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JOHN PAUL JONES ON STAGE WITH FOO FIGHTERS/ ROBERT ON STAGE WITH JERRY LEE LEWIS/SSS US GIGS/DEBORAH BONHAM LATEST/TBL ARCHIVE -1968 AND 1985/ DL DIARY UPDATE

10 September 2015 10,223 views 2 Comments

foo fighters jpj 3

John Paul Jones on stage with the Foo Fighters at Milton Keynes Bowl:

Last Saturday September 5, John Paul Jones along with Queen drummer Roger Taylor joined the Foo Fighters on stage at their Milton Keynes Bowl gig. They performed a version of the Queen classic Under Pressure – John performed on keyboards – see YouTube clip below. Above photo by Adam Tidd.

Here’s an on the spot report here from Michaela Finegan for TBL:

“I think I just broke my leg. I’m going to go to hospital. I’m going to fix my leg and then I’m going to come back.”

These were the words of Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters, after he slipped off the stage at Gothenburg on June 12. This was mid tour with gigs planned at Wembley Stadium on June 19 and 20 and the Glastonbury headlining Saturday night slot on June 27.

I had tickets for the Foo for the Wembley gigs so I waited with anticipation to hear if they would perform. However the severity of the break meant they had to cancel the Wembley Stadium and Glastonbury sets. The ticket costs were refunded and we were all sent an email with a message from Dave;

“You have always stood by our band, and we will always stand by you…And I will do everything I can do to come back and give you a night to remember for the rest of your lives.

We waited and waited and then it was announced, they would return to The National Bowl in Milton Keynes on September 5 and 6 September. Selfishly this was a gift as I live walking distance from the venue. Last time they came to MK in 2011 they delivered two blisteringly  sets, with special guests on both nights (SeaSick Steve with John Paul Jones on night one and Alice Cooper on night two). To ensure I didn’t miss anything I re -booked tickets for both days.

The excitement was building in MK; the road signs to the Bowl went up, people sat outside the venue to hear them rehearsing and we started to hear rumours of potential guests; the main suggestion being Florence & The Machine as they had stepped up to cover the Glastonbury slot.

Saturday arrived and I excitedly get myself ready, choosing my Foo t-shirt from when I’d seen them in Atlanta and my Led Zeppelin hoody. I was accompanied by three gentlemen – my fiancé and two 15-year-old Foo fans, all of which had never seen the band before. I promised them they would be in for a treat!

There must have been over 60 thousand  people in the MK Bowl to witness Royal Blood, a two piece band from Brighton open the gig, followed by an enthusiastic, ‘topless’ Iggy Pop. The crowd was warming up, you could feel the anticipation in the air, and just as the sun started to go down, the eleven times Grammy winning Foo’s took the stage and opened an amazing set with Everlong

”Hello, I’ve waited here for you, Everlong.”

They continued to play nine further fabulous tracks. Dave, his leg still in a cast sat on a majestic throne he had designed. He emphasised how pleased they were to be back, and by way of an apology for cancelling the Wembley gig, he invited some ‘friends’ to join him on stage.

Dave then introduced John Paul Jones and Roger Taylor from Queen. The crowd went absolutely mad! Including the two boys with me who were delighted to see JPJ as they are some of the new generation of Zeppelin fans.

Dave was grinning ‘ear to ear’ as he said, “Now look. I don’t know if you all have ever seen a super group. This is a ‘superdupergroup’, I don’t even know what to say because this kind of s@@t doesn’t happen every day. Let me just tell you that the Foo Fighters, right now, are living out our rock n’ roll fantasy with you tonight.”

Earlier in the evening I had been trying to reach fellow TBL pals to meet up, but there was no signal (sorry Tiina and Helen!). However just as the ‘special guests’ took the stage, I got a signal, so immediately called Dave Lewis (and interrupted his birthday celebrations!) to share the news. I did hold the phone up for him to hear but I’m not sure he could hear much over all the cheering (I was just tucking into my streak!).

The ‘superdupergroup proceeded to play “Under Pressure”, as recorded by Queen and David Bowie in 1981. John Paul Jones was on keyboards, Roger Taylor on drums, and Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl shared lead vocals. It served as a fitting tribute to Freddie Mercury on what would have been his 69th birthday.

