The 02 Reunion – Nine Years Gone: Photo by Dave Linwood

Nine years ago on December 10, 2007 , I awoke with the prospect of Led Zeppelin retuning to the stage just a matter of hours away. The previous night I’d spent the evening in the Pilot Inn toasting that fact with fans from all corners of the world. It would be a similar scene a few hours later.

The day itself went by in something of a blur – walking on that cold concourse leading to the O2 complex, conducting various interviews, bumping into countless fans I knew. After a communal hug at the entrance it was time to queue for entry. Just as I was going in there was a call on the mobile from the good lady and Sam. They had watched me on the BBC six o clock news. Earlier in the day I had conducted a live interview with BBC News 24 but had no idea they would be using a clip from it for the evening bulletin. The whole element of immense anticipation of what was about to unfold is accurately captured in that BBC news summary in the YouTube clip below.

And then… well you know the rest…..

One night, one moment, one event.

It still has an aura of complete surrealism about it all – and it still looks and sounds utterly out of this world. It just does. For so many reasons.

The lavish stage set and back production, the ecstatic crowd drawn from over 30 countries.

And while we are at this point  hello to Jose, Tatan, Graeme, Pam, The Foys, Julian, Eddie E, Tom Locke, Kam, Krys,  Colin, Michaela, Jez, Scott, Brian Knapp, JR, Paul H, Nech, Danny Coyle, Mark Bowman, Gary Davies, Lee T, Paul Aspey, Billy & Alison, Dave Linwood and many others who shared it all – you’ll be having the same thoughts as me this weekend for sure…

Back to that night of nights…

The Tampa news report intro, the balanced set list, and ultimately the performances of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham in recreating the magic and chemistry (and yes that chemistry I talked about on that news clip was indeed all there) of Led Zeppelin for one night only.

Jonesy was as ever the consummate master musicians, Jason was simply amazing and Jimmy at last got his wish to get HIS band back together and play the music he had so lovingly crafted – and he played it that night with the verve and swagger of the glory years. As for Robert… I’ve said this before but for me he was the absolute star of the evening. Prior to the show the rehearsal reports had all been very favourable, as had the interview quotes from all four but for it to really work, it required Robert to really believe in it all. As he told Uncut magazine in an interview before the show –  ”We need to do one more great gig”

Watching them run down In My Time Of Dying at the Sunday afternoon open rehearsal was my first indication that this was going to surpass expectations and Robert was so relaxed with it all during that run through.

The next night from the first beats of Good Times Bad Times, it was plainly evident that for one night only Robert Plant genuinely wanted to believe in Led Zeppelin again.

And boy did he ever.

This is a man living the Led Zeppelin dream again and reveling in every minute of it.

As they all were…

So many examples of that confidence and bravado are captured on this simply glorious footage of Kashmir below.

Yes we all wanted more…but it was not to be – however we do have it brilliantly captured on the Celebration Day DVD/Blue- ray

It remains one night, one moment, one event…and nine years on – the memories shine ever brightly …

Dave Lewis, December 9, 2016.

The Initial Reactions:

Here is the initial report I filed for the TBL website on the afternoon of December 11. This has to be one of the most emotive pieces I have ever written. I was in a state of complete exhaustive meltdown as to what I had witnessed the previous night….and what a night it was…

Back From Planet Zeppelin in seventh heaven

Just got back from Planet Zeppelin. That’s the only appropriate phrase to describe the incredible vibe that has prevailed at the Millennium Dome / O2 over the past two days.

Where to start?

The wonderful camaraderie of fans that extended from the queues for tickets / merchandise /gig entry over to the Pilot Inn pub which really was pure TBL come a live Sunday night and yesterday afternoon and early evening. So many people that came so far on another blind date.

And yes seeing was believing. Again.

The atmosphere was electric as we queued to go in. A call from home revealed I’d been on the national BBC 6 o’clock news being interviewed in the build up. It was all happening.

I had an excellent view stage left to the side – it was great to see Kevyn Gammond, Bob Harris and Justin Adams all in attendance in my block. The performance: full of the integrity, humility, emotion and power that characterised the glory days. And this might just be their most glorious day ever.

So many highlights: The opening thrust of Good Times / Ramble and Black Dog. In My Time Of Dying still pure bottleneck banshee with Jason’s incredibly powerful bass drum kicks… For Your Life an absolutely outstanding performance – one of my all time fave tracks finally given the live treatment it so deserved. Page, Jonesy and Jason grooving incessantly down on that plangent riff. Trampled…. another pure groove with Robert so on it as he was all night.

