"Jimmy Page Triumphs - Led Zeppelin Is A Gas!"
Thus screamed the headline, the review of their debut in Melody Maker. March 1969 was an intense, mad month for Led Zeppelin. Their debut US Tour had been a huge success, an amazing adrenaline rush for all of them, as they set the foundations for what was to come. With their elpee riding high on the charts both sides of the Atlantic they returned to the UK and went back to work. After the hysteria and plaudits they received in the US after what would become legendary shoes at the Fillmores, Boston, Detroit and LA, Peter knew it was back to basics and earning the reputation the grapevine was affording them.
This month would see their most intense work with the media of the day, with no less than 5 filmed 'performances', 2 BBC sessions, a short return to Scandinavia and a sprinkling of low key UK club and pub gigs. By April 24th they were back in the bosom of the west coast, with 4 shows in San Francisco to start a tour that changed everything. But in March, England was curious but not yet bowled over by Jimmy Page's new combo.
BBC Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London WC2
After a cancelled club date at The Van Dike Club in Plymouth on March 1st the next stop was two days later for their first Radio Session. With Bernie Andrews at the helm, 4 tracks were laid down for John Peel's Top Gear show to be broadcast 20 days later. I've gone through a full breakdown of these tracks over on my BBC Sessions page, but suffice to say these recordings sizzle with a power and energy already prevalent in their live performances. With 16 planned UK 'club gigs' planned for March and April, this kind of radio exposure was vital.
Recorded and mixed very quickly - they only had a 4 hour time slot - the four tracks are punchy, immediate and to the point. Both You Shook Me and Dazed were pared down compared to the live versions that were already stretching out, and the only hints of their live progression compared to the first elpee are the wah wah post-solo break in Communication Breakdown and the precis of Muddy Waters' 'Nineteen Years Old' at the coda of I Can't Quit You Baby.
There's a lot to like here, despite the brevity of the songs and indeed the whole session.
Top Rank, Cardiff
An unconfirmed show. Officially this is listed as taking place on April 2nd. Whichever date took place, this is the show Robert talks about before Tangerine at the 4th Earls' Court show some 6 years and 2 months later. We've yet to unearth any recordings or indeed pictures of the gig. Jimmy did recall the strict time limit of 45 minutes and revolving stage!
Led Zeppelin joined a growing list of great acts to play this pub situated on the Seven Sisters Road N4, from Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, Rory Gallagher and Family. Again we have no recording or pictures, but we do have some eye witness accounts that talk of the interaction between Robert & Jimmy, the volume(!) and how packed the place was.
For 60p you could see Led Zeppelin plus two local support acts Ferris Wheel and Decoys inside Leicester University as part of their Rag Week celebrations. Again we have no recordings etc but there's a fascinating account of the night by DJ/promoter on the night Stuart Langford on the official ledzeppelin.com website.
The first of 3 appearances on this hectic day! Punk, to say the very least. Led Zeppelin mime to Communication Breakdown, with some great full on attitude captured for posterity by the cameras. Largely unknown and forgotten about until being rediscovered at the end of the 1990's and then ending up as a CDRom extra on the 'Early Days' compilation in 2000. 3 years later it was also included on DVD.
After the TV recording, this is the first of two live appearances that same day. Opening for Country Joe & The Fish, this particular performance is well known amongst collectors largely due to the 25 minute FM Radio broadcast of part of the set. That chunk appeared in the 70's on tape and presented 3 tracks plus the intro only of How Many More Times. The track order was jumbled to start with I Can't Quit You Baby before the broken string enforced inclusion of I Gotta Move by Otis Rush and a short but stunning Dazed And Confused. The audience recording only came to light at the turn of the century but has been pieced together with the FM tape to give us a nice idea of just how they were performing.
We get the extra opener of Train Kept A-Rollin', a stunningly good Jimmy showcase in White Summer and a long, joyful but more loose than tight How Many More Times. It's the earliest example of how two different recordings of the same performance can leave you with contradicting conclusions!
The FM tape was around on vinyl bootleg - 'Led Zeppelin' (K&S) and 'Spare Parts' - long before the CD revolution, and it's been on numerous CD's since. I Gotta Move was also obviously singled out as a rarity on many a compilation. Recent CD's include the audience version and a 'matrix' of the two, effectively edited together.
