Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin and Beyond: The Story of Rock’s Greatest Manager by Mark Blake

Firstly, I have a bit of a vested interest in this book as I’ve been in touch with Mark Blake a fair few times as he has been writing it. I was also one of the many people he interviewed for the book. Knowing of Mark’s past work with books on Pink Floyd and Queen, I was pretty certain he would make a very good job of documenting the life of Peter Grant. It helped considerably that he had the support of the Grant family in daughter Helen and son Warren. Mark was also determined to get out and speak to the principal characters in the story- a crucial element in attempting a definitive account.

There has been a previous book of Peter’s life –The Man Who Led Zeppelin by Chris Welch published back in 2001. An admirable work at the time – but since then many things have happened and much new information has come to light.

I had my own dealings with Peter Grant over they years – he was always very encompassing and supportive of my work with TBL. The fact that he did not boot me off the side of the stage on those Over Europe gigs indicated I was doing something right. Thankfully he had no issues in me being close to the action on that tour -in fact his consideration for me in Europe was very gratifying.  Years later in 1993 I spent two separate days in June and October of that year conducting a 10,000 word interview with him at his Eastbourne home. I was hoping to have another get together with him when he sadly died in November 1995 at just 60 years old. I eventually published the interview in my Celebration II book in 2003.

Whilst most of my dealings with Peter were very favourable, I did incur his wrath on the odd occasion – notably in 1990 when he was a bit miffed long time record excec associate Phil Carson knew about the book I was then writing (A Celebration) before he did. Clearly not a man who liked surprises, I was curtly requested to pass all text to him via Chris Charlesworth for him to sanction – which we duly did and all was sorted.

I found him a highly intelligent proud man – very proud of his achievements with Led Zeppelin and also very protective of them. He was a man who wanted things done in the correct way which mainly meant his way – and of course that is a running theme throughout this detailed book

The fact that his way normally got results one way or another, ensured he stamped his mark on the music business. Not entirely surprising as he learned the tricks of the trade from the likes of much feared mogul Don Arden.

For me, the pre and post Zep parts of the book are the most engaging chapters of this account. Mark paints a vivid picture of Grant’s struggle to establish himself in the entertainment business, hustling work as a wrestler and bit part actor – and then looking after the likes of Gene Vincent and Little Richard and working with Don Arden.

All those early experiences held him in good stead by the time he came to manage The Yardbirds and subsequently Led Zep. Mark weaves the story together with key input from the significant players who were there – such as Richard Cole, Phil Carson, Swan Song head Abe Hoch and many more. The book moves at a brisk pace and never lulls.

The Zep years are of course at the centre of the story and there’s a fair few new revelations – some very surprising ones too – not least the emergence of a shady character called Herb Atkin. As the story unfolds it’s more than evident that while Grant did indeed let them take care of the music, there was a constant undercurrent of intrigue and skull doggery in the way their business was conducted. Of course there are some unsavoury moments as the drugs kick in and Zep get bigger and bigger –and one John Bindon joins the gang. The quote by Phil Carson that ‘’He was a nice man when he wasn’t killing people ‘’ is a clear indication of how his involvement was viewed.

The final chapters deal with the group’s tragic ending with John Bonham’s passing and Peter’s subsequent fall out from it all. Pleasingly, there is salvation in the early 90s when Peter cleans his act up and begins to receive the recognition he deserves as a pioneering music business figure. It’s worth noting that throughout the book, Mark also highlights the humour that always existed between the group and it’s entourage. I loved hearing of Peter’s odd nicknames for fellow associates (he addressed Ahmet Ertegun as ”Omelette”) and the sense of camaraderie which helped drive them on – something I witnessed for myself when I was in the Swan Song office.  Being around Led Zeppelin could be a serious business but they always knew how to have fun and a laugh.

Mark’s final thoughts in the book are absolutely spot on and provide a melancholy and poignant ending.

Like all good biographies, Bring it On Home seeks to portray the man behind the myths. A tall order when it came to Peter Grant as he inspired so many myths himself – making the truth sometimes hard to attain.

In Bring it On Home, Mark Blake has produced a thought provoking, humorous and fascinating account of the man who indeed did lead Led Zeppelin and so much more. I feel much closer to the whole Peter Grant/Zep saga for having read it.

Dave Lewis, November 6,2018.

