LED ZEPPELIN - OCTOBER 1970:TOP OF THE WORLD - PLATINUM DISCS, BIGGER THAN THE BEATLES, BOOTLEG CARNAGE

October 1970. A very important time for Led Zeppelin. Looking at it now, there were some incredible moments that were to not only show the progress and growth they had made in their first two years as a group, but also strongly indicate and foresee the events and amazing times to come over the next decade. And not just for them, but for the industry too.

So, just two years after completing the transition from the Yardbirds, from recording a remarkable debut elpee in the shortest time, from appearing at the bottom of the bill (sometimes without any billing) across the world, Led Zeppelin were 'Top Of The World'. Melody Maker's annual poll proclaimed 'Zeppelin Topple Beatles' on the front cover of the issue published the same day Zeppelin played two sets at New York's Madison Square Garden to complete their 6th and most successful US Tour, September 19th. 

With the release of the new record 'III' imminent, they had a moment or two to take stock. Not for them the merry go round of release a single, do some TV, release the album, tour. Then the same every year. Oh no, for Zeppelin, they never quite managed to get the put the album out, THEN tour on the back of it quite right. 

It was a time of constant movement. Perpetual motion. In such a short space of time they'd gone from being a joke to turning down incredible offers to play to larger and larger audiences. The hottest ticket. And just when the vast majority of bands would have coasted, taken the easy option and gone for the obvious, Led Zeppelin got to the junction and turned left. Into the unknown. 

Brave, confident, possibly stubborn. But incredibly important, possibly the most important left turn they or anyone else has made in the history of rock. Not since the Beatles quit live performances would such a far reaching musical decision be made. Led Zeppelin III was, as Robert observed at the time 'the most important album we've made, and probably will ever make'.

On record fans knew of 18 songs. Of these only Jimmy's showcase and the drama of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You from the debut and the strident whimsy of Ramble On on II would feature acoustic instruments. Of course there was much more light and shade on the majority of the fully electric tracks too, but the perception was electric = heavy and acoustic = soft. Onstage, even with less sophisticated sound systems than they would go on to use, the progression towards acoustic material was smoother and ongoing. 

White Summer/Black Mountain Side had been a staple part of the set but, like live versions of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, was performed electrically. At Bath, and probably in Iceland the week before Led Zeppelin played acoustically for the first time onstage as they premiered That's The Way under the working title The Boy Next Door. 

By the time they returned to the US the confidence was there to add Jimmy's new albeit brief showcase Bron-Y-Aur instead of White Summer. Ironically, the last time that was played was by Jimmy on the Julie Felix show on April 26th for it's only acoustic outing. Save for a couple of partial improvised insertions in Dazed And Confused over the coming shows, White Summer would lay dormant for the next seven years.

The new songs for III had been mooted and toyed with as early as November 1969. The Hendrix style demo Jennings Farm Blues recorded at Olympic Studios that month would transform into the decidedly English and certainly more bucolic Bron-Y-Aur Stomp. 

Further songs were written and rehearsed in the pre-Bath visit to Snowdonia, then honed alongside more electric pieces later that month at Headley Grange. A fair amount of recording was done in late May and early June, the final sessions wrapped up immediately after Bath. But much more important even than the material, the writing process or style of the new songs was the maturing and evolution of Led Zeppelin. Published in December in Disc, John Paul Jones was interviewed during the Headley Grange sessions and noted "There's really no format, no set ideas...we're using acoustic things, rock things, strange timings...it's getting better - we're beginning to understand each other".

That alone says so much. Peter Grant's influence and foresight cannot be underestimated here. his complete control over all non music matters gave Led Zeppelin such confidence, breathing space and ability to focus they were able to evolve and mutate as fast and as far as they wanted. After 5 US Tours in 17 months the Welsh break and collaboration and the subsequent full band sessions was miraculous. And having the complete backing of Gee meant Atlantic would release III without questioning of approving any of the material. Led Zeppelin were in control and beginning to see a long future ahead, not just a quick burst that had been the trend for so many artists at the time. 

