Led Zeppelin on 45RPM…from £1.25 new pence for Whole Lotta Love in 1972 – to £11.99 for Rock And Roll on Record Store Day in 2018… 
I’ve been fascinated with Led Zeppelin singles for over 47 years.
Because they were primarily an albums band, for me there’s always been almost an illicit thrill to hear a Led Zeppelin track framed in the 45 RPM seven inch format.
That fasciation goes right back to 1970 when I was aware through the pages of the NME, that Whole Lotta Love and Immigrant Song had been extracted …

Led Zeppelin Record Store Day Release – Rock And Roll (Sunset Sound Mix)/Friends (Olympic Studios Mix) TBL PREVIEW:
Since we’ve been loving them….again…
Just had a listen to this promo copy I’ve received – here’s how it sounds to these ears..

Rock And Roll the Sunset Sound Studios Mix – slightly punchier in the rhythm department and slightly more shrill in the vocal. The guitar solo is more prominent and up front. It’s Rock And Roll…and it’s brilliant…
Friends Olympic Studios Mix – this is an absolute gem. Basically a mix without the string …

 
 Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters for Blues Fest 2018 double header with Van Morrison:
 Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters and Van Morrison join John Fogerty and Steve Miller Band in the line up for BluesFest 2018.
Here’s the info:
Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, and Van Morrison have both been announced as playing full sets at Bluesfest London, which returns to the various venues of O2 Arena, Greenwich, from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th October 2018. Plant and Van Morrison will appear on Friday 26th October plus special guest Colin Macleod.
Plant appeared …

How The West Was Won remastered. The countdown is nearly over…
The countdown is nearly over – This Friday March 23 marks the worldwide release of the How The West Was Won remastered set…
To set the scene, below is an overview of the Los Angeles and Long Beach shows that make up the How The West Was Won set and the circumstances they were recorded in. Plus the state of play at the time within Led Zeppelin – all you need to know to get you in the mood for the latest remastered Zep fix…
So let’s travel back to …

TBL ARCHIVE SPECIAL :JIMMY PAGE & ROBERT PLANT LIVE IN ISTANBUL – 20 YEARS GONE…

Now this one is a bit of an epic.  This was first published in TBL 13 – It’s an road chronicle of the TBL crew’s adventures in pursuit of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant across the and month of March 1998. This took in two dates in Istanbul – something of a zenith in my own ‘’Crazy things I’ve done in the name of Zep’’ portfolio, followed by the superb Shepherds Bush Empire gig which in …

RECORD STORE DAY x LED ZEPPELIN = COLLECTING JOY: 
…AND STILL BIGGER THAN ANYONE ELSE…
Some DL thoughts…
The announcement of the Led Zeppelin Record Store Day special limited edition single on Tuesday, was met with what has become a familiar mixed bag of comments – some for, some very much against.
Call me a fool, but a limited edition single with two unreleased mixes of two of their finest achievements on yellow vinyl? Come on, what’s not to like!
Yes, the strategy of Record Store Day is by no means perfect – too many releases now …

Physical Graffiti Covers City! New Led Zeppelin album released…
Physical Graffiti 43 Years Gone:
To mark the 43rd anniversary of the release of Physical Graffiti, here’s a round up of thoughts and views from the TBL archives – commencing with a look back to the 40th anniversary re issue of three years ago:
The Reissued Graffiti: Physical Sequencing with no cherry picking required……
To backtrack 40 years: In the scheme of things the timing on the recording of this album was just so right.
There was nothing like the pressure they had in following Zep …

TBL Celebrates Led Zeppelin at 50…
LED ZEPPELIN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT 3pm – WEDNESDAY – JANUARY 24, 2018: 
LED ZEPPELIN
Live Album How The West Was Won 
To Be Reissued With New Remastering Supervised By Jimmy Page 
Including The Album’s Debut Release On Vinyl And Blu-ray Audio, 
Along With Super Deluxe Boxed Set, CD, And Digital Versions
 On September 7, 1968, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant first took the stage together in Gladsaxe, Denmark. Then billed as “The New Yardbirds,” the band would assemble in the studio for the first time later that month …

John Paul Jones on the occasion of his 72nd Birthday:
John Paul Jones is 72 today (January 3)…
Throughout the past 12 months, John has again moved effortlessly between differing projects and collaborations. He made several cameo appearances – notably with Donovan at the Adoration Trilogy launch, with the Amores Pasados Band at the Swalesdale Festival, Minibus Pimps in Paris and Tres Coyotes in Helsinki.
To mark his birthday, firstly here are some extracts from the interview John conducted with me in 2016, for publication in TBL issue 41:
DL: So let’s start with the present and your opera …

So this is Christmas…
TBL Retro Christmas Reflection 1:
 Christmas always bringing with it that air of nostalgia, so here’s a seasonal TBL retro reflection from 1972:
ALLY PALLY 45 YEARS GONE:
45 years ago on Saturday December 23rd  1972, I was lucky enough to be in attendance at the closest gig Led Zeppelin ever played to Christmas in the UK. It was a cold  dank day and the walk up Muswell Hill to the Alexandra Palace was a bit of a trek. All worth it of course, as this very impressionable 16 year old was …