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JOHN PAUL JONES LIFEM PREMIERE FOR NOV 5/LZ NEWS/ REMASTERS – IT WAS 30 YEARS AGO/UNLEDDED NO QUARTER 26 YEARS GONE/PRIORY OF BRION 21 YEARS GONE/JOSE’S ANTHOLOGY/ DL DIARY BLOG UPDATE

29 October 2020 1,874 views 7 Comments

Here’s something to look forward to…

JOHN PAUL JONES  COMMISSIONED BY LONDON INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF EARLY MUSIC

This via JP’s official website:

The London International Festival of Early Music (LIFEM) has just announced the world premiere performance of ‘The Tudor Pull’, a newly commissioned work by John, written for acclaimed viol consort Fretwork.

The world premiere of the newly composed piece will be broadcast at 7.00pm on Thursday 5th November from the LIFEM website -link below:

http://www.lifem.org

This isn’t the first time that John’s music has been performed at LIFEM, his hauntingly beautiful Amores Pasados, settings of three Spanish poems were performed by tenor John Potter at the 2018 festival, but this new work breaks new ground for an annual event that is a unique celebration of past musical genius and contemporary talent. Commenting on his new work Jones said:

‘I’ve been an admirer of Fretwork for some time, and was thrilled at the commission to write a piece for them to premiere at the London International Festival of Early Music.

More details at:

https://www.johnpauljones.com/jpj-commissioned-by-london-international-festival-of-early-music/

John was on the BBC Radio 4 Today show talking about the piece  on Thursday morning – here’s the link to the LZNews story about the interview  with details of how to listen to it:

https://ledzepnews.com/2020/10/29/john-paul-jones-said-its-pretty-unlikely-that-led-zeppelin-will-perform-again/?fbclid=IwAR1BjHhU3wfgqiEL2f83iyJ-REoqN3fvCvQGjZJkZgrnL-2FnqzQSF-l5kY

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Jimmy Page Total Guitar Interview:

There’s an  excellent Jimmy Page cover feature in the new issue of Total Guitar – it also has an insert with photos form the Jimmy Page Anthology book

Thanks to Melvyn Billingham for that tip.

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 Led Zeppelin – Live in Detroit, MI (July 13th, 1973) – NEW AUDIENCE RECORDING:

A very welcomed new audience tape source – here’s the info via Led Zeppelin Boots:

Amazingly, a brand new recording of Led Zeppelin has just surfaced. This show in Detroit had previously circulated as a partial soundboard covering the last third or so of the show from Moby Dick onwards. Now, at long last, we have a (mostly) complete recording of the entire show, including a full and unedited Dancing Days, the only rendition from the US tour that we know of! This is a wonderful performance and the recording is very good as well. Special thanks to Jon Anthony (Charisma 23) for taping, Steve Mucha for transferring the tapes to CD, goldenretriever for digitizing, Ed and Bert for revising, and ledzepfilm from the Dogs of Doom for release!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BD8-ldEMhs

Thanks to Paul Hurley for alerting me to this one.

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Dortmund June 17 1980 cine film:

Very good update of this cine film via LedZepFilm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFYzwU8ypVw&feature=emb_title

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LZ News:

Led Zeppelin News Update:

For all the latest Zep and related news check out the Led Zeppelin news website at;

http://ledzepnews.com/

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Led Zeppelin Remastered – it was 30 years ago…

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Led Zeppelin Remasters sets this week, here’s an overview of these releases I wrote for inclusion in my Led Zeppelin From A Whisper To A Scream book back in 2010.

LED ZEPPELIN REMASTERED 1990…

LED ZEPPELIN

Atlantic 7567821441/2/4 (six albums, four CDs, four cassettes)

UK Album Chart: No 48

Whole Lotta Love/Heartbreaker/Communication Breakdown/Babe I’m Gonna Leave You/What Is And What Should Never Be/Thank You/I Can’t Quit You Baby/Dazed And Confused/Your Time Is Gonna Come/Ramble On/Travelling Riverside Blues/Friends/Celebration Day/Hey Hey What Can I Do/White Summer-Black Mountain Side/Black Dog/Over The Hills And Far Away/Immigrant Song/The Battle Of Evermore/Bron-Y-Aur Stomp/Tangerine/Going To California/Since I’ve Been Loving You/D’Yer Mak’er/Gallows Pole/Custard Pie/Misty Mountain Hop/Rock And Roll/The Rain Song/Stairway To Heaven/Kashmir/Trampled Underfoot/For Your Life/No Quarter/Dancing Days/When The Levee Breaks/Achilles Last Stand/The Song Remains The Same/Ten Years Gone/In My Time Of Dying/In The Evening/Candy Store Rock/The Ocean/Ozone Baby/Houses Of the Holy/Wearing And Tearing/Poor Tom/Nobody’s Fault But Mine/Fool In The Rain/In The Light/The Wanton Song/Moby Dick-Bonzo’s Montreux/I’m Gonna Crawl/All My Love