And in a nutshell, that was the genius of led Zeppelin coming to the fore in October 1970. On the 16th they were presented Gold and Platinum awards for sales of II and US sales of the Whole Lotta Love single released the previous December. In the UK II was still in the top 10 elpee charts, almost a year after its release. The media hype and talk about this huge 'heavy music group' was palpable, and advance sales of III added to the expectancy. As a result reviews were at best mixed and cautious, at worst hostile.

But Led Zeppelin didn't care. They knew. Audience responses to the new material - and lets face it there are only the final three songs on III that could be called truly 'acoustic' - was better than ever, and cloth eared reviews that didn't seem to appreciate Immigrant Song or Since I've Been Loving You truly weren't worth the bother. Even the sleeve got stick, sneery comments about it's 'pop' leanings were noted and dismissed. 

At the end of the day, the future was more important than the present. The giant step of highlighting some gentler, broader and differently intense songs and widening the sound - certainly brighter than the bottom heavy slightly overloaded crunch of II - was to yield dividends along the way. The aural palette cleansing was to subliminally prepare fans (and critics I guess) for the wonders of the fourth elpee. And, in true Led Zeppelin fashion, the next album was already under construction. Perpetual motion. Before the year was out they would have recorded some of their most important best and influential work. And the next time the World saw Led Zeppelin onstage a chunk of the new music was incorporated into the set with an average of only 3 or 4 songs off III in the set. III was a statement, as the sleeve notes at the time indicate, and that was it's most important function.

The left turn was right. At the right time, with no turning back. Led Zeppelin weren't controlled. They didn't implode, they didn't stagnate. When the World heard III back in October 1970 even those that predicted their demise would soon submit and admit they got it wrong. The seeds, and some of the songs recorded at the time, would come into the light over the next 5 years, some hidden for decades before blossoming. One of THE most important months in their history. 

And at the same time they publicly decried and temporarily halted or at least slowed down the new 'scourge' of the industry they ironically helped make popular - Bootlegging. The previous year Rock Bootlegs had come into being with Dylan's outtakes set The Great White Wonder. Very small time and cottage industry at the outset, Ken and Dub of the soon to be named Trade Mark Of Quality monicker had stumbled across a money making venture beyond their wildest imaginations.

A year later and the live Rock Bootleg had come to be. The Stones had LiveR Than You'll Ever Be as a superior alternative to their official Decca Ya Ya's platter, and the logistics of recording an artist in concert was so much easier than searching for unreleased studio tracks from the very small roster of artists considered worthy or worth Bootlegging at the time. So, in this climate Led Zeppelin were perfect. 

In the summer of 1970 Peter Grant had poured water into a VCR machine trying to film the Bath performance and complained about the 'professional looking' bootleggers in the audiences during the short string of German dates in July. When Melody Maker ran the 'Led Zeppelin Live LP' story in September, he naturally went berserk.  The story alleged that two bootlegs - one studio, one live' - were imminent and would be in the shops in days. Immediate denials were issued, stating that one was a German bootleg and 'several people are in custody awaiting trial' and Peter added that he thought there could be '...no tapes available'.

Whatever the real truth of the matter, the live set was more than likely Blueberry Hill. As for the 'studio' set, it's either a hoax or possibly Pb(more famously known as the reissue Mudslide) which is from a Radio Broadcast and could possibly be mistaken for studio material as it begins with the then unreleased We're Gonna Groove.

So, although Led Zeppelin claimed to have halted the spread of illegal recordings, it was only the tip of a very large iceberg, one that was to prove immovable and unstoppable over the years. The main reason is Led Zeppelin's unique performances, each of which is ripe for Bootleg. Different every night, unreleased original songs, cover versions, improvisations. Any one of those is reason enough. All together..... 

So there you have it. In October 1970 Led Zeppelin were Top of the World. Voted the best band, multi-platinum awards, their second elpee still riding high in the charts and sell out stadium tours at their beck and call. Peter would turn down a $1 million offer top play a new years TV show. They had the World in the palm of their hands. And they turned left. The rest is history. And look what happened next...