Of course Dave Grohl and JPJ have history; Dave is a renowned Zeppelin fan, citing John Bonham as his inspiration, he even has the Bonham ‘sign’ as a tattoo. Dave played drums when Jimmy Page and JPJ joined the Foo’s on stage when they last played Wembley Stadium in 2008. He then went on to form the Them Crooked Vultures with JPJ and Josh Homme.

Back at the Bowl: After the all-star performance, Dave joked with the delighted crowd, “You should see my Rolodex. It’s insane,”

For me the whole night was insane. Dave promised a night to remember. To say they delivered was an understatement.

And luckily for me I was able to do it all again the following night, and they finished the night where they started, with Everlong…

“And I wonder

When I sing along with you

If everything could ever feel this real forever….

If anything could ever be this good again”

Michaela Finegan

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Bumping into JPJ:

Long time TBL supporters from Finland Tiina Puska and Minna Luostarinen were over for the Foo Fighters gig – and amazingly, on the Friday strolling around London near Soho they bumped into a certain Mr John Paul Jones – how cool is that! Tiina jpj 2 Tiina on the left here and Minna on the right.

tiina jpj

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Robert Plant onstage with Jerry Lee Lewis:

This report via Contact Music.com

Ringo Starr And Robert Plant Hit The Stage At Jerry Lee Lewis’ London Show On Sunday Night September 6 to wish the Rock ‘N’ Roll Legend A Happy Birthday.

Lewis, who turns 80 years on 29 September is currently hitting U.K. venues as part of his farewell tour, and he had a star-studded finale at the Palladium.

Starr and Plant wheeled a birthday cake onto the stage and joined a host of other musicians and fans in singing Happy Birthday to the Great Balls of Fire hitmaker.

http://www.contactmusic.com/ringo-starr/news/ringo-starr-robert-plant-wish-jerry-lee-lewis-a-happy-80th-at-london-gig_4907202

See YouTube clip below.

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With thanks to James Cook/LedZep News – be sure to check out the news site.

Follow Led Zeppelin News on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr to stay up to date on news as it happens.

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Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters final US dates of their world tour:

This from Robert’s official website:

alternate sets

This week, Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters’ final stretch of the ‘lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar’ World Tour occurs.

Taking place across North America, the dates take in nine shows, spanning seven states and provinces, including a two night headlining slot at LOCKN’ Festival in Arrington, Virginia marking the end of an epic three and a half year run for the ensemble. What occurs next, who knows?

But, ’til then, we’ve unearthed a little background on the artists that are joining the band on the road… Another reason to get there early, or to pick up any last remaining tickets if you’ve yet to order yours.

See more at this link:

http://www.robertplant.com/#news

The final dates of the tour are as follows:

10 Rochester Hills USA Meadowbrook Music Festival

11-13 Arrington USA Lockn Festival

15 Toronto CA Molson Canadian Ampitheatre

17 Port Chester USA The Capitol Theatre

18 New York USA Hammerstein Ballroom

20 Boston USA Blue Hills Bank Pavilion

22 Indianapolis USA Murat Theatre

23 Chicago USA FirstMerit Bank Pavilion

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Deborah Bonham Latest Tour dates:

bolan deb

Deborah Bonham Band 2015 UK & European Shows
‘A powerful rock band steeped in the primal intimacy of the Blues’
CLASSIC ROCK Magazine
SEPTEMBER
Tues 15th LONDON Cafe de Paris ‘Bolanesque’ in aid of Marc Bolan Music School in West Africa.
Deborah Bonham performing a couple of songs amongst other guests. Deborah’s band will be the house band along with Rat Scabies on drums. A great night of Marc Bolan, T Rex, Fashion, Theatre and West African Music.
Tickets available on the door or from
OCTOBER
Sat 3rd FRANCE Salaise Blues Festival (38) http://www.salaisebluesfestival.fr/
NOVEMBER
Sat 7th FRANCE Arles (13) www.106db.com
Sat 14th UK SOUTHEND ON SEA Chinnerys – www.chinnerys.co.uk/
“I’m delighted to announce that Deborah Bonham and her Band are joining us on the bill. Debbie is wonderful and I know popular with a lot of my audience. I managed to get her on the bill as Peter Bullick (her Guitarist ) was once an Otway guitarist and roadie – and he learnt very quickly from me all about Rock and Roll.” Otway

Sat 28th BELGIUM Hastierre (55) La Cave www.lacavehastiere.be

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TBL Archive Special 1: September 7, 1968 – the on stage debut 47 years gone:

47 years ago on September 7th 1968, the line soon to be known as Led Zeppelin performed their very first concert in Gladsaxe Denmark. – the first of two appearances that day… 

teen club 2

REMEMBERING 47 YEARS GONE….