REMASTERS

Atlantic Zep 1/7567804152/4 (triple album, double CD, double cassette)

Communication Breakdown/Babe I’m Gonna Leave You/Good Times, Bad Times/Dazed And Confused/Heartbreaker/Whole Lotta Love/ Ramble On/Since I’ve Been Loving You/Celebration Day/ Immigrant Song/Black Dog, Rock And Roll/Battle Of Evermore/ Stairway To Heaven/The Song Remains The Same/D’yer Mak’er/No Quarter/Houses Of The Holy/Trampled Underfoot/ Kashmir/Nobody’s Fault But Mine/Achilles Last Stand/All My Love/In The Evening (Cassette and CD versions also include Misty Mountain Hop/The Rain Song)

The release of these two separate Led Zeppelin retrospective collections in the space of two weeks in October 1990 rounded off a year in which the group’s popularity reached heights unparalleled since the mid-Seventies. The excitement that greeted the appearance of the Led Zeppelin Remastered project emphasised how much the group – and the timeless and eclectic quality of their music – had been missed during the ‘disposable pop’ atmosphere of the Eighties.

The whole exercise was a tremendous success, both critically and commercially. Reviewers who had previously been cold towards Led Zeppelin felt obliged to reconsider their opinions in the light of their influence and the obvious fact that so many of those groups that followed in their wake were noticeably inferior in every department. And for a boxed set costing almost £50, sales throughout the world were extraordinary. Much of this may have been due to the fact that Led Zeppelin’s catalogue had never been shamelessly exploited in the same way that, say, The Who or The Stones’ had been. That there had never been a Led Zep Best Of compilation before – and the aftermath of its eventual release – was surely a further indication of the astuteness of Peter Grant’s long term management strategies regarding quality control.

It had been no secret that Jimmy Page was deeply unhappy with the earliest Led Zeppelin CDs that Atlantic issued without consulting him. Originally produced for vinyl, the music suffered in transit: subtle frequencies in the sound spectrum were lost and the ‘ambient’ sound that Page had worked so hard to create by the sensitive placement of microphones in the studio was also lost. Small wonder, then, that when Atlantic approached him to remaster the tapes for a compilation collection, he jumped at the idea. Studio time was booked at New York’s Sterling studios where Page spent a week in May 1990 with engineer George Marino digitally restoring the bulk of Led Zeppelin’s catalogue from the original two-track master tapes.

The plan was to compile a multi-track box set collection for which Page drew up a possible listing for Plant and Jones to sanction. “I really wanted to improve the overall sound spectrum,” Page was quoted on the official press release. “Basically it’s the same picture with a different frame.”

John Paul Jones added: “The songs sound as fresh today as they did when first recorded, and the new positions in the running order seem to put them in a totally different light.”

The original compilation concept was to package 54 tracks in a deluxe box with accompanying booklet of photos and essays. Atlantic’s European distributors East West also managed to clear a separate edited version of the set for Europe only. This condensed version, virtually a greatest hits package aimed squarely at the lucrative Christmas market, appeared under the title Remasters as a 24-track, triple album and 26-track, double CD and cassette on October 15. A full marketing campaign including a TV advertisement was prepared as the Zepp catalogue finally succumbed to the Nineties commercial treatment. Plant, Page and Jones did retain part of their original strategy in vetoing the planned release of ‘Stairway To Heaven’ as a UK single.

The Remasters set was deleted in the UK in the summer of 1991, and since it contains one track not on the box set (‘Good Times Bad Times’), it is sure to be a future Zepp vinyl collectable. After a period of withdrawal, the set reappeared on catalogue in 1992 on CD and cassette. It was also eventually issued in America as a three-CD set with a bonus Led Zeppelin Profiled official interview promo CD. The real gem for Zeppelin enthusiasts was the October 29 appearance of the 54-track box set, simply entitled Led Zeppelin and spread over six albums, four CDs and four cassettes.

