That summer of 2002 was something of a summer of …

TBL Archive Special: It was 47 years ago… 
Led Zeppelin US tour opening  date –  Friday, May 4, 1973 Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, USA:

Setlist (from River City Review)
Rock and Roll, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown
Notes: Other tracks most likely performed but not listed in the review: Celebration Day, Bring It on Home Intro/ Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, The …

Roy Williams…RIP:

I am so very sad to hear the passing of Roy Williams aged 73 – the long-time front of house sound engineer for Robert Plant and many others – and an integral part of the Midlands music scene for many decades.
I first met Roy in May of 1981 when I attended five Honeydrippers gigs that month. This was the ad-hoc R and B line up Robert Plant chose as his first step outside of the recently disbanded Led Zeppelin. The line-up was made up of mainly Midlands musicians and Roy acted …

TBL Archive Special 1:
BBC Radio One John Peel In Concert  – 49 years gone:
Reeling in the year: Capturing the sounds of BBC Radio One on a Sunday night in April – The Wonder of Devotion…
Led Zeppelin BBC Radio One In Concert – It was 48 years ago this week:
49 years ago, on Sunday April 4 1971, I first heard the music of Led Zeppelin performed live and the effect was pretty shattering to the ears of a young 14 year old – not to mention rather lasting…
The occasion was the Radio …

Julie Felix 1938 – 2020:
I was so very sad to hear the news of the passing of Julie Felix aged 81. Julie was always so supportive of my TBL work through her association with John Paul Jones and I did a couple of very memorable interviews with her. This photo was taken at the Royal Albert Hall after her performance at the Icons of The Hall event in May 2017. Julie shone such a light for the folk rock and protest movement over many decades and her BBC2 TV show …

 
Robert Plant Q and A with Mat Everitt – Rough Trade East record shop London – Friday February 28, 2020:
With Adam looking after the good lady Janet last Friday I ventured into London for the Robert Plant Q and A at Rough Trade East record shop. I fared better than my last London visit.  I still felt anxious at times and was not 100 percent in the zone but it was an improvement. As for Robert Plant – a very engaging hour of chat with the excellent Mat Everitt – …

TBL Archive Special: 
TBL Led Zep 1975 Snapshot: Number Two
Snapshot Notes:
MONDAY JANUARY 20th, 1975
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
CHICAGO STADIUM

Set: Rock And Roll/Sick Again/Over The Hills And Far Away/When The Levee Breaks/The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song/Kashmir/The Wanton Song/No Quarter/In My Time Of Dying/Trampled Underfoot/Moby Dick/How Many More Times/Stairway To Heaven/Whole Lotta Love – Black Dog/Communication Breakdown.
Robert ‘s flue is now in full effect and Jimmy is struggling with an injured finger. How Many More Times’ was recalled to the set to allow space for guitar improvisation. As Page told Chris Charlesworth …

TBL Archive Special: A look back to the second date of the Led Zeppelin 1975 touring campaign:

TBL LED ZEPPELIN JANUARY 1975 SNAPSHOT…

DATE: SUNDAY JANUARY 12 1975
VENUE: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
VORST NATIONAAL
Setlist: Rock And Roll/Sick Again/Over The Hills And Far Away/When The Levee Breaks/The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song/Kashmir/The Wanton Song/No Quarter/Trampled Underfoot/In My Time Of Dying/Stairway To Heaven/Whole Lotta Love – Black Dog/Communication Breakdown.
Snapshot Notes: The second warm up date for their forthcoming US tour – the previous night they had played Rotterdam. Before the show Robert conducted an interview …

Michael Putland 1947 – 2019:
I was very sad to hear the passing of another iconic rock photographer Michael Putland aged 72. During the 1970s, his work was a staple feature in the UK music press. When I was editing the Five Glorious Nights Led Zeppelin at Earls Court 1975 book for Rufus Stone I had access to his amazing Led Zep Earls Court photos many of which were featured in the book – including the cover shot .
I was lucky enough to meet him at the Led Zeppelin From The …

David ”Front Row Dave” Beesmer RIP:
Like so many of us, I was very sad to hear the news of the sudden passing of David ”Front Row Dave”Beesmer aged 54.
Dave was well known in the Zep fan community as ‘’Front Row Dave’’, so called for his knack of always being there or thereabouts at concerts – notably the Led Zeppelin reunion show at the 02 in 2007. Dave was interviewed on BBC Breakfast the day after the show. I was lucky enough to meet him before the Celebration Days London premiere …