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 7th, 1968

GLADSAXE, DENMARK

TEEN CLUB BOX 45

DATE:                         September 7, 1968 (1st show)

VENUE:                     Teen Club, Egegård Skole

LOCATION:              Gladsaxe, Denmark

Billed as: “Yardbirds”

Support Acts: Fourways; Bodies

With The New Yardbirds line-up complete, there was an outstanding engagement to fulfil that was left over from the old Yardbirds’ date sheet ­- a ten-date tour of Scandinavia. Billed as ‘The New Yardbirds’, the group that would become Led Zeppelin made their stage début on September 7 in Denmark.

They would not perform as ‘Led Zeppelin’ until six weeks later – at Surrey University on October 25, 1968.

The venue for their first ever performance was the Teen Club in Gladsaxe, Denmark, a Copenhagen suburb. The Teen Club was actually a gymnasium at Egegård Skole (School), which was converted into a rock club on Saturday nights.

The band was fulfilling an old Yardbirds commitment to perform at the club. In New Musical Express (July 13, 1968), it was noted that the Scandinavian tour would start on September 14th; in fact, for many years this date was generally acknowledged as the date of their very first gig. The following week’s Record Mirror (July 20, 1968), correctly mentioned that the tour would start on September 7th.

Among the 1,200 – 1,400 youngsters who witnessed rock and roll history was a 17-year old student, Jørgen Angel, the photographer for the club’s in-house magazine, Teen Club Nyt (News). Thankfully, Angel took plenty of outstanding photos of the new band with his mother’s camera.

Angel recalled the historic concert for Jaideep V.G. of Rave magazine: “I was pretty disappointed because The Yardbirds were supposed to play that night. It was sometime in the evening that I heard a band called The New Yardbirds would perform. I thought maybe that has nothing to do with The Yardbirds. Maybe there’s just one person left from The Yardbirds, which turned out to be right, it was only Jimmy Page from The Yardbirds who played that night. And the others I had never seen or heard of. But when they went on stage it was something very special and different and spectacular. They were full of energy and they were different. I had no idea they were going to be big.”

“Standing by the side of the stage it was obvious that there was a chemistry,” said Peter Grant. Robert recalls: “We were very green – it was a tentative start but we knew we had something.”

The stage act for the début tour was based loosely on the set The Yardbirds had been performing on their final US tour. ‘Train Kept A Rollin’ was the opener and ‘Dazed & Confused’ the centrepiece, with Page using the violin bow. Old blues chestnuts ‘I Can’t Quit You’ and ‘You Shook Me’ were also delivered in the arrangements that would later appear on their first album. Early self penned numbers included ‘Communication Breakdown’ and ‘How Many More Times’ – the latter built around Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘How Many More Years’.

The act was fleshed out with a variety of covers – something that would remain a feature of their sets for many years to come. Elmore Gantry’s ‘Flames’ and Garnett Mimm’s ‘As Long As I Have You’ were early staples at this point. They also came up with a dynamic arrangement for the folk standard ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’. Page had played the Joan Baez version to Plant on their initial meeting. “I want to do a version of this but with a certain dynamic edge,” he told his new singer.

It was obvious to them all that even on this début tour the line-up had an identity all of its own. Page: “We realised we were working under false pretences, the thing had quickly gone beyond where The Yardbirds had left off. We all agreed there was no point in retaining the New Yardbirds tag so when we got back from Scandinavia we decided to change the name. It was a fresh beginning for us all.”

jorgen 1

Photographer Jorgen Angel also revealed to told Huge Jones’ Proximity magazine ”I took a number of photographs There wern’t many actual lights on stage in those days -at least nothing you could use, so I used a flash. I used my mother’s holiday camera and my father’s old flash and I just snapped away. When I first knew of the gig I was disappointed even before the concert because I was looking forward to seeing The Yardbirds again and what we were getting was one Yardbirds member and three totally unknown guys. My disappointment was only up until they started performing because it was a great concert”.