A Nobody’s Fault But Mine with all the stop start dynamism of the original and what an intro….No Quarter with the added touch of dry ice  and Jimmy’s theremin hand signals…Since I’ve Been Loving You more fluency from Page… Dazed And Confused compact and concise and the revolving lasers during the bow episode reviving memories of  Knebworth.

Stairway…have to say I completely lost it at that point and tears steamed down my face all the way through this and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.

‘’Hey Ahmet…we did’’

The Song Remains The Same lifted the tempo back up and was just magnificent. Misty Mountain Hop before which Jason sang the opening lines of I Can’t Quit You Baby kept the pace.

“There’s people here from 50 countries….here’s a song about the 51^st”

Then blam! A version of Kashmir that engulfed the entire dome. The undoubted pride of Zeppelin sung with such intensity by Robert. “Fucking awesome” as Noel Gallagher described to me later.

They were back for Whole Lotta Love and again for a rousing (can it be anything else?) Rock And Roll before which Jimmy thanked everyone for an amazing night. At the end of it all Plant threw down the mic, they took a final bow ,Plant offered a final tribute to Ahmet and this utterly immortal night was over.

Thank you James Patrick for an amazing night.

Yes the sound mix took a while to settle in, and a few cues got missed notable in Since I’ve Been Loving You, but hey they were, are and always will be tight but loose.

Suffice to say this was one of the greatest nights of my life and probably thousands of others in the O2 Arena. John Aizlewood in the Evening Standard said it all with his testament:

“It was breathtaking and spine tingling – as good as popular music gets”

The newspaper reviews have been united in their praise today which has been a joy to see.

Right now Led Zeppelin must be the most popular band in the world.

Final thoughts: Jason throughout was exemplary capturing all the full throttle thwack required to support the power that surged from the stage. JPJ was typically JPJ, diligent in all his playing but totally unmissable. The backdrop screen projections – absolutely stunning. Well done Thinkfarm (hi Mike!) – and Jimmy’s Zoso symbol returning to his amp was a neat touch.

Thanks to so many fans who came from all parts of the globe who considerably enhanced this experience of a lifetime for me – in particular Brian K, the two Gary’s, Jose, Graeme H, JR, Pam, Paul, Lee, Steve and Jan, the irish lads, Jez and Michaela, JL, Martyn, and so many more.

Right I’m off to be bed…it’s back to reality and retail frenzy in the morning.

So yesterday they were Led Zeppelin. Now today they are once again Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham.

Tomorrow and beyond… who knows ?

One things for certain – their performance at the O2 Arena on December 10 2007 has created rock history. No other band could have staged such an event as this phenomenal tribute to dear Ahmet.

Dave Lewis, December 11, 2007

Summary – December 8, 2016:

A night of nights indeed and those memories will be very prominent this weekend…..not just a band – more a way of life. Simple as that…

DL   

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LZ news:

Led Zeppelin News Update:
In conjunction with the Led Zep news site, each week I will be re- producing highlights from their weekly email update news summary. This goes out every Sunday. Sign up details are below. Many thanks to James Cook.

It looks like Jimmy Page has moved onto remastering The Yardbirds’ music after finishing with the Led Zeppelin remasters. Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty posted on Facebook on November 26 that the band’s May 1968 sessions at CBS Studios in New York and March 30, 1968 Anderson Theatre show will be released in 2017. Jimmy Page said in an interview with Mojo Magazine that was released in August that he was working on releasing those two archive projects.

Upcoming events:

None as yet
Many thanks to James Cook.

The complete Led Zeppelin News email goes out every weekend. To receive it each week sign up here: http://tinyletter.com/LedZepNews

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Greg Lake 1947 – 2016:

So very sad to hear the passing of Greg Lake. I’ve been enjoying his music since 1969..supremely talented bassist and musician, great singer and songwriter – responsible for one of the best Christmas songs ever and so much more…yet another shining light of a musical heritage fades away..….RIP

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John Lennon –  36 years Gone:

36 years ago on the morning of December 9th 1980 I awoke with the prospect of a normal pre Christmas day of retail activity at the WH Smith record department that I managed. That all changed when the shocking news of John Lennon’s assassination came through.

In those pre internet pre breakfast TV times, the news filtered through on the radio. I was at work at WH Smith preparing the orders for the day when a colleague informed me John Lennon had been shot dead in New York. I spent the next few hours listening to the radio in absolute total shock. This included an interview with  radio DJ Andy Pebbles who had interviewed Lennon in New York two days before his death for BBC radio.

