Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980 – 36 years Gone.

Frankfurt Festhalle – It was 36 years ago today…

Flashback to the Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany – on the evening of June 30th, 1980 around 8pm:

I am in the confines of the grand Festhalle venue in the heart of Frankfurt and I am standing no more than ten feet away from the four members of Led Zeppelin. The occasion is the tenth gig on the current tour of the band who have reigned supreme as the world’s greatest live rock attraction for much of the past decade. However the 1980s are upon us, and many things have happened since Led Zeppelin undertook their last full scale tour some three years ago.

The musical landscape they one stood over like a colossus, has changed radically. The onset of punk rock and new wave has challenged the status quo of the mega-bands – the so called dinosaur acts.
In fact, Robert Plant will make reference to the dinosaur tag on more than one occasion on this tour. Aside from the new wave of bands who rely on sharp, incisive three minute blasts of power pop, a new movement of rock outfits, spawned on the hard and heavy riffs that powered Zeppelin to the top, are in the wings ready to take dislodge their crown.
Within the next twelve months, the likes of Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head, etc., will begin to dominate the music press in a similar manner in which Zeppelin were once courted, ushering in a movement that will be termed ‘’The new wave of British heavy metal.’’

Led Zeppelin are performing in Europe in an attempt to thwart such challenges and re-establish themselves as a working band. That aforementioned last tour, a gargantuous trek across America in the summer of 1977, attracted a combined audience of nearly one million. Last August over 200,000 came to pay homage to them over two Saturday gigs at Knebworth.
Things, though, have moved on considerably, even since then. This tour has garnered little publicity back home, and though a hardcore of UK followers have made the trip over, by their standard this is a very low key affair.

Tonight, though, they are playing one of the larger venues on the tour. The 13,500 capacity Festhalle . Ten years ago, Zeppelin became the first band ever to play this venue and their return is much anticipated by the German audience. Tonight’s crowd is also boosted by the presence of a number of US servicemen based at the nearby US Army base where Elvis Presley did some of his time for Uncle Sam way back when.

Understandably, the four members look a little apprehensive as they mill around the short stairway that will soon usher them on to the stage. This is the second show of the tour that my friend Tom and I are taking in. Twelve days ago, we witnessed their vibrant second night in Cologne. Since then the tour has not been without it’s problems. Last Friday, John Bonham collapsed on stage in Nuremberg after just 16 minutes and the show was cancelled.
When we met with security man Dave Moulder earlier in the day, he was keen to play down the events saying John had merely suffered from nervous exhaustion. A show in Zurich last night appears to have gone well. The heavily bearded drummer seems his boisterous self as he banters with Robert Plant. Plant is again wearing the green cap sleeve top and jeans attire that has been his ever present uniform for the tour. He too looks upbeat, if a little bit nervous. John Paul Jones, with suave short hair and smart shirt, is interacting with them. Jimmy Page is dressed in a white suit with a green top and matching green sneakers. He looks slightly sweaty, but is smiling warmly as the imposing frame of manager Peter Grant points out the all important presence of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun – the man who has guided their career at the label from the very beginning.

The lights are dimmed, and road manager Phil Carlo shines a torch through the dark and leads them up to the stage. Bonzo climbs the rostrum to the drums, Jonesy turns right where his tech assistant Andy Ledbetter straps on the Alembic bass, and Jimmy Page walks onto the stage to the left, followed by Robert Plant.

As they walk into the glare of the spotlights, those assembled in the Frankfurt Festhalle finally view all four members of Led Zeppelin and the place erupts.

Guitar tech Ray Thomas straps on the Gibson and Jimmy moves to the effects pedals. A few snare shots and bass shuffles from John Bonham is the signal for the guitarist to lean back and exhort a fierce moaning wail from the Gibson. Robert stakes a stance to his immediate right –the spotlights pick out the pair in regal splendour  and then BLAM!

They launch into Train Kept A Rollin’, the old Johnny Burnette barnstormer The Yardbirds used in their heyday, and indeed Zep played on their first US tours. Now it is being revived to kick start what will be two hours of full-on power and excitement.

Tom and I are extremely fortunate to be watching all this action unfold just a few mere feet from the stage. As the band begin their ascent to the stage, Peter Grant acknowledges us and nods approvingly as Dave Moulder ushers us to the side of the stage. In effect, we have been allowed into their tight-knit inner sanctum.