Despite certain faults – the dearth of selections from Physical Graffiti, no chronological live tracks or alternate studio takes, and the factual errors in the visually superb accompanying booklet (Live Aid in 1987!) – this set does stand as a lasting testament to the diverse musical styles Led Zeppelin approached from 1968 to 1980. Beautifully packaged with a typically enigmatic design featuring the shadow of an airship over those mysterious cornfield circles (which perhaps suggested that Led Zeppelin were somehow responsible for – or at least knew something about – their appearance in the first place), it’s wonderful to hear so many tracks all at one sitting. For those very familiar with their catalogue, the new sequencing is also a joy – as ‘Heartbreaker’ switches instantly to ‘Communication Breakdown’, ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’ juxtaposes against ‘Immigrant Song’ and ‘The Song Remains The Same’ drifts into ‘Ten Years Gone’. Note too, the slightly longer intro to ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ with an extra opening Page guitar riff, and the fact that many timings on the original albums were well out (e.g. ‘Kashmir’ is now correctly listed as being 8.31 in duration, and not the long presumed 9.41).

And there are some new delights. The little heard Led Zeppelin III-era ‘Hey Hey What Can I Do’, previously available only on a long-deleted UK Atlantic sampler album, and as the B-side to the 1970 ‘Immigrant Song’ US/European single, retains all its original summer of 1970 semi-acoustic warmth. It’s also great to hear the spiraling blues slide of the BBC Top Gear 1969 radio remnant ‘Travelling Riverside Blues’ – a Page/Plant/Robert Johnson interpretation. Nostalgic memories also prevailed on the live BBC take of ‘White Summer/Black Mountain Side’ from June 27, 1969. Jimmy also included an affectionate Bonzo tribute, an amalgamation of ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘Bonzo’s Montreux’, produced with the aid of Synclavier programming at Atlantic’s Synclavier suite.

All in all, the overall sound quality is greatly enhanced, with Page adding a new punch and clarity remastered from the original analogue tapes.

The reception the box set received exceeded even Atlantic’s own high expectations. By the end of 1992 it had shifted over a million units worldwide, making it the best selling historical retrospective package of its kind, an extraordinary testament to Led Zeppelin’s ongoing power, influence and popularity.

The previously unreleased material is analyzed below.

TRAVELLING RIVERSIDE BLUES

Page, Plant, Robert Johnson

Recorded at the Aeolian Hall, London

One of the legendary Zepp BBC performances recorded on June 24, 1969, by John Waters at the BBC’s Aeolian Hall in New Bond Street. This was one of the few BBC tracks on which Page was able to dub extra guitar tracks. An adaptation of an old Robert Johnson tune, it was initially aired on John Peel’s Top Gear show on Sunday June 29, 1969, under the title ‘Travelling Riverside Blues ‘69’. Its renown in collecting circles is largely due to the fact that it was a special recording intended only for radio broadcast. It was interest from US radio interviewers and fans during his Outrider tour that led him to negotiate with BBC Enterprises for its release on the boxed set. A video promo with outtake footage from The Song Remains The Same was cut together for use by MTV and other interested TV outlets.

The track itself is a superb remnant from mid-’69, and remains for me one of their most complete performances, not least for Page’s wonderful slide guitar work and Plant’s teasing ad-libs (“Ahh why doncha come in my kitchen”). A superbly packaged one track promo CD single was issued for radio play in the US, which resulted in the track reaching number seven on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks Top 50 chart in November 1990 (culled from national album rock radio airplay reports). In my extensive collection, this promo CD takes pride of place as my favourite CD single of all time.

Live Performances: Never performed live.

WHITE SUMMER/BLACK MOUNTAIN SIDE

Page

Recorded live at the London Playhouse Theatre for BBC radio

This recording comes from the live broadcast made from the Playhouse Theatre on June 27, 1969, for the pilot programme of Radio One’s In Concert series. Zeppelin’s involvement came about after Jimmy told producer Jeff Griffin that Zeppelin had enjoyed recording for Top Gear, but felt the scope of the session didn’t allow them sufficient time to display what the band could achieve. Griffin told Jimmy he was trying to get a one hour concert special off the ground and invited Zep to record the pilot programme. This broadcast subsequently aired under the title One Night Stand on August 10 set the seal on the long running In Concert series which began a regular spot the following January.