Of course Lennon and Beatles record sales went through the roof – his single Starting Over had slipped down the charts at 24 –the next week it climbed back to number one – Imagine and Happy Xmas (War Is Over) re entered the top 5.

It was one of those occasions where people wanted to express their feelings by connecting and purchasing Lennon’s music. This actually had a bit of an affect on my forecasting of record orders at the time. I had expected the novelty hit There’s no one quite like Grandma by St Winifred’s School Choir to be number one and ordered in a truck load in anticipation – alas the death of Lennon changed all that. There may well still be copies of that Grandma single lining the darker recess of the stockroom of the WH Smith shop even today.

Some memories from December ’80: The Not The Nine O Clock News satire programme ending with The Beatles In My Life in tribute, DJ Annie Nightingale breaking down on the special Lennon edition of the Old Grey Whistle test, the issue of the NME that covered the story the next week with some impassioned writing from the likes of Charles Shaar Murray. The virgil of silence held the following  Sunday December when it seemed the whole world was united in grief.

One side effect of this dreadful act was that the other big news on the music front was all but buried. It’s pretty evident that had Lennon not been shot, Led Zeppelin’s announcement released on December 4th 1980 that they could not continue as they were and would be disbanding, would have had far more impact than it did. Given the appropriate press coverage  around that news, I think their legacy would have begun to extend almost instantly with many fellow peers paying tribute etc.

As it was that news was buried and diluted under the weight of the shock of Lennon’s death.  Strange as it sounds, Led Zep became the forgotten giants, a position that did not really reverse until Live Aid in 1985.

This wave of grief over Lennon extended well into 1981 – Woman, the second single from Double Fantasy was another number one as was Roxy Music’s tribute cover version of Jealous Guy. George Harrison paid his own tribute with his song All Those Years Ago and later Paul McCartney did the same with the heartfelt song Here Today about his deep affection for John.

John Lennon’s senseless murder robbed us of a true musical genius. His songs of course live on. I often go back to that early Beatles era again to soak up the sheer exuberant joy of his rasping vocal in those formative years. Songs such as I’ll Get You, Thank You Girl, Anna, Not A Second Time, It Won’t Be Long, Twist And Shout, Ill Be Back, Yes It Is, No Reply, I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party, Help, Norwegian Wood, Nowhere Man, Baby You’re a Rich Man etc etc. As I’ve noted before John Lennon is rightl up there in my all time top 5 vocalists. His legacy shines on…and on.

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On a brighter note…this report from The Guardian:

Tables turned as vinyl sales overtake digital sales for first time in UK

Records sales hit £2.5m last week compared with £2.1m for digital, with surge partly attributable to Christmas gift buying

It was once a pastime dominated by audiophile dads and nostalgic hipsters. But last week, for the first time in history, the amount of money spent on vinyl records in the UK overtook that spent on digital downloads.

Vinyl sales hit £2.4m last week compared with the £2.1m made from digital music purchases, further proof that record shopping has gone mainstream.

The interest in buying a physical format of music on vinyl has experienced a resurgence in the past 12 months. This time last year, the sale of vinyl albums reached £1.2m while digital sales were £4.4m. Vinyl has also experienced eight consecutive years of growth, despite almost dying out around 2006.

Kim Bayley, chief executive of the Entertainment Retailers Association, attributed the surge in part to the number of places now selling records across the UK. An increasing number of vinyl-only record shops have opened, while supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, and even high street interiors shop Tiger, now stock records, making them easily accessible.

Bayley said vinyl had experienced a particular boost in the past week because it was becoming an increasingly popular choice for Christmas presents.

“The vast majority of releases are coming out in vinyl now,” said Bayley. “It used to be that only heritage acts or niche albums would come out as a record, but now everything does – pop albums, compilations, film soundtracks, all genres.”

The top 10 records sold this week speak to the variety of people now buying vinyl. Kate Bush, Amy Winehouse and Busted are in the chart, alongside the Guardian of the Galaxy film soundtrack and Now That’s What I Call Christmas compilation album.

Bayley added: “We have a new generation buying vinyl, lots of teenagers and lots of people under 25, who now want to buy their favourite artists on vinyl and have something a bit more tangible, a bit more collectible. People have become keen to support their favourite artists by buying into that ownership concept. It’s very difficult to demonstrate your love of an artist if you don’t have something to hold on to.”

Sean Forbes, who manages record shop Rough Trade West in London, which has been selling vinyl since 1979, said there was a “massive increase” in people buying vinyl and that new racks had been put in all Rough Trade shops to meet demand.

