Latest news on the forthcoming book Portraits of Robert Plant – Through The Eighties (Rufus Publishing):

I’ve been very busy working on the editing of this book for the last few months. I am really pleased how it has developed – and with the end result.

The book is due to ship early next month.

I will be at the Rufus Publishing stall at the VIP London Victoria Record Fair on Saturday September 7 to launch the book. Copies will be on sale on the day. I will be on hand to sign copies of the book and Rufus Publishing will also have a selection of other titles on offer.

Look forward to seeing all that can make it along.

Here’s all the info:

Portraits of Robert Plant -Through The Eighties (Rufus Publishing)

On December 4, 1980 in the wake of the sad passing of drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin announced that they could not continue as they were.

So began the solo years. For Robert Plant this decision led him to pick up a solo career he thought he had left behind for good back in 1968.

Initially, he surrounded himself with local musicians performing in small club venues as The Honeydrippers and from small acorns, a whole new world of musical opportunity opened up.

The visual impact of his now found solo career is fully explored in Portraits of Robert Plant – Through the Eighties.

This latest volume in the Rufus Publishing Portraits series captures over 200 black and white images of Robert Plant’s developing solo career covering the years 1981 to 1989. It chronicles the fast moving progress of a highly productive era commencing with The Honeydrippers moving though the the photo shoots to promote his Pictures at Eleven debut album, extensive on and off stage coverage of his Principle of Moments tour and on into the Now And Zen era.

Along the way it, takes in the Led Zeppelin regrouping at Live Aid in 1985 and the Atlantic 40th Anniversary show in 1988. There’salso appearances from the likes of Phil Collins, Anne & Nancy Wilson, Pete Townshend, Tom Petty, Neil Young Steven Tyler. The two London guest spots involving Jimmy Page are also chronicled.

This photographic celebration of Robert Plant’s journey through the eighties features many rare and previously photos from some of the foremost rock photographers including George Bodnar who toured extensively with Plant and his band.

The book is edited and compiled by Dave Lewis – the world renowned Led Zeppelin author and chronicler and the editor of the Rufus Publications book Five Glorious Nights -Led Zeppelin at Earls Court May 1975. It also includes an introduction by Mark Blake who has interviewed Robert Plant many times and is the author of the highly acclaimed Bring it on Home – Peter Grant ,Led Zeppelin and Beyond. The Story of Rock’s Greatest Manager. Dave has also contributed a 6,000 word personal overview of following Robert Plant’s career during the Eighties.

The book is 230mm square, case-bound, 240 pages, printed on luxury 170gsm matt-coated paper. It comes with a fold out poster and is presented in a black slipcase with a gold foil logo. The main standard edition comes in 500 numbered copies and sells for £55 plus shipping.

The ultra-limited Black Leather and Metal Edition measuring 375mm square and presented in recycled leather and a hand welded aluminum metal slipcase with a screen printed logo in a run of 50 numbered copies. This edition also comes with a unique lenticular for framing and will sell for £350.

Portraits of Robert Plant Though the Eighties is a permanent pictorial record of when, as he put it back in 1983, Robert Plant strived to find ‘’a reason for being, instead of a reason for having been’’

Ordering details here…

https://www.rufuspublications.com/rufusbooks/plant/

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Here’s the latest Led ZepNews Update

We published 142 previously unseen photos of Led Zeppelin performing in Tokyo in 1972

Led Zeppelin performing in Tokyo, Japan on October 3, 1972

This week, we published 142 previously unseen colour photographs of Led Zeppelin performing at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan on October 2, 1972 and October 3, 1972.

The photos are scans of slides purchased from a Japanese auction website by Led Zeppelin collector Charley Cioffero. We published all of the images online in our article, thanks to the help of LedZepFilm.

Do you have Led Zeppelin-related material that fans would enjoy? You can reach us on ledzepnews@gmail.com

---

Is ‘Introducing Led Zeppelin’ becoming ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ again?

Last week we brought you the news that the documentary about the origins of Led Zeppelin that was called “Becoming Led Zeppelin” had been retitled “Introducing Led Zeppelin”.

There has been debate online about which title is better so we decided to settle the matter with a poll. 426 of you voted and the outcome is that 63% of LedZepNews readers prefer the title “Becoming Led Zeppelin”.

The results of last week’s poll

We have some good news for 63% of you. This week, we spotted that the IMDb page for the film has switched title yet again. Last week it was changed to “Introducing Led Zeppelin”, seemingly indicating that the film had been renamed globally.