 

 

PRESS REACTION:

Teen Club Nyt (October 1968) by Bent Larsen:

“The English group YARDBIRDS had been rehearsing their new set most of the afternoon. So when they entered the scene they were really hot to get started and give it all. Their performance and their music were absolutely flawless, and the music continued to ring nicely in the ears for some time after the curtains were drawn after their show. Let me in particular give my praise to JIMMY PAGE who has made a great job with the 3 new men. They really succeeded and in particular the guitar solo by Jimmy Page created huge applause. We can therefore conclude that the new YARDBIRDS are at least as good as the old ones were.”

DATE:                         September 7, 1968 (2nd show)

VENUE:                     Brondby Pop Club, Nørregårdshallen

LOCATION:              Brondby, Denmark

 Billed as: “The Yardbirds with Jimmy Page”

Support Acts: The Day of Phoenix;

The Eyes; Ham

BACKGROUND INFO:

The band wasted little time in getting the next concert under their belt, performing a second show of the day in another Copenhagen suburb. The Brondby Pop Club was very similar to the Gladsaxe Teen Club, in that it was a rock club located in a school gymnasium.

PRESS REACTION:

Glostrup Handelsblat (Sept. 11, 1968):

                “When you start a new season you always try to make the opening night a little better than you need to. The ‘little better’ this time was the fantastic Yardbirds in a whole new lineup…The Yardbirds however, requires a closer examination. Jimmy Page has again put a new band together. The music is the same, only better than ever.”

                “Robert Planto (sic) should face some small criticism and a lot of praise for an excellent performance. There is no doubt that he is a good singer but he doesn’t have to twisht his body like he’s having a ruptured appendix, or does he? Musically the band is super-great. Their hard disciplined beat is amazing. Of course it was foremost Jimmy Page that was responsible for this but the drummer should also be mentioned; a drum solo so wild and good is hard to find. It was so good that one almost wished that John Bonham wouldn’t stop.”

Thanks to Mike Tremaglio for the above info as researched for the Evenings With Led Zeppelin 1968 – 1980 book project.

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TBL Archive Special 2:Little By Little…

Robert Plant Wembley Arena – Tuesday, September 10 1985 – it was 30 years Ago today…

shaken wemb

Krys Jantzen flagged this one by sending an excellent pic taken by him outside the Wembley Arena venue on the night.

30 years ago -that is just incredible because it does seem like a second…or a lifetime ago.

Robert only performed two proper UK gigs in 1985 on this night and two days earlier at the Birmingham NEC.

This was the Shaken’ N’ Stirred tour – in support of the rather difficult third album released in May. Robert had toured the US that summer and bang in the middle of all that came the call to perform at Live Aid. The axis was well and truly spun because despite the chaotic nature of it all – it had ignited the flame again.

Shaken’ N’ Stirred – yes a difficult album and very left field in a Plant experimentation sort of way. At times the time signatures did go all over the place (Kallalou, Kallalou anyone?). But when it was good as on Little By Little, Easily Led  and the superb Sixes And Sevens, it was very good indeed. I remember playing the quasi- rap Too Loud to all sundry in proclaiming Robert’s contemporary status.  I also remember getting very excited about the 12inch single and double pack seven inch release of the second single from the album Little By Little. We were on holiday in Weymouth when it came out and purchased it from the local branch of the long gone John Menzies chain.

On stage, it was still very much a Zep free zone  – though at times he relented slightly. I’ve just played In The Mood from the bootleg CD of the Wembley Arena gig and it reminded me that a cry of Hot Dog during that number was the nearest we got to getting hot under the collar for the days of yore. That, and a few lines from Since I’ve Been Loving You during the close of Slow Dancer and a Boogie Cillun insert in Young Boy Blues – but that was yer lot back then – it was still a case of ”No led anything”.

This was the mid 80s and the order was changing.

I too was actually in something of a new era. Newly married the year before, my writing energies had transferred into writing two weekly music columns for the local newspaper – I did get the odd Zep mention in and did review this gig. I was also well ensconced in the music retail world and was about to embark on an exciting challenge that would see WH Smith open their own stand alone record stores called Sound FX – I was to be the manager of the Bedford store.

