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TBL LED ZEPPELIN 50TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT & FESTIVAL OF SOUND BOOK LAUNCH /LZ NEWS/BEATLES IN BEDFORD /DL DIARY BLOG UPDATE

4 October 2018 3,554 views 8 Comments

TBL on the road report:

So that was the week that was – and what a week it was…

On Sunday it was over to Fulham for this event:

Dave Lewis and Julian Walker Present…

Led Zeppelin at 50 – It’s Been A Long Time 1968 -2018

Led Zeppelin 50th Anniversary TBL Celebration Day Event

Sunday, September 30, 2018

12 midday to 8.30pm

The Atlas Pub

16 Seagrave Road,Fulham, London, SW6 1RX

Following on from last December’s hugely enjoyable ‘Ahmet We Did It’ 02 Ten Years Gone event at this venue, we went back to the pub on Sunday for another day of Led Zeppelin 50th Anniversary Celebrations.

 And what a day it was.

Julian and I got there around 11am to set up – we did have a little bit of stress when the sound on the DVD player would not work properly – in fact we thought we might had blown the speakers! Luckily we hadn’t. Richard Grubb was also in early to assist and he also did a great job of manning the door for us

So here’s what went down:

Legendary Author Luis Rey and renowned Led Zep chronicler Andy Adams talked about the recently published 50th Anniversary updated edition of Luis’ Led Zeppelin Tape Documentary book. Andy helped edit this new edition which as we all know, is one of the essential Zep volumes to own. ever  Luis passionate prose made for some compelling chat – Andy was as perceptive as ever on the subject of bootlegs and more. As I always say being in this pair’s company inspires you to get back home and play Led Zeppelin as soon as possible…

Mike Tremaglio and I were on next the to unravel the story of how we researched and compiled the 280,00 words and 576 pages that make up the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book.

As mentioned last week with no books in the UK aside from the one we had to show, it was a bit frustrating to say the least. Julian did a great job keeping the interview flowing – it was captured on a YouTube clip that can be viewed below.

The always illuminating Chris Charlesworth talked about the recent Jimmy Page biography by Chris Salewic  and what makes what makes a good rock biography – or not…his wry comment that it had to be literate and the author should possess an A level in English had me shifting rather uncomfortably next to him. A level? I didn’t take O level so that’s me done for!

 

Chris also waxed lyrical and the relationship between Led Zeppelin and the rock press in the 70s. His revelation that the

combined sales of Melody Maker, NME, Sounds and Disc topped a quarter of a million each week in their 1970s heyday was a startling statistic. Away from Zep I could not resit asking about his experiences of interviewing John Lennon in the US in the mid 70s. As ever Chris brought an inside view to a fascinating subject – and not without poignancy. Don’t forget to visit Chris’  excellent blog at justbackdated.blogspot.com/

Next up – the renowned journalist, author and broadcaster Patrick Humphries revealed the links between Fairport Convention and Led Zeppelin and his experiences of interviewing Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Again like Chris, Patrick’s inside views made for a hugely enjoyable chat. Patrick has recently compiled  A Tree With Roots- Fairport Convention and Friends Song Of Bob Dylan CD on Universal.

Journalist and author Mark Blake then joined us to talk about his forthcoming biography of Peter Grant Bring it On Home Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin and beyond: The Story Of Rock’s Greatest Manager (Little Brown Books.) Written with full co-operation of the family, Mark’s portrayal of the fabled Zep manager will be the definitive account. That was more than evident during Mark’s revealing interview -which was utterly compelling all the way. Mark revealed more than enough to know that his forthcoming book on the life of Peter Grant will be an essential read…

Final guest speaker was Phil Tattershall – the well known UK Zep CD collector/authority who  presented ‘Confessions of a Led Zeppelin Taper’. This was a highly humorous and entertaining overview of Phil’s experiences in taping Led Zeppelin and the subsequent solo appearances of Jimmy ,Robert and Jonesy. His accompanying visuals were also great – it was really interesting to view the various tape machines Phil had used over the years.

Finally the Led Zeppelin Quiz -50 at 50 as compiled by Andy ,myself and Gary Davies. 50 Zep brainteasing questions – as we were running somewhat late ,we did this as a shout back – the usual suspects of Eddie Edwards, Phil Tattersall and Ian Avery fared the best.

To wrap the day we showed some Zep Earls Court May 24, 1975 footage.

