THE CAT CLUB PRESENTS LED ZEPPELIN IV CLASSIC VINYL ALBUM EVENT /LZ NEWS/TBL ARCHIVE – LED ZEP IV – GOALDIGGERS AND MM AWARDS 1979/EVENINGS WITH NOW ON US AMAZON/VIP VICTORIA RECORD FAIR/ DL DIARY BLOG UPDATE
The Cat Club Presents a Classic Vinyl Album Led Zeppelin IV Event: Tap & Barrell,Pontefract:
Tomorrow night (November 28) I will be appearing at The Cat Club Classic Vinyl Album night presenting Led Zeppelin IV at the Tap & Barrel in Pontefract.
The event is already sold out I look forward to meeting all those in attendance. Many thanks to Kevin Reynolds and Chris Madden for their help and assistance.
Here’s the info:
We here at The CAT Club are delighted to welcome one of the leading authorities on all things Led Zeppelin.
DAVE LEWIS founded the Zeppelin magazine, TIGHT BUT LOOSE, thirty nine years ago. Dave has seen it grow from a do it yourself hand-out to the globally respected feature that is a must for all fans of the band and their individual members. He’s also written critically acclaimed books including his latest tome EVENINGS WITH LED ZEPPELIN: The Complete Concert Chronicle 1968-1980 (written with Mike Tremaglio).
The album of choice is one of the greatest rock albums of all time, the sublime LED ZEPPELIN IV.
More details:
https://www.tappontefract.uk/the-cat-club/
I’ve been preparing for the event in the last few days and listening to the album again to get right in the zone. As a complete work, Led Zeppelin IV is perhaps their most focused statement. It’s the result of a band on a quest for absolute musical freedom…and boy did they find it…
Full report next time.
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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.
Jimmy Page
- In last week’s email, we mentioned a mysterious photo of Jimmy Page recording in Abbey Road Studios with his seventies live rig. This week, the mystery was solved: Page was recording a video for a new exhibition which will be held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York next year.
Robert Plant
- On Friday night, Robert Plant played a set of three Elvis Presley covers at a surprise birthday party for his ex wife Maureen. See videos of all the performances in our article here.
- Paul Weller said in a recent interview that he’s spoken to Robert Plant about recording together. It doesn’t sound like it’s about to happen any time soon, though.
Upcoming events:
November 29 – “Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass”, which features an interview with John Paul Jones, will be released.
January 2019 – The four new models of Jimmy Page’s recreated Fender Dragon Telecaster will be revealed.
January 31, 2019 – The UK Americana Awards will be held in London. Robert Plant has been nominated for artist of the year.
February 24, 2019 – The Tate Britain’s Edward Burne-Jones exhibition, which features two tapestries owned by Jimmy Page, closes.
April 8, 2019 – The “Play It Loud: Instruments Of Rock And Roll” exhibition, featuring Led Zeppelin items, will open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
September 20-21, 2019 – The 2019 John Bonham memorial concert is scheduled to be held in Redditch.
November 2019 – The “Play It Loud: Instruments Of Rock And Roll” exhibition will move to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
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
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TBL Archive Special:
Led Zeppelin IV – 47 years gone…
To mark the 47th anniversary of the release of Led Zeppelin IV here’s a TBL archive feature – first compiled for TBL issue 15 though not used at the time – it eventually appeared in the my Celebration II – The Tight But Loose Files book.
The Making Of Led Zepplin IV:
The four symbols that would form the album title were first introduced to the rock media via a series of teaser press ads in the weeks leading to the album’s release, each depicting a particular symbol alongside a previous Zep album sleeve. When the album was released, the wordless title caused much confusion. It appeared in the press under various names including The New Led Zeppelin album, Led Zeppelin IV, Four Symbols, Runes and even Zoso; though some music papers did make the effort to reproduce the actual symbols themselves.