After an hour onstage in Stockholm that supposedly ended around 8.30pm, Led Zeppelin hurtled the 70km north to Uppsala for a late double bill, again with Country Joe and his Fish. Once again there's no recording or pictures but fan anecdotes point to the power of the performance and impression left to a crowd largely there for Country Joe and more than a little curious about Jimmy Page's new Yard Birds....
A long (nearly 700km as the Zeppelin flies) trek to Denmark for another double header. A fantastic mini set, powerful and dynamic with local support acts opening proceedings. One of the very few occasions Dazed And Confused was omitted from a Led Zeppelin performance. Instead they played -
The centrepiece of the set is the Garnet Mimms classic, dramatically extended to include all sorts of riffs and licks that would be expanded in Frisco just 6 weeks later. By the end you're left with a feeling of something special happening! The great and atmospheric audience recording makes this the most enjoyable and powerful recording of the Scandinavian Tour
Another short sharp shock of a show, and sadly the recording only lasts 30 minutes or so, cut just 4 songs in. The band relish Dazed And Confused, putting their all into a powerful version that drives the already boisterous audience in the booming gymnasium wild. A standing ovation greets its' climax. Another fine audience recording. Some UK shows from the period captured like this would be most welcome!
The tour moves to Copenhagen for the final two days, and there are 2 shows here. This time Led Zeppelin headline above Country Joe & The Fish, and the Keef Hartley Band support as they had done the night before. Once again we have no audio or pictures as yet, but with the constant discovery of even the smallest new clip or article there's always something new just around the corner. Always.
The most famous of all the Scandinavian Tour. 32 minutes of magic filmed in front of a small and shocked, almost bewildered audience sitting cross legged right in the line of fire of Bonzo's castanet meets machine gun right foot. Discovered to still exist in the mid 80's when Robert was promoting Shaken n Stirred and during interviews small teasing clips were shown that he tried to downplay and brush off, even pretending he knew nothing about them and couldn't remember it!.
I remember getting an audio tape in the 70's, very slightly incomplete, obviously recorded with a mic in front of a TV speaker. That source was used by Japanese bootleggers for the Danish TV elpee and we were almost resigned to the performance being lost forever until the interviews with Robert started circulating. But, not much more than half an hour into the 1990's the good old BBC broadcast the whole wonderful thing. With an extra few seconds at both ends this is revelation. 4 tracks, 2 bow sketches, and prime primeval Led Zeppelin right in your living room!
Ok, so Robert is low key with some vocal issues, even if he still has that wail that both frightened and intrigued Jimmy at that teacher training college the previous summer. Jonesy is professional, inspired and perfect. Jimmy holds control, weaving commands with shemanic arm movements and brooding under his shockingly for the time long hair. He's playing wonderfully with a confidence and versatility that's breathtaking at times. But the star is Bonzo. He's a beast, so powerful yet with a light, deft touch and an already developed sense of drama and use of space and silence.
It took ages to appear, and after 13 or more years of hearing the audio before seeing the broadcast in all its' glory, I wasn't disappointed. In fact, the opposite is true. If various film clips show a more professional, musical, mature and grandiose Led Zeppelin, TV Byen is a microcosm of what all the fuss was about in the first place. Head and shoulders above everyone else, musically already incredible, and raw, powerful and confident.They already KNEW.
Back on British soil and a second BBC session, on the invitation of producer Jeff Griffin. A short 14 minute 3 track blast featuring the two blues covers from the first album and a made up on the spot rollicking blues hybrid 'Sunshine Woman'. Again, the full run down is part of my BBC Sessions article, but I will say this is wonderful stuff. Much more forceful and confident than the bluster of their debut session just 16 days before, it's a great set.
One of the most legendary 'lost' pieces of footage in Led Zeppelin's history. How Late It Is was a late night BBC Arts and Current Affairs programme, broadcast at 10.50pm at that time, probably on BBC2. Michael Wale introduced it. The band recorded a live version of Communication Breakdown during the afternoon after being asked to replace the Flying Burrito Brothers who had withdrawn from the show for reasons unknown.
The performance was aired but sadly there has never been a copy found either audio or video. The BBC wiped the VCR soon after transmission, so the chances of finding anything 48 years later is very very slim. Then again, even now seemingly lost episodes of Dr Who, Steptoe & Son etc do turn up that were filmed by cine cameras as broadcast or shown overseas, so the door is only 99% closed.....
