It was sad to hear of the passing of Ravi Shanker age 92, the virtuoso sitar player who influenced so many Western musicians most notably George Harrison – Jimmy Page was also an early convert of Indian musical instruments .
As Jimmy revealed on his official website on the this day entry for 4 Feb 1967:
At the end of the Yardbirds tour of Australia, there were two options to return to England: one, which was chosen by the rest of the band, was to route through San Francisco; but I chose to …

Five years gone….
Yes five years ago today lucky fans from across the world converged on to the 02 Arena in London to witness the live return of Led Zeppelin for one night only in memory of Ahmet Ertegun.
Of course though the wonder of the Celebration Day film, in recent months millions of fans worldwide have been able to share in the magic of  that glorious night.
To mark the occasion, reproduced below are some thoughts from fans present on the night plus the press reaction at the time and the reflections …

CLASSIC ROCK AND GUITAR WORLD NEW ISSUES:
Two more cover story magazines hit the news stands this week. Classic Rock January 13 issue 179 has Led Zeppelin as the cover act on one of five cover choices (Black Country Communion, Rival Sons, Rush and The Rolling Stones are the others) as the magazine determines who has been band of the year.  It includes interviews with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones plus a piece by me on the impending reissue project.

Guitar World has a similar Ross Halfin New York photo session pic …

President Obama’s opening tribute speech at the Kennedy Centre Honours Gala was streamed live last night. Many thanks to Barbara Cain who provided the link via Facebook. It was very exciting to hear these events unfolding in the UK and once again made us all so very proud to be Led Zeppelin fans…
President Obama talked affectionately about Led Zeppelin acknowledging their influence – and also tipping a hat to their rock’ n’ roll antics …
Here is the President’s opening tribute speech:
THE PRESIDENT: Everybody, please have a seat. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, good evening, …

First reports and photos of  Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones a the State Department Dinner for the Kennedy Honours Gala.
Some great photos here…this makes me very proud to be a Led Zeppelin fan and it will you too…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2241738/Say-cheese-Hillary-Clinton-Meryl-Streep-pose-photo-Oscar-winners-iPhone-Kennedy-Center-Honors-gala.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Jimmy, Robert and John with Buddy Guy – photos via AP
How proud do I feel to be a Led Zeppelin fan today as they receive the Kennedy Honours award  -have to say I’ve been welling up looking at those photos…….as Mark Harrison commented – how proud must they and their familes …

STOP PRESS: NEWS UPDATE – LED ZEPPELIN TO BE INTERVIEWED ON THE DAVID LETTERMAN LATE SHOW:
News Update: Following their Kennedy Honours Gala, Jimmy Page,  Robert Plant and John Paul Jones will appear  on the David Letterman Late Show which is aired at 11.35pm on Monday on CBS.
See details at
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2012/11/led-zeppelin-gives-rare-interview-to-david-letterman.html
Thanks Terry Stephenson for link info.
LED ZEPPELIN TO RECEIVE KENNEDY CENTER HONOURS THIS WEEKEND
This weekend Led Zeppelin along with Bluesman Buddy Guy, actor Dustin Hoffman, comedian and television host David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Makarova will be honoured by Washington’s John F. Kennedy Centre …

CELEBRATION DAY CHART WATCH:
Celebration Day looks set to enter the UK album chart at number 2 this week – which is a very credible sales performance for a band who split 32 years ago and given the current seasonal competition – Rihanna’s Unaplogetic is at number one, Zep at two, One Direction at three, Little Mix four and Susan Boyle at five. (Above pic thanks to Kevin Turner)
ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE:

The new issue of Rolling Stone has Jimmy on the front cover and an interview inside which has had plenty of coverage …

CELEBRATION DAY FEEDBACK AND RETAIL FRENZY:
Many thanks for all the Celebration Day feedback – Monday was another landmark day in this sequence of events with fans from all over the world enjoying the communal experience of the long awaited 02 reunion concert film release. It was also good to see the presence of the Celebration Day at the forefront of the retail sector as shops racked up what is going to be a key release for the Christmas season. These photos via Krys Jantzen vividly illustrate that Led Zeppelin look …

The TBL Celebration Countdown continues…to mark the impending momentous worldwide release of  Celebration Day – the Led Zeppelin Ahmet Ertegun 02 reunion concert on DVD, Blue ray and CD on Monday November 19th 2012 , we are counting down to the day….
Countdown to the Celebration Day release …3 days to go.
JIMMY PAGE INTERVIEW ON RADIO 4
Jimmy is scheduled to appear on BBC Radio 4 Front Row with Kirsty Lang – it airs at 7.15. See link at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ntm2x
CELEBRATION DAY REVIEWS:
Here’s one of what will be a fair few media reviews …

The TBL Celebration Countdown continues…to mark the impending momentous worldwide release of  Celebration Day – the Led Zeppelin Ahmet Ertegun 02 reunion concert on DVD, Blue ray and CD on Monday November 19th 2012 , we are counting down to the day….
Countdown to the Celebration Day release …4 days to go.
Official Black Dog clip:

CELEBRATION DAY BONUS DVD REVIEW:
Here’s my thoughts on the Celebration Day bonus DVD. If you want to wait for find what’s in store then as they say on the sports news results programmes …you need to …