“Now it’s everyone who comes in to buy it, from 10-year-olds to 90-year-olds, we get the whole breadth,” said Forbes. “We now get a lot of people come in with their kids, and mum and dad want to start them off with a starter pack of good records. But you also still have the 65-year-old man who smells of weed who will always come into a record shop, stand around and then ask for something you haven’t got, and then leave. So it hasn’t changed completely.”

He said record companies were noticeably taking advantage of the renewed interest in vinyl and hiking prices, adding that “the mark-up on vinyl now is ridiculous”. However, he said people were increasingly willing to spend upwards of £25 on a single record, and even more for limited editions. Kate Bush’s triple-disc live album Before the Dawn, which was selling at Rough Trade for £65, had completely sold out in its shops within a day.

Forbes admitted he had been surprised by the resurgence in people buying all types of music on record, although he welcomed it as a change from those who, in years past, bought certain heritage albums as a memento rather than to listen to.

…and from The Mail On Line:

The figures represent a dramatic turnaround for what was dismissed as a dead technology.

It is all the more surprising because albums bought on vinyl are considerably more expensive than a download.

For example, the new live Kate Bush album Before the Dawn is £59.99 on vinyl and just £16.99 on download.

Adele’s album 25 is £17.99 on vinyl versus £9.99 as a download. And the new Rolling Stones studio album, Blue & Lonesome, is £24.99 on vinyl and £10.99 as a download.

The price discrepancy means that vinyl records accounted for greater spending than downloads despite fewer purchases. About 120,000 vinyl albums were sold last week, compared with 295,000 digital ones.

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Kashmir Lyrics up for sale at Sothebys New York Auction:

Krys Jantzen alerted me to this one – starting bids at $120,000 …phew!

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2016/rock-roll-n09587.html

DL Diary Blog Update:

The Rolling Stones – Blue And Lonesome:

The arrival of the new Rolling Stones album felt like a real event and a throwback to the halcyon days when we devoured a new release, scanned the sleeve, soaked up the info and excitedly put the needle down on a new album filled with hopes and dreams…

Of course social media allows us to share our thoughts with fellow likeminded enthusiasts – so here is what I wrote on the TBL/DL Facebook page late Friday afternoon:

Some initial reaction – love the blues harmonica wailing strut of I Gotta Go, how much fun must have they had recording this?…All through the album Mick Jagger is so immersed in the vocals – he hasn’t sounded this committed on a Stones record since the 70’s –HooDoo Blues, low down and sleazy and what a vocal! Could easily be off Sticky Fingers….

Little Rain reminds me of Jagger on I’m A King Bee off the first LP –stark and mournful…unsurprisingly given the theme of the album, there are lots of echoes from the past but it still sounds totally contemporary ..Slowhand smokin’ on Everybody Knows About My Good Thing…Just Like I Treat You, tight and concise – playlist next to Muddy’s I Just Can’t Be Satisfied off the second album …

I Can’t Quite You Baby authentic rendering,though not quite up there with the Zep goings on at Olympic Studios in 1968 but great fun to hear…

Charlie’s good tonight but he’s good any night – Ronnie fairly sublime, Keef a bit subdued – next time let’s have a full on riff album ala All Down the Line, Start Me Up etc

Some filler and not all killer but what’s good is very good – the best performances would make a fabulous great 5×5 Vol  2 EP – oh and one big omission on the sleeve – this album should be dedicated to Brian Jones and Ian Stewart – it was their affinity for this genre of music that elevated The Rolling Stones out of Richmond all those years back…

Summary – in an ever changing world some things remain constant – I loved The Rolling Stones when I first head them in 1964 – I love The Rolling Stones in 2016 and this album only enhances that love. DL December 2, 2016

Before that there had been some Friday morning treats at the Vinyl Barn  –Tubular Bells picture disc oh yes!, Buffalo Springfield Expecting To Fly on Atlantic plum and orange, Python Lee Jackson album on Youngblood and The Rolling Stones Undercover with original inserts –I could not leave that in the racks given the prospect of the new album ahead – thanks Darren! On the player here – the aforementioned plus The Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet to mark it’s release all of 48 years ago on December 6 – one of the great Stones records. Zep wise – inspired by the writing of the TBL History 1992 – 1995 (see below) I’ve had on the Boxed Set 2 CD set which was featured in TBL issues 8 and 9. Still love the off the wall sequencing of that set.

On Saturday, the good lady Janet and I travelled to London to meet our Sam and we had a top time amongst the Christmas lights in Covent Garden – as can be seen in the pic. Sam is back with us for Christmas and then in early January she will commence a six month secondment in Australia with her job.