The band’s hectic schedule of that year continued unabated. In August they were back in America for their seventh US tour. Page was in buoyant mood and playing brilliantly. “Once the album was completed and mixed I knew it was really good,” he said. “We actually went on the road in America before the manufacturing process was completed and somebody at Atlantic Records said, ‘This is professional suicide for a band to tour without an album.’ In retrospect that is rather amusing!”
The new material was already making an impact, and Page still recalls with pride the reaction they got to Stairway when they performed it at the Los Angeles Forum for the first time. “We played Stairway’ at the Forum before the album was out and around a third of the audience stood up and gave us a standing ovation. It was then that I thought ‘actually this may be a better number than I’d imagined’.”
Equally successful was a three-city, five-concert first visit to Japan. Here they performed some of the most enjoyable concerts of their career – away from the glare of the press and the intensity of America, they were able to stretch out and extend their set list, throwing in off-the-cuff versions of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Cliff Richards’ Bachelor Boy and The Beatles’ Please Please Me and the only logged love performance of Zep III;s Friends. It’s fair to say there were now two distinct entities to the group – the tight recorded unit as found on record and the improvisational and spontaneous live act that would go on to delight audiences around the globe.
After a short break, to round off a very productive year, Peter Grant booked a 16-date UK tour that nicely coincided with the eventual release of their long delayed, long awaited fourth album. The tour kicked off in Newcastle on 11 November and took in two memorable nights at London’s Wembley Empire Pool.
Despite the delays and the negative reaction to the previous album, it was clear that the band’s popularity had not declined at all. Demand for tickets was overwhelming. All 9,000 seats for their 20 November Empire Pool show sold out in under an hour. A second was added and they could have easily slotted in a third had their schedule allowed it.
Their stage presentation now featured each of their four symbols – on Bonham’s bass drum Jonesy’s organ, Jimmy’s speaker cabinets, and Plant’s feather symbol adorning the PA. Page also took to wearing a specially knitted jumper depicting his Zoso symbol. The set list now included Rock And Roll in the main set (now under its correct title), alongside Black Dog, Stairway and Going To California.
Talking about the album to Chris Welch of Melody Maker, Bonzo was hugely enthusiastic: “My personal view is that it’s the best thing we’ve ever done. It’s the next stage we were at the time of recording. The playing is some of the best we have done and Jimmy is like… mint!”
The culmination of the whole year’s efforts were the two significant five-hour shows in London’s Empire Pool on 20 and 21 November – the largest indoor UK audiences they had played to at that point. Dubbed Electric Magic, they were supported by Maggie Bell’s Stone The Crows plus Bronco on Saturday (whose line-up included future Plant solo era guitarist Robbie Blunt and original Band Of Joy member Kevyn Gammond), and Home on Sunday. Also, on both nights, Grant had booked some novelty circus acts, including performing pigs and plate spinners. The pigs – with huge ruffs around their necks – didn’t really cut it; indeed, their only real contribution was an unpleasant smell in the stage area. Thankfully Zeppelin fared better.
‘’It was an amazing couple of shows’’ recalls Maggie Bell, lead singer of Stone The Crows (co-managed by Peter Grant). ‘’ They were the biggest dates we had played and we went down a storm. Those were great shows for us and it was at a point where we were really taking off, and obviously it was a privilege to share the stage with them all.’’
Sadly, Crows guitarist Leslie Harvey died the following May in an electrocution accident at a gig in Swansea. Maggie would later sign to Zep’s Swan Song label.
Roy Hollingworth Of Melody Maker was unstinting in his praise for the Wembley Saturday show: “This was an English band playing like crazy and enjoying every minute of it. They played just about everything they’ve ever written. Nothing – just nothing was spared. This was no job. This was no gig. It was an event for all.”
A memorable poster was produced for the event and sold for 30p – it now changes hands for over £1,000 on the collectors market – and the newly established Virgin Records set up stalls to sell the just-released fourth album. Here and around the country, much to Atlantic’s relief, fans had no trouble identifying the nameless artwork of the new record as it sailed to the number one album spot.