Order the book at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bring-Home-Zeppelin-Greatest-Manager/dp/1472126882/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542696266&sr=8-1&keywords=peter+grant+mark+blake

ELECTRIC MAGIC 47 YEARS GONE:

November 21st is always a bit of a special date in my calander year – as it was on this day back in 1971 that I was lucky enough to witness Led Zeppelin live at the Empire Pool Wembley –and as you will read, nothing was ever the same in our house after that. Over the next few days  I’ll be wading through the Empire Strikes Back Tarantura CD box set to recall the night the Wembley Empire Pool was, as the Melody Maker headline ran  ‘Zapped by Zeppelin…’

Here’s some personal reflections…

Schoolboy wonderment, Wally, Pigs and Plates at the Pool

47 years ago tonight, I first witnessed the pure live power of Led Zeppelin when I attended the second Electric Magic show at the Empire Pool Wembley on the evening of Sunday November 21st 1971. I was just 15 years old –the effect would be a lasting one.

I had found Led Zeppelin though hearing Whole Lotta Love on Radio One’s Pick Of The Pops in late 1969 – my interest would further manifest itself throughout 1970, hearing the albums and reading about them in the NME. I was avidly  collating scrapbooks on them.

Looking back one of the things that stands out from that time is that Zep had a ‘’leaders of the underground’’ stigma about them.

This was the latter period of the UK underground scene –the famous Oz obscenity trial was a only a couple of months before and on that November night there hung a heady atmosphere as London’s counter culture elite came out to see them. This feeling of being amongst the counter culture was enhanced by the presence of a large stall within the Empire Pool for Virgin Records Richard Branson’s newly inaugurated discount record retail operation. They were proudly selling the new Led Zeppelin album in that mysterious sleeve. There was also the famous Electric Magic poster on sale for all of 30p which now changes hands for upwards of a grand. I wish I’d brought more than one!

This was the night Home and Stone The Crows were the support acts and during both sets their respective guitarists took out a violin bow and briefly did a ‘’Jimmy’’ in mock respect for what would occur later. The in between entertainment was provided by the infamous performing pigs that didn’t and the plate spinner Olley Gray who also didn’t fare too well. Warm up records played by DJ Jeff Dexter included Redbone’s Witch Queen Of New Orleans and Isaac Hayes’ Shaft – both hits of the time (Page would insert the riff of Shaft into their version of Dazed And Confused the next week in Manchester.)

There were frequent cries from the audience of ‘’Wally’’ a gig going tradition sparked by a roadie at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. Never around when needed, the road crew cries of ‘’Where’s Wally?’’ was taken up by the festival audience – and ensuing audiences at big name gigs such as this one.

Then it was time for the main event. Promoter Ricky Farr introduced them and it was evident how loud it was going to be from the moment Bonzo rattled around the kit and Jimmy flexed the Gibson. Then 1 -2-3-4 …Blam!

I was watching Led Zeppelin perform Immigrant Song in front of my own eyes…and nothing was ever the same again.

And nothing was ever this loud. The sheer force of the riff physically pushed me back. After the initial shock of that moment, well the rest of proceedings for this particular schoolboy were just awe inspiring. I watched it all with open mouthed wonderment.

So many vivid images remain from that first stunning exposure to the grown up music world. The immediate upturn of seeing this thing in the flesh was that my interest increased manifold. The scrapbooks became more meticulous, the hunger for knowledge about them more intense and the need to follow their every move a virtual means to an end. It was a year of waiting before they returned to the UK and I saw them at Alley Pally and then came five glorious nights at Earls Court and more. By then journalistic reporting of Zep in the Melody Maker and NME by the likes of Roy Hollingsworth, Nick Kent and Charles Shaar Murray had inspired me to put pen to paper myself and the seeds of Tight But Loose were being sown.

That night back in November 1971 was an early milestone that further sparked the insatiable belief in their music that has stayed with me ever since. It was a night of true Electric Magic and the intervening 47 years have done nothing to diminish its impact.

Back then at 15 years old, I knew I had witnessed something very special –but little did I realize that 47 years hence at aged 62, Led Zeppelin would still mean so much to me and countless millions across the world.

Then as now… they still hold the (Electric) Magic….

Dave Lewis – November 21, 2018.   

……………………

More Wembley Empire Pool magic….in 1978..

On that night of nights back in November 1971, this 15 year old could neve have imagined the events ahead and that I might one day actually meet and speak to Robert Plant in this very same venue.

But that is what came to pass as seven years later on November 4, 1978 I did just that.

By then my enthusiasm for all things Led Zep was pretty off the scale. I had met them all backstage at Earls Court and The Song Remains The Ssame premiere in London and at Heathrow Airport in May 1977.

The tragic passing of Robert’s son Karac had rendered the band inactive for many months –though there had been some stirrings in the spring of 1978 with a get together at Clearwell Castle. I had kept in contact with the Swan Song office and I knew that the recording of a new album was on the cards.