Watching Led Zeppelin live on stage from this ultimate vantage point is, unsurprisingly, an astonishing experience and one that we will repeat in Mannheim and Munich later in the week.

To be continued…

Extract from the book Led Zeppelin Feather In The Wind – Over Europe 1980

All this is fully chronicled in my book Feather In the Wind- Led Zeppelin Over Europe -the book is readily available. Here’s the link to invest in the definitive account of the tour at a bargain price – yet more Led Zep summer 2016 reading.

It’s available at this link:

LED ZEPPELIN FEATHER IN THE WIND – OVER EUROPE 1980 40TH ANNIVERSARY REPACKAGE -NOW SOLD OUT DO NOT ORDER

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Stairway To Heaven Court Case:

The official statements…

“At Warner Music Group, supporting our artists and protecting their creative freedom is paramount. We are pleased that the jury found in favor of Led Zeppelin, re-affirming the true origins of ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Led Zeppelin is one of the greatest bands in history, and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are peerless songwriters who created many of rock’s most influential and enduring songs.” – Warner Group Music

“We are grateful for the jury’s conscientious service and pleased that it has ruled in our favor, putting to rest questions about the origins of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and confirming what we have known for 45 years. We appreciate our fans’ support, and look forward to putting this legal matter behind us.” – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant

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Led Zeppelin News Update:

The LZ News Site will have a full round up of the Stairway To Heaven court case on their site soon. James Cook’s coverage of the case has been incredibly detailed. Be sure to check out the LZ news site at: https://www.facebook.com/ledzepnews/

The Led Zeppelin News email goes out every week. To receive it each week sign up here: https://t.co/yp9fGJMSGH

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Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters on tour:

Robert and the SSS are back on the road in Europe this month. We welcome any feedback/set lists/pics etc to the usual email davelewis.tbl1@ntlworld.com or the Dave Lewis/ TBL Facebook page.

Here’s the line up:

July 1 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform at the Rock Werchter music festival in Belgium.
July 2 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform at the Beauregard Music Festival in France.
July 4 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform at Le festival des Nuits d’Istres in France.
July 7 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform at the NOS Alive Music Festival in Portugal.
July 14 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform at Festival Noches del Botánico in Spain.
July 20 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform at the Street Music Art Festival in Italy.
July 22 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform in Italy.
July 24 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform in Italy.
July 27 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform in the Czech Republic.
July 28 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform in Austria.
July 30 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform in Croatia.
August 2 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform in Germany.
August 4/5/6/7 – Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters will perform at the Wilderness Festival in the UK.

Scotty Moore 1931 – 2016

Very sad to hear the passing of the legendary guitarist Scotty Moore – the first guitar hero and massive influence on the young Jimmy Page and so many others. See YouTube clips below.

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TBL 1977 Retro Archive: A week for Badgeholders – June 1977: Part 2

To commemorate those epic six Los Angeles Forum shows of June 1977 of 39 years ago this week, here is the second part of a lengthy overview of the 1977 tour that first appeared in TBL issue 9. The pre-amble sets the scene on the state of play inside Led Zeppelin at the time and leads on to a summary of three of those June performances as heard via the legendary Listen To This Eddie bootleg plus the two Last LA Forum sets issued back in the mid 90s.

Thanks to the late Mike Millard’s superb audience tapes, we can hear lasting evidence of the sheer excitement of the 1977 Led Zeppelin, capturing a week where the sense of on the road fun was never more evident. Read this…and get those 1977 CD remnants on your player…..

TBL 1977 Retro Archive:

….But the LA story doesn’t end there. By the wonder of more silver rarities, this time via two double packages on the Badge holder/Great Dane Italian label, we can continue the progress of the tour and enjoy two more nights at the Inglewood California venue. Allegedly taped by the same guys that did the opening night, ‘The Last LA Forum 2 Days’ contains similar quality audience tapes of the complete performance on June 25 and 74 minutes of the last ever LA Forum show on June 27 – spread over a pair of double disc sets with similar grey graphics, reproducing the No Split In Zepp’ November ’77 NME Jimmy Page interview headline.