After the disappointing press reaction to their third album, Led Zeppelin IV was very well received. Even Rolling Stone, never a great supporter of the band’s work, relented. The review by Lenny Kaye, then would be rock journalist and future Patti Smith guitarist, was surprisingly positive. “Out of eight cuts,” wrote Kaye, “there isn’t one that steps on another’s toes, that tries to do too much at once. And [there are] a couple of songs that when all is said and done, will probably be right up there in the gold-starred hierarchy of put ’em on and play ’em again. Describing one of those tracks, When the Levee Breaks, Kaye added “Led Zep have had a lot of imitators over the past few years, but it takes cuts like this to show that most of them have only picked up the style, lacking any real knowledge of the meat underneath.”
Led Zeppelin IV climbed to the number one spot on the UK chart on 4 December 1971, where it stayed for two weeks before being dislodged by Electric Warrior by T Rex… it went on to spend 61 consecutive weeks on the chart.
It was a similar story in America, though it was with some irony that Carole King’s multi-million selling soft rock album Tapestry kept it from reaching number one.
Not that it really mattered – the airplay generated by Stairway To Heaven ensured the album remained in the Billboard top forty album chart for the next six months. Peter Grant steadfastly refused to issue the track as a single, knowing that restricting its availability to the LP alone would inevitably add to its sales.
So from the adversity of the Led Zeppelin III backlash, Zeppelin triumphed.
Some four decades on its influence is still paramount, not least with the three ex-members. Over the years, the three ex-members have repeatedly retuned to the songs. Page and Plant attempted an ambitious remake of The Battle Of Evermore with Indian singer Najma Akhtar on their initial MTV Unledded reunion and also performed versions of When The Levee Breaks and Four Sticks. Robert Plant was still regularly performing Black Dog, Rock And Roll, and Misty Mountain Hop on his Band of Joy tour this year – the latter was also revived when Page linked up for his much acclaimed tour with The Black Crowes. On his solo tours, John Paul Jones has performed instrumental versions of Black Dog and When The Levee Breaks.
As a complete work, Led Zeppelin IV remains their most focused statement.
It’s the product of a band on a quest for absolute musical freedom. Working in an environment that encouraged the development of their ability to blend acoustic and electric influences within a rock framework – something Led Zeppelin did more successfully than any other act before or since.
The eight cuts possess an economy and subtly that defines their sound. From Page’s unimpeachable riffs, through Jones’ musical invention, Plant’s clarity of vocal to that titanic John Bonham drum sound – Led Zeppelin IV still emits a freshness that belies its age.
Dave Lewis -November 27,2018.
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TBL Archive Special 2:
Wembley Goaldiggers Football – November 25, 1979 – 39 years gone…
This may not be in with a shout of greatest sports pic in the world ever, but it’s a genuine all action reminder of a memorable afternoon of 39 years ago this week.
My old trusty Olympus trip just about captured the moment R. Plant rounded the advancing goalkeeper Martin Day (sorry West Ham fans!) to net a rather fine goal in his teams 3-1 win over LBC Radio. The occasion was the Annual Sun/Goaldiggers five a side football tournament at Wembley Arena. The date was Sunday November 25th 1979.
Robert was on great post Knebworth form that day. My good friend Tom Locke and I arrived in the early afternoon. The backstage gate was surrounded by fans eager to get a look at the celebrities of the day. The soccer superstars George Best, Bobby Moore, Stan Bowles etc mixing with the likes of actor Patrick Mower, Jasper Carrott and various members of ELO, Darts and Uriah Heep etc who were making up the teams. In the drizzling rain we eyed Robert’s Cherokee jeep as it drove around the car park and we enthusiastically greeted him. ‘’Jump in the back ‘’ said the singer in the greatest band in the world. Well it’s not an offer we could refuse and it was raining! So we clambered aboard, anxious not to put muddy footprints all over the seats.