The 1969 In Concert show has been much bootlegged and many fans will have already been familiar with the ‘White Summer’/’Black Mountain Side’ segment.   The version presented here has a 15 second edit from the complete recording.

Live Performances: It was a staple set inclusion of the mid-’69 to early ’70 dates, and gives Page an opportunity to indulge in the CIA tuning, accompanied on timpani and other assorted percussion by John Bonham. It was revived for the 1977 US tour (in an arrangement that segued into Kashmir), the Copenhagen warm ups, Knebworth and Over Europe 1980 tour.

HEY HEY WHAT CAN I DO

Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham

Studio: Island, London

This track has long been a much sought after Zep rarity and its inclusion on the box is most welcome. A product of the easygoing summer of 1970 sessions at Island Studios, having been conceived in rehearsal at Bron-Yr-Aur and Headley Grange, it is one of the most relaxed and commercial group compositions of this era, managing to balance the new found mellowness with the familiar dynamics. Note for example how Robert places just the right emphasis on the line “Gotta little woman and she won’t be true,” and just when you expect a switch to the cranked up Marshall amps, they allow the song to slip back into a warm country flavoured mandolin led melody. The collapsing finale recalls the finish of ‘In My Time Of Dying’. A semi-acoustic groove recorded during the Zep 3 sessions, it may have been considered as a contender for their standalone single idea first mooted in late 1969. It eventually emerged as the B side to the many American and foreign issues of the Immigrant Song single. It was then issued on the Atlantic sampler album The New Age Of Atlantic in the spring of 1972.

Live Performances: It was never performed live by Zeppelin; however, Page & Plant did perform the song on the US leg of their 1995 world tour. Page performed it with The Black Crowes on their 1999 US tour dates and Plant occasionally performed the song with Strange Sensation on their 2002 tour.

MOBY DICK/BONZO’S MONTREUX

Page, Jones, Bonham

Studios: Mirror Sound, Los Angeles, Mayfair, New York, A&R, New York (Moby Dick);

Mountain, Montreux, The Sol, Cookham (Bonzo’s Montreux)

Although strictly speaking this is not really new or unheard material, the amalgamation is. It came about after Jimmy scanned the lists the others had compiled and found both these titles prominently featured. The idea to combine elements of both tracks came after he’d checked the tempo on a metronome. During the remastering period, Jimmy booked into the Atlantic Synclavier Suite in New York and, with help from John Mahoney, pieced the two tracks together using Synclavier programming. The result is an affectionate blend of two of Bonzo’s most illustrious moments.

BOXED SET II

Atlantic 82477; September 1993

UK chart position: No. 56

Good Times Bad Times/We’re Gonna Groove/Night Flight/That’s The Way/Baby Come On Home/The Lemon Song/You Shook Me/Boogie With Stu/Bron-Y-Aur/Down By The Seaside/Out On The Tiles/Black Mountain Side/Moby Dick/Sick Again/Hot Dog/Carouselambra/South Bound Suarez/Walter’s Walk/Darlene/Black Country Woman/How Many More Times/The Rover/Four Sticks/Hats Off To (Roy) Harper/I Can’t Quit You Baby/Hot’s On For Nowhere/Livin’ Lovin’ Maid (She’s Just A Woman)/Royal Orleans/Bonzo’s Montreux/The Crunge/Bring It On Home/Tea For One

Due to the success of the first Remasters project, Jimmy Page responded to Atlantic’s request that he work on the balance of tracks left off the set in readiness for a second box set release in 1993. After completing the mastering of the Coverdale/Page album at New York’s Sterling Studios in the autumn of 1992, Jimmy immediately set to work on the second Remasters set, again working with engineer George Marino.

The plan was to remaster the 31 performances from the Zeppelin catalogue that had been missed off the first compilation, and once again Jimmy gave careful consideration to the sequencing so as to again offer as balanced a presentation as possible. Although most of the more familiar Zeppelin classics found their way on to the first box, this second collection incorporates many lesser acclaimed but equally important stepping stones. From the gentle acoustic beauty of ‘That’s The Way’ and ‘Bron-Yr-Aur’, through lengthy epics like ‘How Many More Times’ and ‘Carouselambra’, to off-the-wall nuggets like ‘Walter’s Walk’ and ‘Night Flight’, the breadth of diversity is again quite startling, making Boxed Set II a hugely enjoyable companion to the earlier collection.