So once again we can imagine we’re front row centre as Page stalks the stage in white dragon suit, firing out the chords that will become ‘The Song Remains The Same’. Fresh from a day off and having survived a Keith Moon encore three days previously, the whole band sound on a crest of a touring wave. In general, this fourth night at the Forum is every bit as exciting as the ‘Eddie’ set and the fact that this particular gig contains three additional songs not performed on the opening night is the veritable icing on the cake. So by the time they have romped through the urgent ‘Song Remains’ and a muscular ‘Sick Again’ and Plant has observed that “It’s Saturday night” . . and driven the band through a tough and cooking ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ (and, yes, Bonzo is still all there . . .) we can enjoy the first of the set alternatives. In place of ‘Over The Hills’ the boys opt for ‘In My Time Of Dying’. Not that this is any old version of ‘In My Time Of Dying’. It opens perfunctorily enough but it’s soon clear that, as Luis Rey observed in his log, Page is definitely on! So much so that when Plant reaches the “Oh My Jesus” refrain and begins a completely spontaneous version of ‘Rip It Up’ (“Well it’s Saturday night and I just got paid” . . .) Page is immediately with him backed by Bonzo and Jonesy as they skit around this 50s fun for a few seconds before returning to the original theme. Then Robert throws in lines from both ‘You Shook Me’ and Let That Boy Boogie’ (“So many roads”) at the finale. Yes, it’s one of those nights.

“Tonight is the annual general meeting of the LA Badge holders”, Plant tells the audience, sustaining the in-joke theme of the famous ‘For Badge holders Only’ June 23 LA concert. This was a sketch whereby Robert referred to the tour entourage as being privileged badge holders – no doubt equipped with Led Zeppelin United States of America 1977′ tour laminates and passes. Following a no-nonsense delivery of ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’, Robert introduces John Paul Jones. “This features a man who has a badge holder in the wings who we haven’t quite got the spotlight trained on yet . . . for John Paul Jones’ badge holder – ‘No Quarter’.” Following that particular opus, Jimmy can be heard tuning the Telecaster in preparation for Ten Years Gone’ which is duly delivered tight but loose with the man pulling out some undeniably beautiful lyrical guitar phrases. This performance of the song reinforces my opinion that the decision to play this most difficult of on-stage arrangements made for one of the most ambitious and ultimately moving parts of their post ’75 concerts.

The acoustic set unfolds and tonight Plant enigmatically follows the “They say she plays guitar and cries and sings” line in ‘Going To California1 with the comment “And I saw her last night”. Another LA set bonus occurs with the inclusion of Trampled Underfoot’ (previously employed as an encore number on the first leg of the ’77 tour), which is slotted in after ‘Kashmir, a space reserved for ‘Heartbreaker’ on the opening LA night. Robert precedes it by enlightening the audience on the song’s source of reference – namely Robert Johnson’s ‘Terraplane Blues’. “Anybody heard of Robert Johnson? Does anybody remember laughter? Well, Robert Johnson was one of the first guys to liken the automobile to the actual physical side of love making and he recorded a track called Terraplane Blues’. This is a sort of 1975 version equivalent . . . it’s called ‘Trampled Underfoot’.”

Moby Dick/Over The Top’ is graced with the usual cryptic intro though not as extensive as the epic opening night’s lengthy sketch. “As the atmosphere builds in this building I think it’s only right that we should introduce the main stay ot the whole driving force behind sleeping with Led Zeppelin . . . John Bonham Over The Toppppppp!”

And finally to a very reverent Stairway’, complete with typically reverent Plant speech. “So amidst the confusion that surrounds all of us in our lives … as life takes its course (people adjust snare drums and bass drums), yes, it’s all the same . . . having a nervous breakdown . . . who knows? Here’s a song that has the opposite effect of ‘Communication Breakdown’.” Enter Page s opening chords accompanied by an exploding firecracker. The reference to ‘Communication Breakdown’ is not without substance, as, come the encore, instead of the ‘Whole Lotta Love/Rock And Roll’ customary medley, they instead come out of ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and blitz into a short punchy rare ’77 version of ‘Communication Breakdown’ with Robert putting all that Manticore rehearsing with the harmoniser to good effect. “Thank you very much LA. Good Night!”

Just another night on the road? Hardly.

But then it never was just another anything when Led Zeppelin hit Los Angeles. As can be seen by their insistence to throw in the odd set variation, the four experienced a spontaneous rapport with their Califoiamian audience that ensured a high energy performance every time.

From there we move to the final night of the LA stint with disc 2 of the second The Last LA Forum 2 Days’ containing 74 minutes of highlights from another high energy performance.