Off we swept through the gates, passed the awaiting throng into the backstage area. The rest of the afternoon was a delight. We watched Robert do his stuff on the pitch -his team Power Plant with Ron Atkinson, singer Jess Conrad, the late Dave Dee and Jasper Carrott reached the semi finals.
He chatted with Britt Ekland, and was cheered on by various Swan Song personal who revealed to me Zep had scooped seven awards in the Melody Maker Poll due to be revealed the next Wednesday. Robert wore a tasty Knebworth yellow and black T shirt as worn by the video crew. He also wrote out a very nice insert message to go in the next TBL and took receipt of a fetching pair of blue and yellow Nike trainers (which spurred a mental note to self: get down to the local sports shop and invest in Nike trainers soon as!). Some off the cuff chat revealed his pride for the success of Knebworth and In Through The Out Door (‘’It’s all there in the end’’) and plans ahead (‘’We need to keep working now’’).
When signing autographs one wag shouted out ‘’When yer gonna play Manchester!?’’ Robert replied ‘’I want to play Manchester but it ain’t up to me mate!’’
And then he was off back to the Midlands, box of trainers in hand ready to try them out at the next Wednesday’s Melody Maker Poll Awards.
I’ve have had worse afternoons! I found that pic and a few others from the occasion in the loft recently. Great days from a time when I literally lived and breathed Led Zeppelin –with a bit of W.H.Smith retail frenzy, a few beers and a Wallbanger football match in between.
DL
TBL Archive Special 3:
Melody Maker Poll Awards: November 28, 1979 – 39 years gone…
39 years ago on a late cold November afternoon in 1979, I walked into the plush surroundings of the Waldorf Hotel in London and ordered a vodka and lime at the bar just behind Richard Cole who was organising drinks for three quarters of Led Zeppelin.
The occasion was the annual Melody Maker Poll Awards for which Peter Grant had rounded up Robert, Bonzo and Jonesy to accept a remarkable seven awards. Richard Cole and assorted roadies and tech guys and Swan Song personel were in attendance.
I was there reporting it all for what would become Tight But Loose issue number 4. Some of the text of that report (unbeknown to me) would years later be suitably exaggerated in The Hammer Of The Gods book.
I remember spotting Robert wearing the pair of bright yellow and blue Nike trainers he’d acquired at the Wembley Goal Diggers soccer tournament the previous Sunday which I’d been along to watch. I made a mental note to seek out a similar pair on my return to Bedford – they were my style gurus as well back then and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one though I drew the line at investing in a dragon suit!
There was an air of supreme confidence amongst the Zep camp that afternoon – their delight in scooping so many awards in those post punk days could be clearly seen. It really did feel like ‘The 1980’s Part One’ was ready to usher in a new exciting era for us all. The photo here with John Paul Jones inspires a host of memories from that early era of the TBL magazine.
It was a fantastic thrill to be in their company that November afternoon way back – the full story can be found in the Zep On the Town chapter in the Knebworth book.
DL
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Last few days on this offer…
Black Friday offer for one week only – at a special discounted price
Five Glorious Nights – Led Zeppelin at Earls Court May 1975- compiled by Dave Lewis :
The superbly presented unique visual record of Led Zeppelin in their absolute prime.
30 x 30 album size de-luxe hardback book
288 pages – including approximately 62 colour photos, 155 black & white photos – 229 in all – plus 165 colour memorabilia images – limited run of 1,000 only
If you have yet to invest – now is the time!
A perfect gift for Christmas
Wow! The book is magnificent! Beautifully crafted in every way. Nicky Horne
I am stunned by the quality It’s absolutely awesome. Pictures and layout just great. I can’t say enough good things about it – very well done. Chris Maley
Order at this link:
http://www.rufuspublications.com/rufusbooks/Led-Zeppelin/Led-Zeppelin-Earls-Court
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Evenings With Led Zeppelin by Dave Lewis and Mike Tremaglio – latest news:
Last Sunday morning I recorded a great interview about the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book on the phone with Jon Kirkman which will air on Classic Rock Radio in a couple of weeks. Jon was highly complimentary of the book and thanks to his thorough Zep knowledge, the interview really flowed well – Thanks mate!