This week, the page is again titled “Becoming Led Zeppelin” and “Introducing Led Zeppelin” is now only included as an alternative title for the US market.

Our best guess is that the film’s US distributor Sony Pictures Classics plans to release the film under the “Introducing Led Zeppelin” title in the US, but that title isn’t set in stone for the rest of the world where the film will be released by different companies.

In case you’re losing track of the film’s title, don’t worry! Here’s our definitive history of its name: The film was originally announced in 2019 without a title, leading to it being called “Untitled Led Zeppelin Documentary” online. Then we revealed in 2020 that the film had the working title “Apollo”. The title “Becoming Led Zeppelin” was revealed in 2021 although it was briefly retitled “Led Zeppelin” on one film sales website in 2023 and then switched back to “Becoming Led Zeppelin” weeks later. Then the film was rated in the US under the title “Introducing Led Zeppelin” but now its IMDb page has switched back to “Becoming Led Zeppelin” again. Phew!

---

The Ludwig green sparkle drum kit didn’t sell at auction

The drum kit that was listed for sale through GottaHaveRockandRoll (GottaHaveRockandRoll)

The Ludwig green sparkle drum kit that auction business GottaHaveRockandRoll claimed was owned and played by John Bonham failed to sell at auction.

The drum kit was the subject of significant debate online over its provenance, with Jason Bonham claiming it was “fake”. The auction house twice told us its lawyers would contact LedZepNews after we asked for more information about it. They still haven’t been in touch.

The auction for the drum kit ended on August 24 and it received a single bid of $50,000 earlier this week, below the reserve amount and so it failed to sell. The auction business had given it an estimate between $200,000 and $400,000.

Robert Plant

Robert Plant is still on tour with Alison Krauss

Robert Plant is still on tour with Alison Krauss, with the pair playing in Eugene, Oregon on August 19; in Murphy’s, California on August 21; in Stanford, California on August 22 and in Paso Robles, California on August 24.

Next week will be the final week of their tour with their last performance scheduled for September 1 in Vail, Colorado. Plant will then tour with Saving Grace in Europe in October and November. It’s unclear whether Plant will announce any further shows with Krauss as the pair have been performing together regularly since 2022.

The August 22 show in Stanford, California was savaged in a review published in The Mercury News. The newspaper called it a “pretty run-of-the-mill 80-minute main set”.

“They seemed to be on cruise control pretty much from start to finish — especially Krauss, who rarely spoke with the crowd or shared the type of personality that she’s known for her in her solo shows,” the review reads.

“Based on what we saw and heard at Stanford, this project sure feels like it’s run its course,” it concluded.

San Francisco Bay Area Concerts disagreed, calling the show a “magical evening” in its review.

In happier news, here’s an Instagram post that includes two photos of Plant holding puppies:

motleyzooanimalrescue

A post shared by @motleyzooanimalrescue

---

New Saving Grace show announced

Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace at the Baloise Session music festival in Basel, Switzerland on October 25, it was announced this week.

---

Richard Hawley on playing ‘Rock And Roll’ with Robert Plant

In a new interview, Richard Hawley recalled performing “Rock And Roll” with Robert Plant and Imelda May on “Later with Jools Holland” in 2022.

“I said, ‘Yeah, what is it?’ and Robert said, ‘We’re going to do rock ’n’ roll.’ I said, ‘Yeah, what song?’ And he said, ‘Rock ’n’ roll…’ and I go, ‘Yeah, yeah, I can play rock ’n’ roll, but which song? And he says, ‘No, you silly fuckwit [laughs], Rock And Roll by Led Zeppelin,’” Hawley recalled in the interview with Guitarist.

You can watch that performance below:

John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones’ next project will premiere in October 2025

This week we learned a lot about John Paul Jones’ next project: A song cycle he has written for opera singer Dame Sarah Connolly.

Rumours of the pair collaborating have been public since 2018. Then last year, Jones’ biography for the Big Ears music festival mentioned he was working on the song cycle for Dame Sarah. At the time, we reached out to her agent who told us he had no idea what the project was.

Thankfully, we now know a lot more thanks to an interview Jones gave to piano maker Steinway in July but that only seems to have been noticed this month.