Boxed Set II contains just one previously unissued track – ‘Baby Come On Home’…

BABY COME ON HOME

Page, Plant

Studio: Olympic, London

This track stems from an old master reel marked ‘Yardbirds, October 10, 1968,’ a clear reference to its vintage as being the period when the name Led Zeppelin was still under consideration. The master tape went mysteriously missing for a number of years and allegedly turned up in a refuse bin outside Olympic Studios in 1991. Three takes from this source surfaced initially on the bootleg Olympic Gold in the early 90s..

On the original session, the engineer dubbed the track ‘Tribute To Bert Berns’, a reference to the renowned Sixties manager/producer/writer who wrote ‘Twist And Shout’ and ‘Hang On Sloopy’, and produced Van Morrison and Them, amongst others. The original master tape of this first album outtake was dusted down and mixed by Mike Fraser, the co-producer of the Coverdale/Page album. Appearing now under the title ‘Baby Come On Home’, it’s a welcome bonus, a slow blues tune and possibly Robert’s idea carried over from The Band Of Joy. It’s very commercial, with backing vocals on the chorus, Jones on Hammond organ and Jimmy confined to some low key Leslied guitar runs.

It’s not hard to see why it didn’t fit into the more energetic feel of the rest of the first album, and perhaps it was under consideration as an early single as it would have sat nicely alongside the ‘68 blues boom period releases from Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack and the like.

Live performances: Never performed live.

Dave Lewis – extracts from the book Led Zeppelin From A Whisper To A Scream (Omnibus Press) 

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Remasters Led Zeppelin Exclusive Our Price Bedford Memorabilia Pack:

To create something of an exclusive for buyers of the Led Zeppelin box set  t the Our Price  record shop I managed in Bedford we created a special Led Zeppelin memorabilia pack to give out to buyers of the set -100 only all individually numbered.

Under the title ‘Our Price Remembers Led Zeppelin’ the pack contained a number of fascmile reproduction Led Zep ads and cutting. These were drawn from my collection and I took them to the local photo copy shop Jaycopy (who had produced the early TBL magazines). It took hours of cuttings out to produce the 100 sets. I also wrote a three page 54 FACTS BEHIND THE TRACKS guide drawn from material in my then in progress Led Zeppelin A Celebration book the book – this was photocopied off my word processor. The outer envelope was designed by the then assistant manager at the shop Colin Stonebridge. This all went down very well with local buyers as we sold over 100 sets in the first week at £54 a throw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBL Archive Special 2:

unledded

The Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Unledded film was screened all of 26 years ago this week on MTV – here’s the TBL review of the No Quarter Unledded album.

THE ALBUM:

NO QUARTER – JIMMY PAGE AND ROBERT PLANT UNLEDDED (Fontana 526 362 2)

No Quarter (the Unledded tag has been somewhat played down in the packaging) is a lengthy, 14-track CD clocking in at over 79 minutes – a mere three minutes less than Physical Graffitti. The actual sleeve design I find disappointing. A low key shot from Corris Slate that offers a rather windswept portrait of the ageing dynamic duo. The CD booklet itself is sparse on detail and the discographer in me again bemoans the lack of sleeve notes. If ever an album’s evolution was worth explaining then it was this one. It strikes me that the official press release notes produced for the MTV premieres would have fitted in very well here. An enigmatic photo of a bizarrely painted hand maintains the mystery of sleeve images of old. The nod to the original credit for Bron Y Aur (they’ve reverted to that spelling again) first deployed on the Led Zep III inner sleeve is a nice touch and one that vividly illustrates (as I’d hoped when I undertook The Making Of Led Zeppelin III feature back in the early summer) their allegiance to the original unplugged concept from 24 years back.

The sequencing differs from the MTV broadcast, skirting around from Wales, London and Morocco rather haphazardly. I would have preferred to see it retain the more cohesive flow of the film with all the Moroccan tracks particularly in one block.

From Morocco, ‘Yallah’ retains plenty of atmosphere enhanced with an echoed spoken intro and a very live-in-the-marketplace feel. ‘Wah Wah’ has a quaint charm but does lose some of its impact when stripped of the visual scope of the film, while the previously unused ‘City Don’t Cry’ emerges as a plaintive croon with a strong Gnaoua presence. While these excursions are admirably executed and remain a worthy record of their travels, the latter two songs do come over as a little too ethnic to broaden their appeal with repeated plays. ‘Wonderful One’ is still… well… wonderful. No other word for it. This version is an alternate recording from that which appeared in the film with Robert committing an affectingly sensitive vocal over Jimmy’s equally sensitive strumming.