Evenings With Led Zeppelin by Dave Lewis and Mike Tremaglio
NOW ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE US PRE ORDER LINKS!
The book is at long last on pre order links in the US for both Amazon and Barnes & Noble – US publication date is December 6,2018.
Here’s the pre order links:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/evenings-with-led-zeppelin-dave-lewis/1128973527?ean=9781783057016
We think we have created something special with this book but don’t just take our word for it….
Satisfied readers….
‘’This book is an utter triumph, a vast pool of knowledge and amongst the finest publications on ANY band, let alone those myriad of tomes about Led Zeppelin. Very few books are completely essential. This is…’’
Andy Adams – Celebration Days To Be a Rock blog
‘’Not only the definitive reference book on Led Zeppelin but also one of the most entertaining.’’
Chris Charlesworth – Just backdated blog
‘’The colour photos, the layout, and the comprehensive detail is beyond impressive. I can see why this has taken years to produce.- the amount of research that has gone into it is staggering.
Stephen Humphries – US journalist
Now that’s what I call a book. Dave Lewis & Mike Tremaglio’s extremely hefty new tome Evenings With Led Zeppelin: The Complete Concert Chronology is here. Meticulously, lovingly compiled, it revisits very date and each set-list over more than 500 appearances, from 1968 to 1980, along with adverts, posters, tickets, photos, historical reviews and press reaction of the era. It’s a stunning piece of work’’.
Dave Ling – Classic Rock
For me, it’s a Desert Island book choice for sure. All in all, a magnificent book, clearly lovingly put together and with a wealth of research to support the content. The selected illustrations help to make it a visual joy too, clearly carefully chosen to support the copious text. This wonderful tome will surely become one of the literary linchpins when it comes to the history of Led Zeppelin as it appears to offer both historical ‘meat’ for researchers alongside a barrel full of useful information for fans. 10/10 is an easy score for this lovely book!
Paul Sheppard – TBL contributor and Led Zeppelin expert
‘’This book is a monument to painstaking research. One of the many great joys of this book is looking at a tour, reading the entry and press reviews, and then being inspired to dig out the recording and listen to it.’’
Julian Walker – Underground Uprising website
Order via TBL website to receive a copy personally signed by co -author Dave Lewis
A signed book is a great Christmas gift… ordering link below:
http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/evenings-with-led-zeppelin-the-complete-concert-chronicle-book/
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VIP Victoria Record Fair this Saturday:
UK’s BIGGEST RECORD FAIR – SATURDAY DECEMBER 1st
I am aiming to be in attendance on Saturday – if you are attending and want to invest in the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book I can arrange to bring a copy along – let me know! Send an email to me at:
Here’s all the details:
Saturday December 1st:
LONDON VICTORIA
Horticultural Halls, 80 Vincent Square, Victoria, SW1P 2PB.
London’s very own Vinyl Fest. – the biggest and busiest Record Fair in the
UK.
Admission 12 noon £5. Early entry £10 at 10am. Doors close 5pm.
More info
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DL Diary Blog Update:
Friday treats at the Vinyl Barn – at the always excellent Vinyl Barn last Friday –a couple of beauties – as a collector of John F Kennedy speech albums I was well pleased to find one I haven’t got -The Presidential Years (1960 -1963) plus the 1966 Crispian St. Peters album Follow Me mono Decca label pressing with Jimmy Page credited –result! Thanks Darren.
Mark Harrison sent over some superb clips of the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening performance he attended with Brian Knapp and Larry Bergmann jr. while out in Washington visiting Brian. Here’s a great pic of Brian with Mark.