 

It was fantastic to see so many friends and new and old faces in attendance including Mark Harrison Simon Pallett, Andy Adams ,Luis Rey, Eddie Edwards, Phil Tattershall, Trev Butcher, John Webster, Dieter from Germany, Andreas Stocker, Davide from Italy, Horace from the US, Andrew Doyle, TBL website creator Dave Linwood, Dave Fox, Rudi O’Keefe, Gerd from Germany, Melvyn Billingham, Jez Firth, Ian Dixon, Alan Stutz, Lee Matthews, Paul Sheppard, Brad Day, Sue Wilson, David Johnstone, Richard Schofield, Mark Windslade, Simon Cadmon, Tuhin Chowdhury, Cliff ‘The ticket man’Hilliard, Hiroshi, Richard Bedford, Ian Avey and many more.

 

Pics here with Mark Harrison plus  Julian, Luis and Mike T. Andy Adams and Simon Pallett, Melvyn Billingham, Dave Linwood and Dave Fox, Eddie Edwards and Phil Tattershall Thanks to Andreas Stocker for pics above.

 

Adam Tidd and his lady Lydia  came along with John ‘Crystal’ Taylor who was part of the road crew with Queen for 12 years…

So a fantastic day when once again we proved that Led Zeppelin are not just the greatest band- they have the greatest fans. Very special thanks to Julian for all his help in making this happen, Richard Grubb, Andy Adams, Gary Davies, Mike Lowe and Jen, Renee and Kate at The Atlas pub.

Next year? Sunday August 4, 2019 might be an appropriate date for another TBL gathering…

DL – October 4,2018

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YouTube clip from the TBL Event:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daLnFpEAm7w&feature=share

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Before all that, on Friday Mike and I presented we had been in attendance at the Omnibus Press Evenings With Led Zeppelin book launch at Festival of Sound – The Music And Audio Show staged at the Novotel  in Hammersmith. This was an excellent opportunity to promote the book. We had about 50 in – people all new to me so we were gaining new interest in the book. There was one very familiar face – it was great to see Gary Foy in attendance. Afterwards, we adjourned to the pub where Mike Tremaglio was able to get very involved with all the TBL talk that goes on – something he experienced throughout the weekend.

 

I had met Mike the previous day in The Spice Of Life with his wife Janet – his daughter Gina came in on Friday for the weekend. It was fantastic to finally meet him but I felt I knew him anyway -having had many a skype and email conversation. What a weekend we had…         

…………………….

 

Evenings With Led Zeppelin book distribution latest:Led Zeppelin Concert Chronicle

 

UK:

Copies of the book are now in the warehouse and will be going out to Amazon in the next few days – I would expect Amazon pre-orders to be fulfilled around October 11. It should be in Waterstones and WH Smith around then to.

USA:

Unfortunately a change of distributor in the US over the Summer has caused a delay. Omnibus inform me they hope to have books ready for distribution in late November for a publishing date of December 3. Pre order links on Amazon etc, should appear in the next month.

Australia:

Omnibus inform me copies should be in Australia by the end of the month.

Copies via TBL:

I will have copies available via TBL website

However I cannot compete with Amazon’s pricing. The TBL copies will retail  at £38 (£2 off the recommended price)

Including postage and packing  the UK price will be £51 , Europe £54.50, USA £81

The books weight makes for an expensive postage rate as can be seen

The TBL edition is in a run of 100 all individually hand numbered and signed by me.

The ordering links for these items will be up on the TBL website soon.

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Planet Rock Zep-tember Top Ten Led Zeppelin Gigs -airs September 26 7 pm:

The interview I recorded for Planet Rock with DJ Ian Danter, in which we discussed the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book and ten of the greatest Led Zeppelin gigs was airedlast Wednesday September 26 at 7 pm.

Here is the link to listen to the show again:

https://planetradio.co.uk/planet-rock/player/43321567/

……………………………

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.

Led Zeppelin

  • This week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the US ruled that Led Zeppelin must face a retrial in the “Stairway To Heaven” copyright case. Led Zeppelin won in a 2016 trial which ruled that there was not substantial similarity between the introduction to Led Zeppelin’s song and “Taurus” by Spirit. However, the plaintiff’s lawyer appealed on the grounds that the jury in the 2016 trial was unfairly barred from hearing the recorded version of “Taurus.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now partially vacated the 2016 verdict and the case has been remanded for a new trial. All of the surviving members of Led Zeppelin ended up involved in the 2016 trial, and this news will be very unwelcome for the band, especially as it came during Led Zeppelin’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations.