From the mountains, ‘No Quarter’ fascinates with its phased reverb and modal tunings while ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ stomps and grinds to a knockabout climax (listen carefully for the off mike “Thank you very much”- comment at the end). I’d love to hear ‘Levee Breaks’ and ‘Gallows’ from the same session and hopefully along the way we will. From London there are some truly outstanding moments: ‘Thank You’ delights in its sheer familiarity, ‘Friends’ via its dramatic intro, ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ as a classic blow and ‘The Battle Of Evermore’ with its ethereal feel and Najma’s searing vocal

That leaves the final four numbers: ‘That’s The Way’, ‘Gallows Pole’, ‘Four Sticks’ and ‘Kashmir’. Here the sequencing is really spot on as one classic dovetails magnificently into another. This pan of the album really does capture the excitement so evident on screen. And as a bonus ‘That’s The Way’ appears as the previously unheard treat. Led by Jimmy’s swaying Ovation double neck, Robert offers an evocative trip through the memory bank in an arrangement enhanced by Michael Lee’s subtle drum pan and Porl’s lilting banjo. It’s a performance that again reflects Page’s ‘same picture within a different frame’ ethic.

The travelogue nature of proceedings on the No Quarter CD may skip uncomfortably across the continents at times but the journey is ultimately a fulfilling one. I find myself treating it like a favourite radio station – dipping in and out with repeated pleasure every time. Because here on Radio Unledded via the World Service you’re never too tar away from a solid gold classic.

Dave Lewis, October 1994 – first published in TBL issue 10

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Priory Of Brion – It was 21 years Ago:

21  years ago on the afternoon of Sunday October 31st 1999, I found myself travelling in a taxi across the Leicestershire countryside seemingly lost. This was not a good situation as the prospect of seeing Robert Plant, who was performing in a tent in the vicinity in the next half hour was fast disappearing.

ashbyfolk

Earlier I had met the enigmatic and legendary Leicester based musician Kevin Hewick who was leading me with all good intentions on this wild goose chase(Hi Kevin!). He had heard that Robert and The Priory Of Brion were booked for an appearance at the Ashby Del La Zouch Folk Festival in a tent in Moira near Leicester. It sounded the perfect way to spend a Halloween afternoon.

This was an era when if Robert Plant was playing a gig, I would move heaven and earth to be there.

However our taxi driver host was finding said location very hard to locate. Where were sat navs when we needed them, or for that matter mobile phones?!

Anyway, thankfully it all came good – we found the venue and the tent with about fifteen minutes to spare…and on a pleasant Sunday afternoon Robert duly delivered one of the most captivating gigs I’ve ever seen. Witty, relaxed, reflective and singing with passion and verve the songs that as he put it, he’d had stored in his back pocket. It was an absolute joyous occasion. – pic below by Krys Jantzen.

Robert Plant in a tent on a Sunday afternoon….whatever next? How about Robert Plant on a Saturday night in a pub lounge bar because bizarrely that’s what was in store two weeks later when we saw him play at the Red Lion in Birmingham.

The Ashby Del la Zouch and Red Lion shows remain right up there in my all time best gig going experiences – something I re iterated to Kevin when I spoke to him on the phone a few weeks back. I’d also like to mention that back then the wonderful Hayley was looking after the Our Price shop in Bedford that day enabling me to go on this mad escapade -one of many days that she did that for me . These memories would not have been possible without her loyalty and kindness.

Dave Lewis, October 29,2020

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The Jimmy Page Anthology book – Jose’s copy…

Like so many of us, long time TBL supporter and all round top man Jose Manuel Parade who lives in Ecuador, has been enjoying the superb Jimmy Page Anthology book. He has sent this fantastic photo which shows Jose holding up the page in the book that features the TBL Earls Court Journal cover. This of course has the striking image of Jimmy using the Lake Placid Fender Stratocaster that was brought out for a couple of songs during the Earls Court run. Jose is holding it up against the  limited edition posters I did to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Earls Court gigs. A wonderful shot indeed – thanks Jose!

DL Diary Blog Update:

This piece by Ben Macintyre caught my eye in The Times recently:

Obsessive collectors are a national treasure…

Our attics are overflowing with antiques, stuffed animals and old comics but there’s always room for more ..

‘’Why do individuals collect?

To hold back time. To build up temporarily through the preservation of inanimate things, a personal museum, a small private history.