In early November 1978 as a fervent reader of the NME I spotted in a small news item that on Sunday, November 5 Robert would be appearing in the Goaldiggers five a side football tournament. The venue was the Empire Pool Wembley – scene of my first Led Zep live experience. I knew I had to be there again – simple as that.

I had been back to the esteemed venue a few of time since 1971. I saw The Rolling Stones afternoon show on September 8 1973 and two years later I was at a scintillating Who performance on October 23 1975. I was also at Elton John’s show there in November 1977.

Back to the story. I was playing football for the Wallbangers team on the Sunday morning but reckoned I could get away after the game and get on a train to London for the 4pm start of the tournament.

So after playing in a 4-3 defeat, I zipped over to Bedford railway station and headed for London. At this point I had no ticket for the tournament but hoped I could get one at the venue. With time running out at vast expense, I took a taxi direct to Wembley from St Pancreas station. Once outside the venue I scored a ticket from a tout. I found myself up the side behind one of the goals. Not a bad view –not that I was going to settle for that for too long. I had already made up my mind that I needed to talk to Robert Plant himself to find out the state of play. The mission was on…

This Goaldiggers football tournament was Robert’s first public appearance since the curtailed US tour. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to re -connect with the singer – as I had done previously – notably at Heathrow Airport.

Robert’s named Geriatric Rowdies comprised of singer Jess Conrad, singer turned WEA Record exec Dave Dee, comedian Jasper Carrot, then West Bromwich Albion manager Ron Atkinson and in the number 8 shirt the man himself. They met LBC in their first match and drew 2-2 the equalizer coming from Robert. The next encounter was with The Stranglers team and ended in another 2-2 draw.

This was not enough to see them through to the next phrase and from where I was up behind the goal, I could see Robert had now changed out of his kit watching by the sidelines

It was then I made my move – I made my way down to the sideline enclosure and with a confident ‘I’m with the players’ strut glided through to the side of the pitch and there I was right next to the man.

What a moment it was. He looked really well if radically different in a smart cut jacket and jeans – the hair cut back to pre 1969 length. A stark contrast to the ‘golden god’ figure I had approached at Heathrow Airport some 18 months ago. Here’s pic I took at that first sighting.

I introduced myself and he recognized me from Heathrow. He duly introduced me to his wife Maureen and daughter Carmen. I reminded him of the last time he was here with Zep and we laughed about the performing pigs that didn’t quite get it right on the night.

During our conversations, Robert told  me he was going to Stockholm the next week with the group to commence recording a new album at Abba’s studios.

As the tournament progressed I was with him as he cheered on the ELO team, Spurs player Ralph Coates spirited display with the team made up of The Darts group good naturedly jeering Rod Stewart and Elton john’s team

It was when watching the all ladies match featuring a team made up of page 3 models that a photographer captured the photo of us both laughing at the action.

Here’s another shot from that moment and previously unseen. I am wearing the Zep US tour t shirt that are commonplace now but at the time were very scares promotional t shirts – I and got mine form Unity at the Swan Song office.

Fond farewells were said and I told him I would be at the next gig whenever and wherever that would be. ”It’s all in the wind” he said enigmatically.

I floated back to Bedford on a pure high. I had been in the company of Robert Plant again and for this particular Led Zeppelin fan the future was bright ahead – I knew that because I had heard it from the man himself.

Robert’s Goaldiggers appearance attracted a few column inches in the press and there were more later in the week when it was announced Led Zeppelin would indeed be going to Abba’s Polar Studios to record what would become the In Through The Out Door album.

As for me, this meet with my hero was more than enough inspiration to get down to producing the first issue of Tight But Loose. I worked on it for the rest of the year booking ads for it in late 1978 in Sounds and NME. A further round of ads followed in January 1978 and on February 10,1979 the first issues went out from my Dents Road bedroom.

It would kick start an incredibly exiting year that would include the Knebworth comeback shows, another Goaldiggers rendezvous with Robert and a very exciting afternoon watching Robert, JPJ and Bonzo picking up seven Melody Maker awards at a reception at the Waldorf hotel in London.  More on all that next time.

It would be another six years before I saw Robert at the Empire Pool Wembley then renamed Wembley Arena – a memorable solo show on September 10,1985. Pic from outside the venue on that day here by Krys Jantzen.

DL Diary Blog Update:

It was great to see my former work mate in Our Price/V.Shop Hayley Martin last Thursday. Hayley will be pleased that one of her fave singers Janis Joplin appeared with Led Zep in 1969…as revealed in the Evenings With book