Whilst in London, it was great to see how the Sound Of The Universe record shop in Duck Lane had made the release of the new Rolling Stones album into a real event. The whole of the window featured the album sleeve with quotes from Mick, Keith, Charlie and Woody. Insdie they ahd plenty of Blue And Lonseome product including T shirts and the limited edition Ride ’em On Down ten inch single. I was well pleased to pick one of those up!

In a week where vinyl sales outsold digital downloads -it’s the commitment of record shops such as The Sound of The Universe that is helping turn the tide back to buying physical product. Visits to the nearby Reckless Records, Sister Ray and Fopp showed similar commitment. it really is a great time to be out and about amongst record shops right now – vinyl never really went away but it’s increasing dominance of the market again is a very re assuring and wonderful thing.

As mentioned above, you just cannot beat that air of anticipation as the needle touch’s the vinyl and that welcomed hiss and slight crackle kicks in. This is how music should be heard…and listening to the new Rolling Stones album these last few days has been a real throwback to the great days of new album releases…and as I said, in an ever changing world, it’s very comforting experiencing indeed.

Another full on week here of TBL 42 text as we move in to the home straight. Mick and I have been working on various last pieces including a two page spread of TBL History. This is the second part of the history of the TBL magazine. It tells the story of the comeback of the magazine in 1992 through to 1995 – ah yes – comebacks, conventions, sequels and reunions. It was all going on back then – and it was all of course in the pre Internet and social media era.

Here’s an extract from the piece:

I produced  issue 7 as a one off as I was unsure quite where the TBL mag might now stand in the scheme of things. I need not have worried – sales were good and the overall reaction was excellent.

After recovering from the Convention – it really did took a lot of me being involved in all that – I took a deep breath and began planning a subscription based format for the future of the TBL magazine. The prospect buzz of producing a regular mag in a new era for Zep was a very exciting one.

This was at a time when I was managing the Our Price record shop in town – and Janet was at home with the young Sam – born in 1990. Quite where I found time to do all the Zep chronicling , well I’m not too sure – I do know that looking over the stuff I was producing back then – my zest and enthusiasm was just overflowing.

There was also a lot going during this period on with Robert Plant about to unleash the Fate Of Nations album and tour and Jimmy linking up with David Coverdale and JPJ busy on various production work. A second Remasters box set was also due. Around this time I did have a couple of liaisons with the main players bumping into David Coverdale at Abbey Road studios in October whilst attending a Beatles book launch (Jimmy was in Studio 3 mixing their album). I also spoke with Robert at the launch reception of the Fate of Nations album the following April. I also spent two very memorable days in June and October of 1993 interviewing Peter Grant in Eastbourne. That interview would eventually see the light of day after peter’s passing in 1995 when I completed it for the A Celebration 2/Tight But Loose Files book.

By early January, I was ready to go and Q magazine carried the ambitious plan in an advert I paced. This announced the opportunity to join the Led Zeppelin Information Service incorporating the Tight But Loose magazine. The deal was for a four issue subscription of the mag plus four interim newsletters (UK £16.00 bargain!).

I had decided that in-between the publishing of the magazine I would produce a two sided newsletter. The first one rolled off the press in January 1993 with TBL 8 following in May . The response to my advert in Q was good – we were up and running. It’s worth noting at this point, that I never envisaged the mag to make much of a profit – it did generate cash flow for printing costs etc but that was about it. Fundamentally , it was an absolute labour of love.

It’s also worth noting, how quaint the idea of an ‘’Information Service’’ purely distributed on paper and by post now looks some 23 years later. In the pre internet world this is how we did things. In fact I also set up an additional service of newsletter Extras. This took the form of subscribers sending me a stamped addressed envelope for me to send a newsletter of important breaking news – tour dates etc. I know that notion sounds faintly ridiculous now but back then it worked well and was another outlet to spread the TBL world.  

The complete story of the TBL Years 1992 – 1995 is just one of many highlights of the forthcoming TBL issue 42 -due for publication in January 2017.

Right, time to get back to overseeing the final text checking and start writing my Christmas cards…it’s that time of year…

Dave Lewis –  December 8, 2016.

Until next time – have a great weekend…

TBL Website updates compiled by Dave Lewis

with thanks to Gary Foy and James Cook

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And finally..

YouTube Clips:

O2 Reunion – nine years gone…

Greg Lake 1947 – 2016: 

I’ve always loved this track from the ELP Works Vol One album – his whole side of that album is just wonderful – RIP…