Collecting is both fulfilling and endless and no collection is ever complete – which merely reinforces the joy of the exercise. ‘’

That statement certainly applies here – as the good lady Janet knows only too well…

Whilst I do not have many antiques or stuffed animals, I am always on the look out to add to my personal museum and private history artefacts such as:

LP records, 7 inch singles (especially Beatles cover versions), 12 inch singles, CD’s, cassettes, eight track cartridges, DVDs, vintage music papers and magazines, record shop bags, badges, 1960s and 70s UK comics and football programmes, James Bond Aston Martin DB 5 model cars, Subbuteo table football teams and accessories, not to mention anything at all of a Led Zeppelin variety…

If, as an obsessive collector that makes me a national treasure, I am more than happy to accept the title and bestow it on a fair few people I know who share similar collecting passions…

It makes our world go round…and there’s always room for more…

Friday October 23:

It was 50 and 40 years ago this week:

Two local gigs of note at the Addison Centre Kempston Bedford staged almost ten years apart to the day and now 50 years and 40 years ago respectively…

Genesis was part of the Friars promotions that also staged gigs at the venue around that era by Free, Mott The Hoople and The Groundhogs.

Support act Medicine Head had three UK top 20 singles with (And The) Pictures In The Sky (1972), Rising Sun and One And One Is One in 1973. I was too young to go that night in 1970 but at ten shillings and as the billing proclaimed, Optic Nerve Lightshow, dreaded headsounds, food, drink, people and sunshine – it sounds like quite a line up. Thanks to Paul Cox for the advert for this from The Bedford Recorder

Ten years on almost to the day, did attend The Teardrop Explodes gig promoted by my very good friend Dec – and excellent it was too – support was The Thompson Twins who went on to have a string of hits including You Take Me Up a number two UK hit in 1984. The Teardrop Explodes would score a top ten hit with Reward in 1981.

All in all two memorable live music nights in the Howard Park Kempston vicinity… 50 and 40 years ago this week.

Friday October 23:

Friday treats at the Vinyl Barn:

With all that’s going on around us, I was in much need of musical LP record and 45 RPM single salvation…and the excellent Vinyl Barn once again delivered.

Amongst this morning’s pickings: The 1969 debut album from San Francisco based band It’s A Beautiful Day – A UK CBS pressing with the gatefold out sleeve in good condition – the album includes the brilliant White Bird.

The 1970 Kinks superb double album compilation – original UK mono pressing on Pye Records

Miles Davis’ Greatest Hits – a 1969 UK compilation on CBS that I had not seen before with a great track listing.

Plus the1966 Bob Dylan single Highway 61 Revisited with the non -album rare B side Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window and the 1972 John Lennon/Yoko Ono Woman Is/Oh Sisters Oh Sisters single – US Apple single with a pic sleeve depicting the 1969 Nova magazine cover of the pair… all great stuff that will be on the playlist in the coming days. Thanks Darren!

Friday October 23:

The new Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band album Letter To You released today and my copy secured and purchased this afternoon via the always excellent Slide Record shop in Bedford. Thanks Warren and Nerys.

I am looking forward to this one very much…

Saturday October 24:

Record Store Day Drop 3 sorted – The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis albums plus Kenny Lynch 12 inch single a top result -and it was great to hook up with my fellow record buying enthusiasts Pete Burridge and Michael Herd.

Thanks Nerys Bannister and Warren Alsop at the Slide Record shop in Bedford for their fantastic service across the three Record Store Drops.

 

 

Monday October 26: 

We said goodbye to the beautiful Hayley at Bedford Crematorium this morning.

A lovely service with Madonna’s Ray Of Light playing as we entered (just as a ray of sunlight came though the window) and Like A Prayer a fitting farewell.

I wore my Led Zeppelin tie, the one I wore every Christmas Eve in the Our Price shop – I think Hayley would have smiled at that…

In the words of the poem ‘We Let You Go’ read by Kathy Wright so movingly during in the service,

‘’We love you, we miss you, we want you to be happy,

Go safely, go dancing, go running home’’

Until we meet you again Hayley, always remember you were a dazzling ray of light in our lives and you will shine for evermore in all our hearts…

Dave and Janet xx

Update here:

Tough times…there were some bite size grabs at being happy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday before the inevitable sadness of Hayley’s funeral.