Soundboard: John Paul Jones Steinway & Sons Episode

“I’ve got four poems from some Americans poets and some British poets,” Jones said in the podcast. “You’ve searched for these poems, that’s the hardest part, finding the poem that fits. They have to be related to each other slightly, these poems. And they are, there is a common theme which again I won’t reveal just yet.”

Last night, we revealed that the project will premiere in London in October 2025 and that we should learn more about it in April.

---

John Paul Jones could face a lawsuit over March ‘slap’ incident between his bodyguard and an autograph seeker

The Big Ears music festival in March was a rare showcase of John Paul Jones’ musical skill, including a solo performance, a show with Thurston Moore and a show from his Sons Of Chipotle project.

But an incident that happened off-stage on March 22 in Knoxville, Tennessee could cause years of legal headaches for Jones.

As Jones returned to his hotel before playing a rare solo show that night, professional autograph seeker Giovanni Arnold asked him to sign some Led Zeppelin items.

Jones declined to sign them and Arnold was at the entrance to the hotel so Jones’ bodyguard allegedly slapped Arnold and then pushed him.

Now, Arnold tells LedZepNews he plans to file a lawsuit over the incident. He shared his video of the incident with us and we also obtained the full police report from the Knoxville Police Department which confirmed there is no active police investigation.

This may seem like a bizarre legal case that will be quickly dismissed. After all, Jones never touched Arnold and his bodyguard told police he acted out of concern for Jones’ safety.

But Arnold is separately taking legal action against rappers Cardi B and Offset over a different scuffle that took place in New York in 2018. Six years later, that legal fight is still ongoing.

So if the lawsuit is filed (and we’ve seen no sign that it has been) and Jones decides to fight it, this could become a longrunning legal saga.

Upcoming events:

• August 25 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Highland, California.
• August 26 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Flagstaff, Arizona.
• August 28 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
• August 29 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
• August 31 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• Late August – “Portraits Of Robert Plant,” a new coffee table book, will be published.
• September 1 – Robert Plant will perform with Alison Krauss in Vail, Colorado.
• September 15 – The exhibition “The Wiltshire Thatcher – a Photographic Journey through Victorian Wessex” featuring the original photograph from the cover of Led Zeppelin’s fourth album will close at Wiltshire Museum.
• September 21 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Bewdley, UK.
• October 8 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Bari, Italy.
• October 9 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Naples, Italy.
• October 11 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Rome, Italy.
• October 12 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Florence, Italy.
• October 14 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Bologna, Italy.
• October 15 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Turin, Italy.
• October 17 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Como, Italy.
• October 18 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Bolzano, Italy.
• October 20 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Padua, Italy.
• October 21 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Trieste, Italy.
• October 23 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Brescia, Italy.
• October 25 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace at the Baloise Session music festival in Basel, Switzerland.
• October 27 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Antwerp, Belgium.
• October 29 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Paris, France.
• Late October – “Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love: A People’s History” by Richard Houghton will be published.
• November 5 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Harrogate, UK.
• November 6 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Stockton, UK.
• November 23 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Woking, UK.
• November 24 – Robert Plant will perform with Saving Grace in Southend, UK.
• 2025 – An expanded version of Live at the Greek, the live album featuring Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes, is due to be released.
• October 2025 – John Paul Jones’ song cycle for Dame Sarah Connolly will premiere in London.That was our 355th email. Have any questions or feedback? Reply to this email and we’ll get back to you.Follow Led Zeppelin News on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on news as it happens, and check ledzepnews.com for the latest news.

Many thanks to James Cook

For all the latest Zep and related news check out the Led Zeppelin news website at:

http://ledzepnews.com/

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

It was 55 Years Ago – Led Zeppelin at the Texas International Pop Festival:

August 31st  – back in 1969 that was the day Led Zeppelin performed at the Texas International Pop Festival as can be heard via a great sounding tape. I’ve just been playing the vinyl LP release and from the moment the kitch MC is heard to say ‘’Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the Led Zepp-elin’’ and they kick in to Train Kept A Rollin’ this is an absolute sensational performance.

This is for me one of, if not the best if the best Zep live remnants of their first 12 months together.

Here’s a summary of that celebrated gig as compiled by Mike Tremaglio for the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book..