Robert Plant

  • Robert Plant played several shows this week. See the setlists below and click the links to watch videos of each performance.

September 23 – Bourbon & Beyond festival, Louisville, Kentucky
(Setlist unknown)

September 25 – Irving, Texas
When the Levee Breaks
Turn It Up
In the Mood
Four Sticks
The Rain Song
Please Read the Letter
Gallows Pole
Carry Fire
Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You
Poor Howard
Got My Mojo Working
Ramble On
——-
New World…
Bring It On Home / Whole Lotta Love

September 27 – Lubbock, Texas
The Lemon Song
Turn It Up
In the Mood
The May Queen
Going to California
Little Maggie
Gallows Pole
Carry Fire
Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You
Black Dog
Got My Mojo Working
——-
Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down
Rave On
Whole Lotta Love

September 29 – Austin, Texas
New World…
Turn It Up
The May Queen
Black Dog
The Rain Song
Gallows Pole
Carry Fire
Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You
Little Maggie
Fixin’ to Die
Ramble On
——
Dance With You Tonight
Good Times Bad Times

September 30 – Austin, Texas
(Setlist unknown)

Upcoming events:

October 1 – Robert Plant will perform in Austin, Texas.
October 9 – The official Led Zeppelin photo book will be released and free posters will stop being given out for orders placed after this date.
October 11 – The “Evenings With Led Zeppelin” book will be released.
October 16 – “Bring it on Home,” a new biography of Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, will be released.
October 25 – Robert Plant will perform in Cardiff, Wales.
October 26 – Robert Plant will perform in London, UK.
October 28 – Robert Plant will perform in Dublin, Ireland.
November 20 – The Japanese edition of the official Led Zeppelin photo book will be released.
November 29 – “Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass”, which features an interview with John Paul Jones, will be released.

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

Led Zeppelin News Website: Check out the Led Zeppelin news website at

http://ledzepnews.com/

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Chas Hodges, Marty Balin, Otis Rush and Geoff Emerick RIP:

It was very  sad to hear the passing of Chas Hodges of Chas & Dave fame, Marty Balin founder member of Jefferson Airplane, the blues legend Otis Rush and Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick  RIP

……………………………………

John Lennon at 78 – The Beatles In Bedford: Bedford Beer Festival: 

Sunday is  John Lennon’s 78th birthday.

The events of 38 years ago surrounding his comeback album Double Fantasy and his shocking death in December are intrinsically linked for me with the tragic events going inside the Zep camp this time back in 1980.
I can vividly remember Simon Bates airing the Starting Over single and there was a real optimism about his return to recording. I purchased the album in the Kings Road in November after a visit to the Swan Song offices. That optimism (as with the Zep events) turned to agony on the morning of December 9th when the news broke here that John Lennon had been shot dead in new York.

I’ve recently been playing a lot of Beatles in preparation for the forthcoming White album 50th anniversary edition – namely their first four albums -Please, Please Me, With The Beatles , A Hard Days Night and Beatles For Sale. .

beatles
It’s a stark reminder of the sheer exuberant joy of his rasping vocal in those formative years. Performances such as Please Me, Eight Days a Week etc  are ample evidence of his genius –  John Lennon is right up there  in my top five vocalist of all time. His post Beatle output has it’s moments for sure but what he achieved in those short eight years between 1962 and 1969 is awe inspiring. Hearing those innocent upbeat early Beatles tunes has been a tonic this past week.

More Beatles:

56 years ago this week – on October 5 1962 , The Beatles first single Love Me Do was released.

A couple of months later – on the night of December 13,  The Beatles performed at the Corn Exchange venue in Bedford. They were a replacement for Joe Brown and were supported by Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor.

I would have loved to have been at that show – my debut to live music would occur two years later around the corner at the Granada Cinema with the arrival of The Dave Clark Five. Heady days indeed for this then 7 year old…

The Corn Exchange venue is still going strong and will be the destination for many a real ale beer drinker in the next few days as the 41st Bedford Beer Festival tales place.

I’ll be popping in as I usually do over the three days at some point – in fact I was there last night  – and had a pause for thought to look around the hall and recall when the fledgling Beatles made that visit back in 1962.

DL Diary Blog Update: 

Well that was some few days – as all mentioned above, it was fantastic to finally meet Mike Tremaglio. Another of many highlights of the last few days is when Mike handed over a present for me – a copy of  Going To California -the Trademark of Quality Years double album – what a gem! Many thanks Mike and for everything else he has done to make this book such an incredible piece of work.