I have to say the aftermath of that has been distressing. To think I will never see this wonderful soul again and chat on the phone is so sad. Hayley was such an incredible sounding board for me and has been so important in my life in recent years – as she was all those years back when we worked together at the Our Price shop. Her passing leaves such a huge gap…

I know Hayley is now at peace after her terrible illness and I feel selfish for feeling like this – it was Hayley’s selflessness that so endeared her to all that knew her…

On Tuesday, I spent most of the day in bed consumed by grief, guilt and regret. Grief for Hayley, guilt and regret that such actions cause such stress to Janet who has to put up with it all here.

There’s no easy answers so I pick myself up and try and get on with things best I can. Again, this all brings on a feeling of massive selfishness as I know so many people are having a tough time right now and everyone has their own set of circumstances to deal with. I have encountered some heart rendering stories from people I know these past few days that have moved me to tears and makes me realise there are many people with much worse situations to deal with and it pains me that I struggle the way I do.

My inability to see things rationally and positively continues to be a burden here and a cause of much stress to those close to me.

Once again I’ll dust myself down and I’ll try again…

As I have noted before, one of the worst aspects of this depression is not being able to enjoy the things that inspire in the way they should. I am surrounded by many beautiful things and yet at times it’s hard to appreciate that. There’s that feeling that I don’t deserve to be happy and not being kind to myself often comes far too easily. There’s that terrible lack of interest and cannot be bothered feeling in say, listening to an album or sharing information on Facebook, when everything becomes such an effort when it all used to be so effortless – at times it’s hard to find the muse and focus that once came so easily. I do make a big effort to deliver these TBL website updates every week

My self esteem is also shot and just talking to people can be such an effort – this from a man who once used social contact to define his world. That social contact is something I am missing so much – as we all are.

Having said all that, it’s not all doom and gloom by any means and there are many moments of joy in between the despairing times. I know we have so much to be thankful for here – not least the love and support of Janet who continues to be simply amazing. I have been feeling better today.

I have certainly enjoyed the salvation of Bruce Springsteen’s new album Letter To You and there are always pockets of kindness that are so uplifting. It’s those actions that I will try and use to propel me to reclaim some of the zest for life I once found so easy to exert.

Staying safe and well is of course paramount to us all in these worrying times and my thoughts are with you all as ever…

Some particular inspirations this past week…

A catch up on the phone with Jez Firth and Richard Grubb

A lovely card to us from Lorraine Robertson…

Uplifting words from Billy Fletcher and Dave Ling…

Jose’s photo in his Ecuador home…

A very special package from Anita Jeffries (formerly Mylett)…

John Parkin looking out for me with Record Store Day releases…

Jerry and Lori Keen supplying me with a copy of Garnet Mimms As Long As I Have You single – a track that was part of the early led Zep set in late 1968/early 1969… thank you kind folks!

Thanks for listening – stay safe and well you very lovely people…

Dave  Lewis – October 29, 2020

Until next time, stay safe and stay well…

Website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis

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7 Comments »

  • Dave Lewis (author) said:

    Lee not Wembley Stadium -they were offered it in summer 1976…thanks for your kind comments

  • Dave Lewis (author) said:

    Thanks Graham

  • Graham Craig Rodger said:

    Totally agree. Bonzo gave you his personal telephone number and asked you to ring him. Jimmy asked you to write the liner notes for the BBC Sessions remaster. That’s beyond anyone’s wildest dreams…!!

  • Lee said:

    Hi Dave–I have a question-did LZ ever play Wembley Stadium (old Wembley)? I can’t seem to place it, though I imagine they must have at some point (or maybe I’m confusing things with Earls Court.) Hang in there, Dave, it’s an ugly world right now, but remember: “trust and peace can win the day despite all you’re losing.” Chin up!!

  • MOK said:

    Hear Hear, Dave Smith!

  • Dave Lewis (author) said:

    Dave thank you so much for those very kind comments

  • Dave Smith said:

    Dave
    I have been following tight but loose since early 90’s. I attended the (2nd convention in london) and am sure we have attended lots of the same Zep solo gigs as well.
    I have also read a lot of your books – starting with the “final acclaim” swiftly followed by “a celebration”.
    I just want you to know that you are a constant source of inspiration of all ZEP related topics
    We as fans truly appreciate the amazing work you have done and continue to do over the years
    You are a crucial guy in the world of ZEP
    Your works means a lot – not only to us fans but i am sure to the band as well
    You are important Dave – Keep going – you are doing a GREAT job. All the best

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