The action commences with yet another quite awesome Over The Hills And Far Away’. It’s preceded by a tantalising warm up from Jimmy before he embarks on the revolving intro (guaranteed to send shivers down my spine every time). The solo is just out of this world. A series of staggered ripples from the Gibson that swoop and dive across the speakers. It brings to mind that story from the beginning of the ’75 tour when Jimmy informed Robert he was tired at one of the shows and to expect short solos – only to extend Over The Hill to eight minutes – a direct response to the surge of energy created between the band and its audience. In fact ‘Over The Hills’ is nigh on nine minutes on this final LA night. A fitting Swan song.

‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ is next up (dedicated to JJ Jackson, the US DJ), with Bonzo providing another colossal climax. Then it’s to the acoustic set. And not just any old acoustic set. A skit through ‘I Just Can’t Be Satisfied’ sets the scene for the unorthodox nature of the proceedings. “Here’s a song that’s very reminiscent of somewhere we’re going to be in about 24 hours time, it’s a place called England” Plant tells the audience before “The Battle Of Evermore”. Following a delicate ‘Going To California’ (complete with supporting bird whistle from the crowd – “Who’s got that fucking whistle – I think we’ve had enough of that now thanks”, says Plant), we hear one of the most remarkable moments of the tour. The medley of ‘Black Country Woman’/’Bron Y Aur Stomp’ is extended to some 14 minutes to take in a lengthy acoustic solo that develops into ‘Dancing Days’. Yep ‘Dancing Days’ a long deleted live chestnut from the 72/73 era. This version has Bonzo beefing up Jimmy’s acoustic lead and Plant merging the lines of the opening verses to create a spontaneous delivery unique to but a handful of dates on this tour. “How about that. We ain’t done ‘Dancing Days’ for five years. I don’t think we will again” he jokes.

An edited Achilles’ (inspiring visions of that great ’77 cine film excerpt of the track), and a tremendous ‘Stairway To Heaven’ closes the main proceedings. Before that Plant offers up a closing speech. “It’s most peculiar to walk away from the microphone one minute and come back and find it covered in honey. Obviously it’s the last night of the tour! It’s been great. 6 days, 6 nights in LA. It’s been a mindbender”. This particular version of ‘Stairway’ reminds me of the majesty the piece carried back then. The whole Rolf Harris syndrome has rendered the song into laughable parody these days … In 1977 it really did still mean something with Robert’s impassioned delivery (“Bonzo’s got some good news”), and Jimmy performing a meandering solo to match.

We then experience all the craziness of the LA wind up as the band return amidst firecrackers and chaos for one final surge – and Robert gets in another speech. “Before we continue we’d like to thank you for being a great audience. Sincerely, no bullshit. Bunch of geriatrics like us. It’s really hard work, yer know. We’d like to thank all the members of the full supporting cast … the sound and light crew, Showco, a very good sound system as you know. Every night the acoustic set’s no good but the rest has been great. Benji Lefevre, the man from England, for all the funny noises, Ray Thomas from Scotland who can’t tune guitars, Mick Hinton who was a bus conductor in Cambridge and can’t tune the drums, Brian, who’s covered in 7-Up and all the people in the wings who’ve been making rude gestures for 6 days. And most of all the badge holders of California!” Cue ‘Whole Lotta Love’ in to ‘Rock And Roll1 and it’s all over.

And just as they usher themselves offstage and into the limos, there’s one final telling and now poignant comment from Robert to the LA faithful. “Thank you very very much. Never thought we’d come back but we did. And we shall come back again … I think . . . we should all know you all by first names by now but we don’t. . . maybe next time.” Then it was off into the limos into the night and a return to the English sanity. Nobody knew it at the time, of course, but Led Zeppelin’s 8 year old love affair with Los Angeles was at an end.

Reliving the 1977 live experience courtesy of these very enjoyable CD sets, demonstrates how inventive and exciting the band could still be, despite the madness of the touring charade that surrounded their status as the biggest draw in the world.

The plan of course was to hit the major US stadiums in the late summer, culminating in an appearance in front of 95,000 at the JKF Stadium in Philadelphia (ironically the scene of the first public Plant/Page/Jones reunion some 8 years later at Live Aid). Unfortunately they never got that far. In late July at the Oakland Stadium, violent off-stage Incidents would vastly overshadow the on-stage action and those events in turn were rendered almost inconsequential when the tour was promptly halted with the news ot Robert’s family tragedy.