Zep related wise ,I was still as keen as ever to follow the respective careers so when these dates were announced it was a must see situation.  The Birmingham gig on the Sunday had been a little under par due to some sound problems but for London we had a right result.

The set list lined up as follows:

Intro music – Song To The Siren by This Mortal Coil – this is a stunning version of the Tim Buckley number with vocals by Liz Fraser of the Cocteau Twins – I remember buying this the next week. Robert would later cover this track himself, performing it live with the Priory Of Brion and Strange Sensation and recording it for the 2002 Dreamland album.

In The Mood/Pledge Pin/Pink and Black/Little By Little/Burning Down One Side/Too Loud/Thru With the Two Step/Messin’With the Mekon/Slow Dancer/Good Rockin’At Midnight/Young Boy Bluies (including Boogie Chillun insert/Sea Of Love/Honey Hush/Encores: Like I’ve Never Been Gone/Big Log/Easily Led.

The good lady Janet was next to me in our fourth row tickets – and backstage before the gig, we had seen and spoken to Robert as well as Jimmy Page who was in attendance. This one felt like an event being a major London gig – amongst others backstage I also recall seeing Slade’s Noddy Holder.

One of the other things that spring to mind from that night is the merchandise. Alongside the usual t shirts that was a high quality though rather garish Shaken’ N’ Stirred pink and black sweat shirt. it was on sale for a then extortionate £20 – twice the rice of admission of the gig – our good friend Kam invested in one and every time he wore it, we ribbed him for years as being the most expensively dressed man in the house!

The gig itself was a hugely enjoyable one. This presentation featured the Honeydrippers segment where, aided by the Upton Horns and The Queen Bees, Robert donned a sparkle T shirt to zip through Good Rockin’ Tonight, Young Boy Blues which included a Boogie Chillun interlude, Sea of Love and Honey Hush. Overall it was a high energy performance on a large stage that did look slightly like a block of cheese.

Little did we know that this gig would be a very significant one.

For this would be the last live performance of this line up that had carried Robert from 1983. So it was goodbye to Robbie Blunt, Phil Martinez, Jezz Woodroffe  and Richie Hayward. As Robert stated in 1988. ”A little light came above my head at Wembley. It happened half way through the set. I might’ve been singing ‘squeeze my lemon until the juice runs down my leg’or ‘I’m a fool for a cigarette’. No seriously, It could have been anything but I realised that I’d taken this little journey round and round in circles ever decreasing and dumbfounding everybody by showing how to waste a perfectly good career’.

Judging by the tone of that statement this was a man at a definite career crossroads. Live Aid had put the Zep spark back in his mind. There was a plan to meet with Jimmy and John Paul Jones in Bath for a get together to see what might happen.

As it turned out nothing much did. This re- grouping at a village hall near Peter Gabriel’s studio in early 1986 did show some promise but ultimately came to nothing. ”Two or three things sounded promising, a sort of cross between David Byrne and Husker Du” commented Plant later adding ”For it to have succeed in bath I would have had to have been far more patient than I had been for years”. The rehearsals fell apart when drummer Tony Thompson was injured in a car smash.

What happened next? Well Jimmy went off to make the Outrider album and Robert gathered a new set of musicians around him – come in Phil Johnstone, Chris Blackwell, Doug Boyle and Charlie Jones which led to the excellent Now And Zen album.

When I turned up at Leicester University to see a low key warm up date of his new band in January 1988, It was evident that Robert Plant was at last more than comfortable with his past. For the first time in his solo career, Robert performed Led Zep numbers. In The Evening and Trampled Underfoot felt like a rebirth that night and it remains one of my favourite all time ever gigs.

As for me, well Sound FX proved not to be the future of music retail (the writing was in the wall when I saw the design of the counter which was made to look like a beat box cassette player complete with hand rail – most embarrassing!). WH Smith sold the chain to Our Price in 1986 -a wise move as we were now part of a very successful chain and with the CD boom about to hit, there would be great retail days were ahead.

