MANCHESTER ARENA BOMB ATTACK:
I watched the breaking news of the appalling terrorist bomb attack at the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in the early hours of Tuesday morning and woke up yesterday to the stark reality of it all. That so many young people should endure these terrifying scenes  shown on the news after attending a concert is just beyond words… and that so many have lost their lives and been injured only enhances the bewilderment and hurt we all feel by this senseless action.
Thoughts and prayers go out to all …

Paul Rodgers Free Spirit tour with guests Deborah Bonham & Doug Boyle (and two unexpected ones!)
Oxford New Theatre Sunday May 14, 2017
Pic by Krys Jantzen for TBL
‘’What fun we are having’’
To recap: I had been toying with attending one of Paul Rodgers Free Spirit gigs featuring Deborah Bonham and co. I cannot make the Royal Albert Hall date so I was looking at either Oxford or Leicester. As I was able to get the bus from Bedford through to Oxford, that date became the most feasible and at short notice …

Deborah Bonham and band on the Paul Rodgers Free Spirit tour: 
Deborah Bonham and her band kick off their collaboration with Paul Rodgers on his Free Spirit tour on Friday with the opening date at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow. The 14 date tour ends on May 27 at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
As Paul explains in the press release for the tour:
“It was so inspirational playing Free material with Deborah Bonham’s band, led by guitarist Pete Bullick, when we played charity gigs to support Willows Animal Sanctuary and Assisted Therapy Unit, which my …

The Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds album The Beginning… is released this week via Jimmy Page’s website. Produced by Jimmy when he was 17 at the RJ Sound Studios in Morden, it’s an important remnant of the London R and B scene. To tie in with this archive release we present…
AN EXCLUSIVE TBL INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS FARLOWE:
‘’We are like brothers really, we totally respect each other. He thinks I’m a great singer and I think he’s a great guitarist.’’
Chris Farlowe talks to Dave Lewis about the release of  The Beginning… and …

TBL EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF THE FORTHCOMING CHRIS FARLOWE AND THE THUNDERBIRDS RELEASE VIA JIMMYPAGE.COM:
Thunder Over Morden in 1961: The beginnings of the London rhythm and blues scene…Chris Farlowe and The Thunderbirds The Beginning
So here it is, a genuine archive recording that takes us back to the pre Beatles days of 1961 – and it’s the vision of a young Jimmy Page that has made all this possible. His decision to record Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds in RG Jones Sound Studio in Morden near London some 56 years ago …

John Paul Jones back on stage:
Tres Coyotes the new band formed by John Paul Jones with Anssi Karttunen and Magnus Lindberg made their live debut in Helsinki, Finland on Wednesday April 5.
Long time TBL contributors Tiina Puska and Minna Luostarinen were in attendance – here’s their first impressions:
”What can we say about the Tres Coyotes; challenging, powerful, enjoyable. JPJ was relaxed and clearly enjoying himself. He played five string bass and mandolin and grand piano. Modern contemporary classical improvisation. It was fantastic”
Photo by Juha Palotie – many thanks to them for that on …

TBL ARCHIVE 1: AUSTRALIA 1972: IT WAS 45 YEARS AGO…
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s Australian tour, here is a gig to gig round up compiled by Mike Tremaglio for TBL … 
 Wednesday February 16th, 1972 Subiaco Oval, Perth, Australia
Led Zeppelin performed their first ever concert in Australia at the Subiaco Oval in Perth. The concert was reviewed by John Bryant of “The West Australian” in a piece titled “Heavy Rock – With Discipline.”
Here are some key excerpts from Bryant’s review of the band’s first show in the “land …

Robert Plant lined up for Royal Albert Hall Appearance with Nigel Kennedy:
This news via Music Week:
Robert Plant and jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty will join Nigel Kennedy for a one-off concert at the Royal Albert Hall next month.
The Led Zeppelin vocalist and jazz-rock virtuoso are among the high-profile stars confirmed to appear with  violinist Kennedy as he headlines the venue’s Love Classical festival on Tuesday, March 14.
Other guests announced include violinists Michael Guttman and Pieter Daniel, Bulgarian gadulka player Georgi Andreev, and Kennedy’s own ensemble, the Orchestra of Life.
Lucy Noble, artistic director at the Royal Albert Hall said: “We’re incredibly excited to …

Evenings With Led Zeppelin by Dave Lewis and Mike Tremaglio
Here’s an update of the current major project.

The pic below was taken at StudioMix last week as I was working with TBL designer Mick Lowe on the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book project. This is the major book I am co-writing and collating together with long time TBL contributor Mike Tremaglio – with Mick handling the design and Omnibus Press the publishing.
Mike needs no introduction to readers of the TBL magazine. His diligence in researching the concert history of Led Zeppelin is second …

TBL 42 on Magzter:
Essential Led Zep reading for your iPad, tablet and phone – TBL issue 42 now available to download via the Magzter newsstand…
I am pleased to announce that the recent TBL issue 42 is now available as a digital download for iPad and Android formats via the Magzter Digital Newsstand .
The Magzter Digital Newsstand is one of the leading multi platform digital newsstand, with 6,000 magazines from 2,500 publishers globally available for sale.
The Tight But Loose magazine has long been established as the key regular Zep written source. …