August 31, 1969 – Texas International Pop Festival, Dallas International Speedway –                                     Lewisville, Texas, USA

Setlist:

Train Kept a Rollin’, I Can’t Quit You Baby, Dazed and Confused, You Shook Me, How Many More Times Medley (incl. Suzie Q, The Lemon Song, Eyesight to the Blind, Shake for Me), Communication Breakdown (incl. Cat’s Squirrel, It’s Your Thing)

Background Info:

The Texas International Pop Festival was a fine ending to an amazing summer of outdoor festivals for the band. It goes without saying that the festivals gave the band much needed exposure and firmly established the group in the eyes of fans and music industry folks alike. Their extremely high level of festival performances also gave fair warning to their peers that Led Zeppelin was a world-class band with limitless potential.

The festival was also the last performance of the third US tour. After relentlessly touring for most of 1969, the band would finally get a much-deserved break, taking off the entire month of September before embarking on a short Holland tour beginning October 3.

Participating Artists:

August 30 – 4:00 p.m.: Canned Heat, Chicago Transit Authority, James Cotton Blues Band, Janis Joplin, B.B. King, Herbie Mann, Rotary Connection, Sam & Dave.

August 31 – 4:00 p.m.: Chicago Transit Authority, James Cotton Blues Band, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Incredible String Band, B.B. King, Led Zeppelin, Herbie Mann, Sam & Dave, Santana.

September 1 – 4:00 p.m.: Johnny Winter, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, B.B. King, Nazz, Sly and the Family Stone, Spirit, Sweetwater, Ten Years After, Tony Joe White.

Press Reaction:

Dallas Morning News (September 3, 1969): “Unlike the proverbial balloon, Led Zeppelin flew high late Sunday night. ‘Communication Breakdown’ was one of the fine numbers they offered. They tended, however, to drag their heavy interludes out a little too in their lengthy but superb segment of the festival…But even this could not dull the crowd’s appreciation.“

Billboard (September 13, 1969): “Jimmy Page lived up to expectations for the Saturday (sic – it was Sunday) performance his facile command of impressive guitar styling highlighting Led Zeppelin’s set, which also showcased a noticeably improved vocal performance from Robert Plant.”

Rolling Stone (November 1, 1969):“Led Zeppelin turned in a fantastic set.”

Bootleg Video Recording:

A 79 minute “underground” 16mm documentary of the festival exists with a few minutes of ‘Dazed and Confused’ included. A total of 11:10 minutes of Led Zeppelin bootleg footage exists, including clips of ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’, ‘Dazed and Confused’, ‘You Shook Me’, ‘How Many More Times’, and ‘Communication Breakdown’.

Bootleg Recordings

3 sources (64 & 62 minute audience & 63 minute soundboard sources):

The festival was yet another major triumph for the band, as they made the most of their hour-plus long set and turned in another strong performance. Fortunately, this time the evidence exists in the form of a stellar soundboard tape, one of the finest examples of early Zeppelin and a ‘must have.’ Despite being the end of an extremely long summer for the group, they still had enough energy left to deliver another dynamic performance.

During the show, Robert Plant made reference back to their appearance four weeks earlier (August 4) in Dallas at the State Fair Coliseum: “It’s very nice to be back in Texas. Last time we were here it was a near disaster when we said we weren’t doing the festival and everything. This is the last date before we go back to England, so we’d really like to have a nice time…and you can help us.”

Compiled by Mike Tremaglio

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————

You can never have too many…

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

SATURDAY AUGUST 31 – BIG VIP RECORD FAIR RETURNS

Bedford VIP Record Fair is back this Saturday – I wont be there myself as we will be out and about celebrating Janet’s big Birthday on Saturday.

Here’s all the info:

The Harpur Suite, Bedford MK40 1LE

Looking for rare records? Fancy crate diggin’ for some vinyl bargains? Need some discounted new releases?

This BIG EVENT IS BACK FOR YOU!

A massive, friendly fair for vinyl record lovers. Fully booked with sellers from all over the UK – MANY NOT AVAILABLE AT SMALLER LOCAL FAIRS.

Open from 10am-3:30pm. Admission £3.
Free entry at 1pm

Easy to find. Nice venue.

All put together by the world famous VIP Record fairs team.

More Info –

https://vip-24.com/venues/bedford.htm

The Beatles Fixing a Hole New Podcast…

Long time Beatles fan and TBL supporter Paul Humbley is launching a new Beatles podcast  – knowing Paul as I do this will be an essential listen for Beatles fans and collectors alike. Oh and Happy 60th Birthday Paul!