Writing wise, I had formulated a plan for a major Led Zeppelin reference work. I’d already began looking for a publisher and I was initially turned down flat by Chris Charlesworth at Omnibus Press who in a classic rejection letter advised me that Omnibus and I quote ”only sold music books by bands that sold lots of concert tickets like Bon Jovi’. Sensibly he revised that view a year later and went with the idea – the result was the A Celebration book published in 1991.

30 years on, I am not too sure if Bon Jovi remain shaken’N’ stirred for their particular passion but I know Robert Plant does – he is out there tonight in Rochester Hills – and I know I do too as I’ve spent the past few days preparing a new Led Zep book venture.

Little by little – the days pass by…

DL Sept 10, 2015.

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DL Diary Update:

Meanwhile back in 2015…many thanks for the deluge of birthday greetings and comments on the TBL Facebook page and website. Completely overwhelming and humbling – many thanks again.

On the day itself – last Saturday, it was great to have an afternoon visit from the TBL number 2 Gary Foy. He and Carol kindly brought me a very fetching Spurs polo shirt – and Adam waded in with a very nice Spurs away shirt – so I am fully ready for this season! Pic here with Gary:gary and me

 

Other lovely presents included an original ten inch pressing of Frank Sinatra’s Songs For Young Lovers on Capitol (thanks Phil and Eileen!), a 180 gram pressing of Fairport Conventions 35th Anniversary album (thanks Tom and Jacky!) a very nice Top of The Pops transcription disc LP that has The Yardbirds 1968 Top Gear session (thanks John Parkin!).

The Birthday night out included a very nice meal at the excellent Tavistock Carvery (which included a call from Michaela to inform me JPJ was on stage down the road in MK!) – here’s a pic of our gang – the good lady Janet, Phil and Eileen, Tom and Max and Julie.

bithday 59 2

We also made a brief visit to The Pad in Bedford. This was formerly known as Winkles night club, a place our gang frequented a lot in the 1980s – it was great to pop in last night and have a look at our old stamping ground.. Many a good night was had within those four walls! In fact Janet and I had some of our first evenings out here when we first got together back in 1983 – it was very nostalgic to look around the fabled club venue of our relative youth.

I also had the Faces new five album box set You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything on CD for my birthday  – which was the next best thing to being able to make The Faces reunion at Hurtwood Polo Club in Surrey. The YouTube clips of this looks great  – I’d love to have been there but birthday matters prevented that – I really hope, as is rumoured  they reunite again for proper tour.

However, BL associate Krys Jantzen was lucky enough to be there and filed report:

The Faces Reunion – Hurtwood Polo Club, Surrey:

Update from The Faces gig last night. I was expecting three or four songs – we got seven!

I Feel So Good
You Can Make Me Dance
Oh La La
I’d Rather Go Blind
(I Know) I’m Losing You
Stay With Me
Sweet Little Rock n Roller

A superb afternoon with Steve Harley, Paul Carrack and Midge Ure getting the crowd in major singalong mood before Annie Nightingale (yes!) did a DJ set just prior to the band coming on.

Rod, Ronnie and Kenney where late on stage, under rehearsed with missed cues, false starts and sloppy ending it was just as I wanted it and absolutely FANTASTIC! True to the spirit of The Faces. Rod a little tipsy, on great form, Kenney superb and Ronnie absolutely shone on his own, out of the shadow of Keith. You forget what a great player he is.

Rod thanked Kenney for asking him to join the Faces, Ronnie reminisced about writing with Ronnie Lane in his Richmond flat, and Rod wanted to do the rarely played live by the Faces ‘You Can Make Me Dance’ as it was one of Ian & Ronnie Lane’s favourite tracks and ‘a smash hit in Bognor Regis’. Tonight it was Oh La La that was worth the price of admission alone. Heartfelt, wistful…simply superb.

Krys Jantzen

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Keith Moon 37 years gone: September 7, 1978….

keith 1

I paused for thought on Monday to remember the passing of Keith Moon and blasted  out a few choice Who cuts in his memory.

This picture of myself with Keith Moon was taken at The Who Exhibition launch at the ICA in London on August 1st 1978 – My good friend Dec is just to the left in the check shirt behind me – to the right is Richard Barnes long time Who associate and the late great Ian Dury is in front of us. Keith was in good spirits that day as he looked around the exhibition – I remember he spent some time looking over his famous Premier Pictures Of Lily drum kit that was set up in a stage area. So tragic that a little over a month later he would pass away. Incidentally I am wearing the same jacket I had on when I leapt on the stage at The Who Shepperton filming the previous May. RIP the second best drummer I had the privilege to see in action.

