Remembering John Bonham 37 years gone… 
On the week of the 37th anniversary of John Bonham’s passing, there is some exciting news to report on plans for the long awaited permanent memorial in his home town of Redditch.
This story via the Redditch Advertiser:
REDDITCH rock legend John Bonham could finally be honoured with a statute in the town centre, the Advertiser can exclusively reveal.
Plans have been put forward for a large bronze memorial depicting the Led Zeppelin drummer in Mercian Square, off Church Green.
Ros Sidaway, from The John Bonham Memorial Fund (JBMF), said the …

 
The Return of Black Country Communion:
TBL ISSUE 43 PREVIEW:
‘’There’s a lot of commitment from everybody – we have never had so much fun working on a BCC record ‘’
As Black Country Communion re- group for a fourth chapter, Dave Lewis catches up with Glenn Hughes
It was quite a surprise when news broke back in 2016 that Black Country Communion were re grouping to record a fourth album. The Anglo American supergroup comprising vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes , Jason Bonham on drums, Derek Sherinian on keyboards and guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa, had seemingly …

DL AT 61: ON THE OCCASION OF MY BIRTHDAY…
61…how did that happen!
61 is the new 21!
As usual when a birthday rolls around , it’s a good time to quantify what I do, what I like and take stock…
Firstly some timelines:
I was 7 years old when I first saw a live concert (The Dave Clark Five show)
9 when I first saw Tottenham Hotspur play
13 when I first heard Led Zeppelin
15 when I first started work at British Home Stores (sadly now gone)
15 when I first saw Led Zeppelin live at the Empire …

Yardbirds ’68 Forthcoming Release Details:
The official Jimmy Page website has now officially announced the forthcoming release of Yardbirds ’68.
Available now for the very first time, Yardbirds ’68 presents an 18-track double album produced by legendary guitarist and producer Jimmy Page.
This special album features re-mixed live recordings from the Anderson Theater in March 1968 alongside Studio Sketches recorded in the same era and the album features music from The Yardbirds members Jim McCarty, Chris Dreja, Jimmy Page and Keith Relf.
“We thought this might be lost forever, but we’ve rediscovered it, re-mixed …

Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – MTV Unledded – 23 years gone….TBL Archive Special:
23 years ago this week, 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.  I was lucky enough to attend both days filming – indeed I was involved in supplying the TBL database for the ballot of ticket distribution. Looking back It was an incredibly …

TBL Archive Special – Knebworth August 11th 1979 – Then as it really was…38 years gone…
To mark the 38th anniversary of the Knebworth August 11th performance here are further extracts from the Led Zeppelin Then As It Was  -At Knebworth 1979 book:
Book Extracts:
This is the original text written for Tight But Loose, issue number 3.Whilst much of it bathes in a rose tinted glow, it certainly succeeds in capturing the pure wonderment of the event as seen through the eyes of a starry eyed twenty two year old fan eager …

ANNOUNCING THE RETURN OF BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION:
Black Country Communion are back in action with a new album BCC IV due out in September and two UK dates scheduled for early in 2018
Here is all the info:
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION
LIVE IN THE UK
 EXCLUSIVE EUROPEAN SHOWS!
 WOLVERHAMPTON CIVIC HALL TUESDAY 2 JANUARY 2018
 LONDON HAMMERSMITH APOLLO THURSDAY 4 JANUARY 2018
 PLANET ROCK 48-HOUR TICKET PRE-SALE WEDNESDAY 2 AUGUST 2017 AT 9AM FROM www.planetrock.com
 TICKETS ON GENERAL SALE FRIDAY 4 AUGUST
24 HOUR TICKET HOTLINE: 0844 844 0444
www.eventim.co.uk, www.ticketmaster.co.uk
………….

THE ALBUM:
“BCC IV”
THE BRAND NEW STUDIO ALBUM FROM
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION
 RELEASED …

Led Zeppelin Then As it Was – At Knebworth 1979
To mark the forthcoming 38th anniversary of the Led Zeppelin Knebworth concerts I am relaunching the Then As It Was Led Zeppelin at Knebworth book.
The book is available at a bargain price of £10 plus postage and packing.
If you have yet to indulge here is a full background of the contents:
Led Zeppelin Then As it Was – At Knebworth 1979 Written and compiled by Dave Lewis.
……………………….
The contents…
Hardback style book in the same size as the Feather In The Wind book …

 
 TBL issues 1,2 and 3…

 I was alerted over the weekend to an eBay sale that involved the original first three copies of the Tight But Loose magazine.

The three issues clocked up a high price with issue one attaining a £227 price tag, issue 2 £113 and issue three £130 –a combined total of £470.
Not bad for three A5 photocopied magazines written, designed and laid out in my bedroom during a twelve month period spanning October 1978 through to October 1979.
This comment regarding the eBay sale of the first three TBL …

TBL Retro Archive: Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980: it was 37 years ago…
Concluding the TBL retro archive features on the final Led Zeppelin tour as chronicled in the Feather In The Wind Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980 book.
This is my overview of the gigs that I caught – this extract picks up the on stage action in Munich on July 5, 1980 for what would be their penultimate show with John Bonham…
When the house lights dim some 15 minutes later, I get the most incredible buzz from hearing the Wembley-like …