Here’s the info:

Podcast details at:

Fixing A Hole – The Beatles podcast you didn’t know you needed | Fixing a Hole – The Beatles podcast you didn’t know you needed (Coming August 29th) (transistor.fm)

Chris Charlesworth Word In Your Ear podcast talking about Just Backdated…

This is an excellent interview with Chris Charlesworth by Mark Ellen on the Word In Your Ear podcast talking about his excellent new book Just Backdated – Melody Maker Seven Years in the Seventies

‘Johnny Beatle’, early Blondie, Led Zeppelin’s plane and seven fabulous years at the Melody Maker (youtube.com)

——————————————————————————————————————————————-

The Trouble with Oasis…some might not say a lot of people really can’t stand them…

The news of the Oasis reunion yesterday has sparked a torrent of social media backlash – plainly some people cannot stand them -the whiney vocals , the feuds, the arrogance and in some ways I get that.

I am not one to get into spats of who is right or wrong – one person’s rock is another person’s roll -everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

The thing with Oasis is that you really had to be there – as back in 90s and the Britpop era they really did rule.

It was an exciting period to be in music retail as I was then and managing the Our Price shop in Bedford we sold shed loads of Oasis albums and singles. The 1987 Be Here Now album album was at the time the single biggest first day sale ever clocked up across the Our Price and Virgin Megastore brands.

It wasn’t to last but for a time they were really were a compelling band. I Admired them from afar really as circa 1994 – 1999 I was  somewhat ensconced in a world of Page & Plant. I never got to see them even though they played an early gig in March 1994 at the local Angel pub in Bedford.

For me, they did make some cracking records and when the chemistry was really gelling they were nigh on unstoppable.

Supersonic, Rock’n’ Roll Star, Whatever, Wonderwall, Acquiese, Live Forever, Champagne Supernova, She’s Electric, The Masterplan, Some Might Say, Roll With It, Don’t Look Back in Anger etc. There was a verve and swagger about the Gallagher’s when they were at that peak – and those songs have stood the test of time.

I have the early albums and love the Stop The Clocks and The Masterplan compilations. They were very good with B sides too and Stay Young, the B side of Do You Know What I Mean is right up there as one of my favourite songs of the era and it inspires many a memory of the time.

Like I said – you had to be there really to understand the attraction. I was with it totally though the later albums were patchy in the extreme..

I have no doubt with that sort of big hitting catalogue Oasis will give a very good account of themselves when those reunion gigs roll around next summer.

Yes there’s is money involved big time but a lot of people are going to have a great time in the sharing again of the Oasis phenomenon

I’ll be observing from afar as the days of me attending mega stadium shows are on the wane (unless it’s Led Zep related!)

As can be seen by the rather vitriolic response to their reunion, Oasis remain a very divisive subject – but for me this is not a case of looking back in anger and I am more than happy to roll with it – though many may not…

Dave Lewis – August 29 2024 

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

DL Diary Blog Update:

Saturday August 24:

Saturday is platterday – on the player Jimmy Page & Robert Plant No Quarter Unledded …

Marking the 30th anniversary of the MTV Unledded filming at the London Studios on the South Bank over the two nights of August 25 and 26 1994. Two incredible nights I was lucky to be in attendance at…

Saturday August 24:

Over to Milton Keynes to meet with the esteemed Mr Phil Harris – records were purchased at the Off The Record Willen Hospice charity record shop

Saturday August 24:

Post record shop purchasing at Phil Harris local The Cricketer’s in Oldbrooke Milton Keynes well pleased to see Spurs 4-0 victory against Everton come up on the final scores!

Tuesday August 27:

Thursday August 29:

Friday August 30:

Great to catch up with Alan G Parker, Paul Bedford, David Stark, Daryl Easlea Chris Welch, Robin Wealleans and Chris Welch in London yesterday.

It’s the first time I’ve seen Chris Welch for a good ten years. Chris of course, was an early champion of Led Zep back in his time on Melody Maker and author of a few Zep books – he was on great form – I was pleased to hear he is working on his own memoirs – that’s another book I’d love to see come to fruition.

October 29:

One more from yesterday – at Patrick’s With The Beatles book launch at the Acts and Actors club it was great to chat to the comedy actor Jeffrey  Holland best known for his role as Spike Dixon in the popular BBBC sitcom Hi De Hi!

Update here:

A big weekend ahead as we will be wishing Mrs. Janet Lewis  a Happy 60th Birthday. We’ve been celebrating her Birthday together every August 31 for the past 41 years – I feel a very blessed man to be doing so again on a landmark Birthday on Saturday…

Thanks for listening