Musically, there can be little doubt that had the tour continued on the wave of optimism that surrounded the June dates, new peaks of creativity would have been scaled that would have led to an equally creative bout of recording for the next studio album (tentatively titled Tight But Loose’), which was scheduled for the end of the year. There was every indication following the cancellation of the tour that the final chapter in the Led Zeppelin story had been written. Despite Page’s autumn round of interviews to dispel the split stories, for a long period Robert had confided to close friends that he would not perform with the group again. Slowly a period of rehabilitation did take place. Initially, they got together at Clearwell in May 1978 and from there it was to Sweden’s Polar Studios, and on into the grand comeback at Knebworth and the rejuvenation attempt in Europe in 1980 before the ultimate tragedy would dictate the final end.

And that’s exactly the reason the music preserved on these LA CD’s is so vital. Along with soon to be issued June 23 ‘Badge holders Only’ set, ‘Listen To This Eddie’ and ‘LA Forum The Last 2 Days’ offer an invaluable record of a series of concerts that alongside the early Fillmore stands and the Earls Court season, rank as some of the most outstanding of the band’s entire career. They really do document, to paraphrase an old Yardbirds’ bootleg, the last hurrah. An era when Led Zeppelin, like the gods of antiquity, still seemed so utterly immortal.

1977 and all that. . . and evenings with Led Zeppelin. Relive them at your earliest convenience.

Dave Lewis 1993

First published in TBL issue 9

Dedicated to all who used to frequent the Saturday Camden and Victoria Record Fairs in London during the early 1990s (Hi Julian, Eddie, Gary, Dave Linwood , Nigel, Andy ,Simon, Tony, Keith, Mark Phil T, etc) where we used to eagerly snap up the latest Zep CD’s in abundance and then swap stories, compare recordings, read Phil T’s excellent Led Boots guide and drink a beer or two in the nearby pub. Great days

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Bron Yr Aur:

Ruth Roe has recently been in touch from the Bron Yr Aur cottage..
Hi Dave, just to let you know that its now possible to stay in a luxury bell tent here at Bron Y Aur, with very limited availability. We also offer a writing journal for recording inspirations (which may include familiar descending scales!!) and can provide professional quality pop-up recording studio, or an introductory art course
For further details check out their website at
https://bronyraur.com/

Photo by Nigel Paling.

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Classic Rock website  The Top Ten Beatles Songs By George Harrison:

Here’s another list I compiled for the Classic Rock website – the top ten Beatles songs by George Harrison.

He may have been labelled the ‘quiet one’ but when George Harrison spoke – he deserved to be listened to. Though he was not as prolific as the Lennon/McCartney partnership, his songs played an increasingly important part of The Beatles output. Here are ten of the best…

View the list at:

http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-06-27/the-top-10-best-beatles-songs-written-by-george-harrison

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DL Diary Blog Update:

That was the week that was…and what a week it’s been – what with all the fall out of the Brexit situation and England’s dismal exit in the Euros…

This time I really felt we had the talent to make a strong impression on the tournament – alas, Roy Hodgson chose to play the wrong players when it mattered. 50 years of hurt continues…

It’s been a case of taking a deep sigh and getting on with it …and there’s a lot to get on with here – with various projects and initiatives ongoing.

TBL 41 has been selling fairly well though, there are still previous subscribers who have yet to come back on board. This week I’ve been targeting those that have yet to re subscribe in an effort to prompt them that their previous subscription has expired.

To re-iterate..

If you are a previous subscriber and you are reading this – don’t miss out -TBL 41 is the essential Zep read…

There’s been work on various projects including some planning for the next TBL. Ahead attention will turn to the ongoing book project with Mike Tremaglio. One other two other written works – both Zep and no Zep are in progress and more on all that soon.

Knebworth ’90 Remembered:

Alongside the Frankfurt 1980 gig, today is also the anniversary of the Knebworth Silver Clef concert. This was the day that Robert and his band were joined by Jimmy Page. Gary and I were lucky enough to be there that afternoon – the performance of Wearing And tearing remains one of my all time gig going experiences. We were so wiped out with that incredible reunion that we decided to head home soon after – thus missing the likes of Genesis, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney! We had seen what we had come for…and 26 years on it still looks amazing on YouTube. I remember saying at the time that Jimmy should now get back with Robert as the time was right. However, we had to wait a further four years for it to happen.