This show was witnessed by one Ritchie Blackmore. Deep Purple (mark one) were rehearsing nearby and he decided to check out the new hot ticket in town. What he experienced made his mind up to revamp Purple, bring in a new bassist and singer. He was quoted as saying he wanted a singer like Planty, and eventually found Ian Gillan. Support for the gig was Blodwyn Pig, ex-Tull guitarist Mick Abraham's band.
Sunday afternoon. The perfect post-roast time to sit back, tune into Top Gear and listen to the 4 track session Led Zeppelin recorded for John Peel some 20 days before.
The Argus Butterfly, Peterlee
That evening Led Zeppelin travelled to the North East for a show at the Argus in Peterlee. A great venue by all accounts and one the band would have revelled in. Once again we have no pictures or recording, just gig adverts and some interesting personal recollections on the official Zep site
Supershow, Staines, Middlesex
A disused lino and carpet factory in Staines, Middlesex was the glamorous setting 48 years ago today for 'Supershow', an ambitious film project highlighting the best and most diverse of music at the time. This is wonderful, a time capsule that shows just how powerful the live monolith that was Led Zeppelin was even this early in the game. Lol had the bootleg elpee, a rare Japanese vinyl and in about 79/80, when home VCR's started to take off, this clip appeared. The first versions came with overdubbed commentary at the start and during the bow sketch by an american voice. In about 86 I think it came out on video, and laserdisc in Japan, and finally after much bootlegging, part of DVD in 2003. Always has the same edit, sadly, and rumours abounded of a second track. Communication seemed favourite, and it took until DVD for Jimmy to reveal they offered a second song but were told 'not necessary'. Also there was talk of You Shook Me, tried out but nixed because of Robert's sore throat.
Beat Club, Bremen. German TV session
The Marquee, London
A burst of shows in and around the capital kicks off with a return to the Marquee club for their 3rd appearance in 6 months. Again we have no recordings, only a picture of Robert and a couple of reviews. We were obviously still coming to terms with Led Zeppelin. The BBC were given the opportunity to film the band at the Marquee, possibly for their Colour Me Pop show, but according to a quote from Peter they didn't show up! Of the 3 early appearances this is the most likely to have been filmed being in the middle of this media angled activity.
College Of Technology, Bromley, Kent
Another great show according to first hand recollections. As Peter said at the time 'we just went out, went to work and did the venues'.
Farx Club, Northcote Arms, Southall, London
Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, London
A legendary venue, on the gig circuit for most of the new 'Progressive' bands on the scene. Remember in the 80's a taxi driver that took me to and from the Royal Standard a few times talked about the gig and said it was so loud but great and they had Deep Purple a week or two later, Tull too. All accounts talk about the volume, and how Robert managed to hit all the high notes and Jimmy kept his greycoat on throughout the show!
March 3rd
BBC Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London WC2
After a cancelled club date at The Van Dike Club in Plymouth on March 1st the next stop was two days later for their first Radio Session. With Bernie Andrews at the helm, 4 tracks were laid down for John Peel's Top Gear show to be broadcast 20 days later. I've gone through a full breakdown of these tracks over on my BBC Sessions page, but suffice to say these recordings sizzle with a power and energy already prevalent in their live performances. With 16 planned UK 'club gigs' planned for March and April, this kind of radio exposure was vital.
Recorded and mixed very quickly - they only had a 4 hour time slot - the four tracks are punchy, immediate and to the point. Both You Shook Me and Dazed were pared down compared to the live versions that were already stretching out, and the only hints of their live progression compared to the first elpee are the wah wah post-solo break in Communication Breakdown and the precis of Muddy Waters' 'Nineteen Years Old' at the coda of I Can't Quit You Baby.
There's a lot to like here, despite the brevity of the songs and indeed the whole session.
March 5th
Top Rank, Cardiff
March 7th
Bluesville Club '69, Hornsey Wood Tavern, London
Led Zeppelin joined a growing list of great acts to play this pub situated on the Seven Sisters Road N4, from Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, Rory Gallagher and Family. Again we have no recording or pictures, but we do have some eye witness accounts that talk of the interaction between Robert & Jimmy, the volume(!) and how packed the place was.