As previously documented, there have been many trials and tribulations bringing the Evenings With Led Zeppelin  book to fruition – not least the frustration of not having books in the country last week when we really needed them. For several reason, it’s been a somewhat bittersweet experience all round – as Mike knows only too well..but that will not take away the immense pride we feel in completing the book.

Suddenly it’s October and there’s a lot to do -with the promotion of the Evenings With book ongoing and TBL 44 text and design to pick back up on …so on it goes…

And finally…

My advance copy (well as advance as it can be – being somewhat overdue ) of the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book co –authored with Mike Tremaglio and brilliantly designed by Mick Lowe, is in the house…or to be more precise the public house where we toasted that fact tonight – this seat in our local The Fox And Hounds (the pub is justifiably in the credits of the book) is something of a second TBL office. In fact, when in need of refreshment and quiet inspiration, this is where many an hour has been spent checking the text of this book as it evolved over the past five years…

The good lady Janet’s verdict on anything I write is always honest and objective and usually correct…therefore her assessment that every Led Zeppelin fan will love this book and needs to own it is an opinion I value highly – and looking over the 576 pages, one I certainly agree with … this is a book as a Led Zeppelin fan, I would certainly want to read again and again – and that is exactly why Mike Tremaglio and myself spent years perfecting it…it’s coming your way soon…let me know what you think..

Dave Lewis –  October 4, 2018

Until next time, have a great weekend

Website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis

with thanks to Gary Foy, Mike Tremaglio and James Cook

Follow TBL/DL on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/tightbutloose.loose

The TBL/DL Facebook page has regular updates and photos – be sure to check it out

YouTube clip: Interview with Dave Lewis and Mike Tremaglio: 

 

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8 Comments »

  • Paul Gross said:

    Hi Dave,

    Very enjoyable clip of you and Mike at The Atlas!
    Congrats to you both and thanks for this treasure!

    All the best wishes.

  • Sowler (Richard) Bedford said:

    Really interesting afternoon (early evening) out on Sunday.
    I arrived late so missed Luis Rey. Mark Blake section was very interesting, provided a balanced and insightful view of the late Peter Grant, think the book would make interesting reading.
    Phil’s recollections of recording escapades was also very interesting. I thought his O7 was great by the way .. lots of bottom end. Makes you think there are probably many more zeppelin recordings out there carried out by people learning the trade that will never see the light of day, and probably shouldn’t (like my recording of Robert Plant in Liverpool circa 2004).
    It was great to meet Julian (sorry for responding to the website link you offered me by saying I don’t need any more music downloads), Hiroshi, Eddie Edwards and your good self.
    I personally don’t think you need as many guest speakers etc to make the event, it would be just as worthwhile for people with similar interests to just get together over a few drinks (4.90 a pint! It’s been a long time since I’ve been boozing in that there London.) Maybe see you next year.

  • Ian D said:

    What a Sunday it was, thanks for all your work in putting on a great event, the pub remains the same…

    One more Beatle Bedford piece of trivia. The final time the group played the town, on 12 March 63 at the much lamented Granada, it was as a trio, John was down with a heavy cold.

  • Rick Key said:

    Looking forward to the book Dave, now you need to conquer America with a book signing tour along with mini Zep 50ths across the major US cities (including Denver CO where it all started for Zep in the US).

  • Ed- Washington said:

    Would’ve enjoyed the Atlas event. Mr. Tremaglio sounds to me like he has a Chicago accent and not a Boston accent. Do I have that right?

  • Buford said:

    Evening Dave,

    Great update as usual, and looking forward to ordering the new book which sounds like a treasure trove of information for all fans.

    Regarding the book, have copies been made available to any of the band members? Given how this chronicles a significant part of their working lives I wondered if they have shown any interest?

    Hopefully the 50th anniversary generates much interest in all of the fantastic work you continue to do in keeping their legacy alive.

    All the best

  • Dave Lewis (author) said:

    Thanks Ian!

  • Ian Avey said:

    It was a fantastic day, and thanks Dave for the hard work of all involved. The ‘Evenings with Led Zeppelin’ book looked truly amazing, and I can’t wait to get a copy.
    The pictures of the venues is a great touch, and the first date I checked was to see if there was a picture of the ‘Cooks Ferry’ inn from my home town of Edmonton when they played there in March 1969. Thanks for a great day!

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