Fantastic to view that clip of Robert Plant doing an Elvis at Maureen’s Birthday party -see YouTube clip below.
Massively busy in the last few days working on latest feature with Mike T and preparing the TBL schedule for next year -plus some intensive prep for the Cat Club Led Zeppelin IV Classic Vinyl Album event tomorrow night.
I did get out to the Fox to watch Saturday’s Spurs v Chelsea match and what a result that was -and that Son goal was something special. |Here’s hoping the trend can continue in the Champions League encounter with Inter Milan tomorrow tonight and the trip to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. Right, I’m off to get packed for my trip up to Pontefract – full report next time…
Dave Lewis – November 27 , 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
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https://www.facebook.com/tightbutloose.loose
The TBL/DL Facebook page has regular updates and photos – be sure to check it out
YouTube clip:
The Hayriders with added bonus of Robert Plant:
@ Bill – I’d been expecting more than the book (very good though it is)
Dave and regular readers, Am I the only one who perhaps wrongly assumed that there’d be product out this holiday season in this the 50th anniversary year? Full EC? Full Knebworth79? Full Japan? Full Seattle?
Hiroshi many thanks for your comments
Dave,
Finally got hold of my copy of Evenings With Led Zeppelin. Massive and heavy as lead! Another epic work from you (and collaborator Mike Tremaglio this time around). At this late timing, it doesn’t need one more praise from me, the book has already been awash with compliments from the group’s fans and enthusiasts, and deservedly so.
Here, let me submit a few things I noticed through my initial quick browse.
One notable overlooked information I spotted in the book is the complete Whole Lotta Love medley from the 1971 Osaka first night (Sept. 28), following the pattern of Luis Rey’s Remastered 50th Anniversary Edition of The Led Zeppelin Tape Documentary that was published a few months earlier. Little did I know it would be repeated in the brand new book co-authored by none other than Dave Lewis.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — along with the ever so famous one from the 1971 Tokyo first night, this is their longest-ever Whole Lotta Love medley unfolded on stage (clocking in over 36 mins), which alone deserves a special mention. The new audio source that revealed this historic fact was unearthed in the Fall 2016. Given that it has been around for over two years, this is a major neglect the book suffers from.
I would go further that the generally apathetical responses among the fans, including the hardcore, to this significant discovery of recent years, when in these days a chance of any new source material to surface is so slim and few and far between, is perplexing to say the least. Is there an international conspiracy to brainwash the Zep fan community into thinking that it didn’t happen?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2QMRyD6uvjg
Also, the poor Phil Carson being made fun of by the group on stage during the encore of the evening, directly quoted from Richard Cole’s book, Stairway To Heaven — that didn’t happen. Originally from the Osaka area, I used to bump into a number of people who had attended the group’s Osaka shows, and nobody remembered such an incident. The audience recording of the show proves it more than anything else — finishing C’mon Everybody with no interruption whatsoever, Phil Carson and Clive Coulson are triumphantly called out by Robert. I assume Richard mixed it up with another occasion (provided that it happened at all) unless he made it up.
And, on a lighter note…I like the girl sitting on the front seat pictured on the cover — a time traveler who is sending a message to her friend in the future from her futuristic smart phone, “Right now I’m watching Led Zeppelin’s legendary four and a half-hour show here at the Boston Tea Party! Listen to this!”
Hopefully Robert will be touring soon again. Really need him to come to Philadelphia. Please let me know if you hear anything. Thanks so much.
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Tight But Loose Website edited by Dave Lewis and Gary Foy.
Tight But Loose Magazine created by Dave Lewis 1978. TBL/Web launched by Dave Linwood 1995. TBL logo by Mike Warry.
All written material and photographs are copyright © Tight But Loose. Not to be reproduced without prior permission.
Tight But Loose welcomes input / info / tour reports / CD reviews / CDR’s & Tapes on any Zep related topic past and present.
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