The new issue of the Tight But Loose magazine is OUT NOW.
Here’s a review from the Underground Uprising Zep site
Tight But Loose Issue 29
The issue of every new release of Tight But Loose from the highly elequent pen of Dave Lewis is always an event to be savoured. And this latest release is no exception. In fact I am of the opinion that this is one of the very best ever issues of this venerable organ, as they say in Private Eye! There are so many extremely interesting articles crammed …

John Paul Jones will be performing at the forthcoming Cheltenham Jazz Festival as  part of Spin Marvel, an electronic jazz group. The band  includes  Loose Tubes drummer Martin France, celebrated trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer and Terje Evensen on live elctronics. JPJ completes the line up on bass guitar. The group’s appearance is on Saturday  April 30th at 5:15pm in the main arena.
See link at www.cheltenhamfestivals.com

Robert Plant and The Band Of Joy commence their US tour tonight in Louisville – if you are attending any of the forthcoming  shows – …

London’ radio art station Resonance104.4fm is staging a live auction to raise funds to keep this unique project on air.
It’s being held from noon on Saturday March 19th until midnight on Sunday March 20th. Amongst the top items to bid for is the chance to win a 90 minute one to one bass guitar lesson with John Paul Jones.  For full details visit http://resonancefm.com/auction

Progress on the book I have been compiling titled  Feather In The Wind- Led Zeppelin  Over Europe 1980 is ongoing and we are now commencing the design stage with a view to publication in late May/June.
Here’s what the book is all about:
In the summer of 1980, Led Zeppelin undertook what would be their final tour –a low key 14 date trek across  Germany, Belgium, Holland, Austria and Switzerland.
With a radically streamlined stage presentation and set list, the aim was to get back to being a working band after all the …

Own up time. My only previous flirtation with anything remotely operatic has been The Who’s Tommy. I loved the film for it’s sheer absurdness and the album (particularly Lou Reizner’s orchestral version) is still a particular favourite.
Standing outside the mightily impressive Royal Opera House last Friday in London’s Covent Garden, I had the feeling the evening’s entertainment ahead was going to be something altogether a little more high brow.
It was but then again it wasn’t.
I was there of course to witness John Paul Jones contribution as the bass guitarist in …

40 years ago this evening, Jimmy Page strapped on a newly acquired Gibson double neck guitar and played the first chords of a new lengthy composition in front of an audience for the first time.
The occasion was Led Zeppelin’s opening date on their UK tour at the Ulster Hall Belfast. The historic photo below captures the moment…

The song was Stairway To Heaven
The rest is history….
As TBL contributor Rikky Rooksby observes in the introduction to a major feature on Stairway To Heaven to be published in the next Tight But Loose …

The first fruits of John Paul Jones’ involvement with avant-garde composer Gerald Thomas can be heard in a new stage play.
Throats by Gerald Thomas, features a piano solo composition by John. The play is currently running at Pleasence Theatre, Islington in London and ends on March 27th.
For further detail check  London Dry Opera and Pleasance Islington
For more on John Paul Jones and Gerald Thomas plans to work together see Gerald Thomas Blog  
John is currently appearing in the Anna Nicole opera at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.  The opera …

Many thanks for the great response to the TBL Stairway To Heaven 40th Anniversary Poll. Ahead of the March 5th anniversary, there is still time to cast your vote for the all time greatest live versions of the song.
All you need to do is list in order of preference  up to five  favourite LIVE versions of Stairway To Heaven.
The criteria is as follows: Any live version by Led Zeppelin is eligible plus post Zep versions ie Arms or Outrider tour, Live Aid, Page & Plant Japan TV, O2 reunion.
From these …

Robert Plant was the co host on the Chris Evans Radio 2 Breakfast Show this morning between 8 and 9am.
In a hugely enjoyable rapport with Chris Evans, he talked about the legacy of Zeppelin, the Band Of Joy album, Wolverhampton Wanderers and more –as well as reading out various news items. The playlist for the hour included Zep’s Rock And Roll and D’yer Mak’er plus the Band Of Joy’s Cental Two-O-Nine, Angel Dance and the new single Harm’s Swift Way.
A couple of effective loop pieces of Over The Hills And …

The new opera Anna Nicole with John Paul Jones’ on stage involvement, begins it’s run of six performances at the Royal Opera House London tonight. Written by Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Richard Thoms (whose previous credits include Jerry Springer: The Opera, and Shoes), it charts the eventful life of Anna Nicole Smith, the Playboy model who married an elderly billionaire and died of  an overdose of sleeping pills.
John Paul Jones will be performing as part of the onstage trio along with guitarist John Parricelli and drummer Pete Erskine.
John Parricelli was …