Boot Led Zeppelin successfully revived the spirit of Led Zeppelin’s Earls Court 1975 shows with a marathon performance at the Shepherds Bush Empire last Saturday. 

Radio One DJ Fearne Cotton introduced the band on stage to a very enthusiastic crowd. For the next three hours, Boot Led Zep looked the part, sounded the part and even spoke the part –singer Luke Ward adapting Robert Plant’s between song intros and patter from the original Earls Court shows. This added yet more authenticity to a performance that celebrated the 35th anniversary of those epic Zep shows in true style.

The TBL crew was in attendance for this celebration – and it provided the opportunity for the Bedford four of myself, Dec, Tom and Phil, to get back together 35 years on from witnessing  Zep at Earls Court for another memorable evening of Led Zep mayhem.

As mentioned on the DL Diary last week, I was in fear of history repeating itself and us finding ourselves stuck on the station for the night as happened back on May 24 th 1975. Well history very nearly did repeat itself. With the clocks going forward, St.Pancras station was shutting early and Tom and I just managed to get our train with seconds to spare.

Phil and ticket collecting legend Cliff Hilliard were not so lucky. Their Milton Keynes bound train eventually left at 2am but only made it to Watford Junction where they had to board a bus. Phil informs me they eventually got home at 5am. Not far off the time he got back 35 years ago!  Ironically Phil had planned a trip on the Sunday with his good lady to the Ideal Home Exhibition at yes you guessed it… Earls Court. You could not make it up!That return to the hallowed building will have to wait Phil tells me as unsurprisingly he didn’t surface until the afternoon.

Many thanks to Graeme Hutchinson and Pam Matthews for their assistance on the night and Raff, Luke and co for kicking off the Zep at Earls Court 35th anniversary celebrations with such authenticity and style.

Boot Led Zeppelin  are in action this Friday April 2nd again performing their Earls Court Revisited set at Komedia in Brighton.  

Other forthcoming dates are Friday April 23rd : Pavillion Theatre,  Cromer.  Friday May 14th :  BMF SHOW, East Of England Showground,   Peterborough , Saturday May 15th :  O2 Oxford Academy, Oxford  and  

Saturday May 22nd :  Halfmoon,  Putney.Visit www.boot-led-zeppelin.co.uk for full details  (DL) –

Heres some pics: 

 TBL Bedford Crew Then and Now:  Above – Earls Court Arena May 24th 1975 -DL , Dec and Phil (plus another of the Bedford attendees)

Below – 35 years later: Shepherds Bush Empire March 27th 2010 – Dec, Phil, DL and Tom

Boot Led Zep in full Earls Court flow.

Pics Phil Harris and Cliff Hilliard