Looking back, that really was a fabulous period – the Remasters sets followed in the autumn. For me personally,  there was never a better time to be writing a Led Zep reference book which is exactly hat I was ensconced in that year. Led Zeppelin A Celebration being published in 1991. Great days.

Bowie Gigs Remembered:

July is nigh on upon us…and it got me thinking of two very memorable early July dates of years gone by for yours truly – namely July 1, 1978 and July 3, 1983. On both those occasions I was lucky enough to witness remarkable concerts by David Bowie. Since his passing on January 10, rarely does a day go by when he is not in my thoughts or on the player.. Of all the musicians who have passed away this past six months, Bowie is the one for me who really resonates… a world without David Bowie is just not right…here’s some memories of two days when a world with David Bowie was a delight…

David Bowie Live Memories 1: Saturday July 1 1978. Earls Court Arena:

I had hoped to see the Station To Station tour in 1976 but missed out – so when this date was announced in the February of 1978 I made it a mission to get tickets.I went to this with Dec Hickey Yvonne Salim and Barry Farnsworth. This was the tour that would be chronicled on the Stages album. All sparse tubed lighting and low …key spotlights. Of course he was fantastic – it was actually the first ever rock show that I attended that had an interval. And what a return to the stage for the second half. Six straight numbers from Ziggy Stardust…and an encore of TVC15, Stay and Rebel Rebel. A truly wonderful night…and an ambition completed. I had finally seen David Bowie live on stage… pic left is  set list notes I wrote out the next day to preserve the memory of the occasion…

David Bowie Live Memories 2: Sunday July 3 1983. Milton Keynes Bowl:
Ten years to the day of the famous Ziggy Quits Hammersmith show and five years almost to the day I had last seen him – Bowie was back and bigger than ever.
I loved the Lets Dance album, brilliantly produced by Nile Rodgers – we sold truck loads at the WH Smith record department I managed. This was on the Serious Moonlight tour with David all suntan bleached hair and big suits.
A big open air show at the nearby MK Bowl on a gloriously sunny day – I went with our good friends Tom, Alan Stutz Tracey Guiry and the late Alan Johnston.
This is a significant date for the good lady Janet and I.
For this Bowie event was the first proper concert (we had seen Robert Plant at the Tube TV recording the previous month) that the good lady Janet and I attended as a couple (ten months later we would be married) – it was also Janet’s’ first ever concert – she was 18 then and I was 26.
A slick often soulful show with an animated Bowie well up front on the stage. Great set list too with plenty of hits merging with the best of the Lets Dance album -Modern Love, China Girl and Cat People.

Glastonbury 2016:

Thoroughly enjoyed dipping in and out of the BBC’s Glastonbury TV coverage. Highlights for me included Squeeze, Madness, The 1975 and ELO. Adele did an admirable job and nice to hear her referencing the Raising Sand album and namechecking Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Coldplay were also great – they have the stadium/big gig formula right off pat – and cameo appearances from Barry Gibb and Michael Eavis were added fun.

Reasons to be cheerful:

Can’t say I’ve been feeling on good form these past few days – the grim weather does not help and I have found myself under the threat of the old black dog (as Sir Winston Churchill called it) a few times recently.

So one has to look for those reasons to be cheerful…and records are always an inspiration..

Friday Vinyl treats at the Vinyl Barn last Friday – The Songs of Bob Dylan covers compilation album, a mint copy of Slade Alive on UK Polydor and Jazz vibes player Gary Burton’s 1970 album on the UK Atlantic plum and organge label. Those have been resounding around here and very good they are too.

Also on the player: The Beatles Revolver, Elvis Presley The Sun Sessions Volume 1, Good Rockin’ Tonight -Tribute To Sun Records CD, Led Zeppelin Shakin’ All Over LP bootleg.

As Robert Plant spontaneously once blurted out mid Dazed And Confused –  ”I don’t care what people say, rock’n’roll is here to stay…”

…and thanks to true pioneers such as the late great Scotty Moore, it certainly is…

Dave Lewis – June 30, 2016.

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YouTube Clips:

Scotty Moore -the first guitar hero:

Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck and others talking about Scotty Moore:

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant tribute to Sun Records for the Good Rockin’ Tonight album:

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant – Wearing And Tearing – Knebworth  – June 30, 1990:

Until next time…

Have a great weekend,

Dave Lewis/Gary Foy – June 30, 2016.

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