After all the holiday/birthday euphoria it’s been back to work this week and back on TBL projects – and there is a lot going on. TBL 40 text is ongoing and there’s been more preparation and liaising with Mike Tremaglio on the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book project

I’ve also been sorting out the autumn playlist and catching up with recent vinyl acquisitions – the latest being David Bowie’s Man Who Sold The World album (a Spanish pressing no less!) and the Bowie Heroes album with original insert plus the Marble Arch label sampler album Hitmakers which includes the rare John Paul Jones single A Foggy Day In Vietnam.

Here’s some other choice items I’ll be adding to the autumn playlist:

The Faces – You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything box set

The Who – Who By Numbers

Paul Simon – Still Crazy After All These Years

Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run

Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

Miles Davis – Quiet Nights

Frank Sinatra – September Of My Years

The Beatles – At The BBC Vol 2

Rod Stewart – The Complete Mercury Recordings

Led Zeppelin – Live In Japan 1971

Reading wise – I’m just wading though the Bob Dylan book Dylan Goes Electric by Elisha Wald (another birthday pressie thanks Max and Julie!) and I’ve also returned to the two autobiographies from Radio DJ/TV presenter and all round top man Danny Baker namely Going To Sea in a Sieve and Going Off Alarming.

This was inspired by watching the first episode of From The Cradle To The Grave – this  looks like being an excellent series based on Danny’s books and set in the mid 70s and is right up my street.

Bit of a tricky week with Janet’s mum not too good again and we are monitoring that one closely.

Our good friend Dec is back this weekend so myself and the Bedford Earls Court vets are heading into London to meet him – no doubt a variety of vinyl racks will be flicked through and one or two beers will be supped as we talk about the usual old bollocks. Hey it’s what we do! Then it will be right back into another week of TBL 40 text and more.

Dave Lewis – September 10, 2015

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YouTube clips:

Robert Plant Little By Little live in Toronto July 1985:

 

John Paul Jones on stage with Foo Fighters:

Robert Plant and Ringo Starr on stage with Jerry Lee Lewis:

The Faces reunited  September 5 2015 – Stay With Me:

Until next time…

Have a great  weekend

Keep listening, keep reading…

Dave Lewis/Gary Foy –  September 10, 2015. 

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2 Comments »

  • Larry said:

    Nice write up Ed, I was at the 85 Plant Cap Centre show too. I’m also one of the weirdos who likes Shaken N Stirred, and in fact I liked that a lot more than his next effort, the tepid yet almost universally praised Now and Zen (apart from Heaven Knows and Ship Of Fools, one of his greatest solo tracks).

    This is a great appearance he made at a charity gig in the UK in 1986, as he transitions from the Shaken era to the Zen era.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz0YONqGonA

  • Ed-Washington DC said:

    I can vividly recall the Robert Plant tour of 1985 and his appearance at the Capital Centre that July in Landover, Maryland, his first at that venue since the four night Memorial Day weekend 1977 with Zeppelin. Coming as it did a week or so after Live Aid in Philly, and the blistering appearance of Jimmy Page at the National Mall in DC for the Fourth of July with the Beach Boys. This hot on the heels of The Firm’s appearance at the Capital Centre in May 1985. So it was a Summer of Zeppelin to say the least.

    As to the Shaken N Stirred cycle, I still find that record far more interesting to the more Zeppelin sounding earlier solo efforts. As a fan of Little Feat, I was intrigued to hear Plant with Ritchie Hayward, and was not disappointed. And Jezz Woodruffe leaves a commendable imprint on this effort as well.

    The effervescence of numbers like Hip to Hoo and Kallalou Kallalou still make me smile, and invoke a purely eighties vibe to what became a carefree summer. The record doesn’t have to stand with the others. To me it has its own place, and its a warm, bright one in my personal memories.

    As for the Honeydrippers cycle, Young Boy Blues still sparkles on my Ipod to this day, and as Van Morrison might say, it has the Youth of a Thousand Summers.

    Summer of 1985. Plant stood tall for his bold choices, and his career was the better for it.

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