March 13th
Pyjama Dance, De Montfort Hall, Leicester University
For 60p you could see Led Zeppelin plus two local support acts Ferris Wheel and Decoys inside Leicester University as part of their Rag Week celebrations. Again we have no recordings etc but there's a fascinating account of the night by DJ/promoter on the night Stuart Langford on the official ledzeppelin.com website.
March 14th
Sveriges Radio TV Studio, Stockholm, Sweden
The first of 3 appearances on this hectic day! Punk, to say the very least. Led Zeppelin mime to Communication Breakdown, with some great full on attitude captured for posterity by the cameras. Largely unknown and forgotten about until being rediscovered at the end of the 1990's and then ending up as a CDRom extra on the 'Early Days' compilation in 2000. 3 years later it was also included on DVD.
Koncerthuset, Stockholm, Sweden
After the TV recording, this is the first of two live appearances that same day. Opening for Country Joe & The Fish, this particular performance is well known amongst collectors largely due to the 25 minute FM Radio broadcast of part of the set. That chunk appeared in the 70's on tape and presented 3 tracks plus the intro only of How Many More Times. The track order was jumbled to start with I Can't Quit You Baby before the broken string enforced inclusion of I Gotta Move by Otis Rush and a short but stunning Dazed And Confused. The audience recording only came to light at the turn of the century but has been pieced together with the FM tape to give us a nice idea of just how they were performing.
We get the extra opener of Train Kept A-Rollin', a stunningly good Jimmy showcase in White Summer and a long, joyful but more loose than tight How Many More Times. It's the earliest example of how two different recordings of the same performance can leave you with contradicting conclusions!
The FM tape was around on vinyl bootleg - 'Led Zeppelin' (K&S) and 'Spare Parts' - long before the CD revolution, and it's been on numerous CD's since. I Gotta Move was also obviously singled out as a rarity on many a compilation. Recent CD's include the audience version and a 'matrix' of the two, effectively edited together.
University Hall, Uppsala
After an hour onstage in Stockholm that supposedly ended around 8.30pm, Led Zeppelin hurtled the 70km north to Uppsala for a late double bill, again with Country Joe and his Fish. Once again there's no recording or pictures but fan anecdotes point to the power of the performance and impression left to a crowd largely there for Country Joe and more than a little curious about Jimmy Page's new Yard Birds....
March 15th
Teen Club, Egegaard Skole, Gladsaxe, Denmark
A long (nearly 700km as the Zeppelin flies) trek to Denmark for another double header. A fantastic mini set, powerful and dynamic with local support acts opening proceedings. One of the very few occasions Dazed And Confused was omitted from a Led Zeppelin performance. Instead they played -
Train Kept A-Rollin'/I Can't Quit You Baby
As Long As I Have You + Medley - Fresh Garbage/Bags Groove/Cat's Squirrel/Shake/I Just Want To Make Love To You
You Shook Me
Communication Breakdown
The centrepiece of the set is the Garnet Mimms classic, dramatically extended to include all sorts of riffs and licks that would be expanded in Frisco just 6 weeks later. By the end you're left with a feeling of something special happening! The great and atmospheric audience recording makes this the most enjoyable and powerful recording of the Scandinavian Tour
Brondby Pop Club, Norregardshallen, Brondby, Denmark
Another short sharp shock of a show, and sadly the recording only lasts 30 minutes or so, cut just 4 songs in. The band relish Dazed And Confused, putting their all into a powerful version that drives the already boisterous audience in the booming gymnasium wild. A standing ovation greets its' climax. Another fine audience recording. Some UK shows from the period captured like this would be most welcome!
March 16th
Tivolis Konsertsal, Copenhagen, Denmark
The tour moves to Copenhagen for the final two days, and there are 2 shows here. This time Led Zeppelin headline above Country Joe & The Fish, and the Keef Hartley Band support as they had done the night before. Once again we have no audio or pictures as yet, but with the constant discovery of even the smallest new clip or article there's always something new just around the corner. Always.
March 17th
TV Byen, Danmarks Radio, DBC, Gladsaxe,
Copenhagen, Denmark
The most famous of all the Scandinavian Tour. 32 minutes of magic filmed in front of a small and shocked, almost bewildered audience sitting cross legged right in the line of fire of Bonzo's castanet meets machine gun right foot. Discovered to still exist in the mid 80's when Robert was promoting Shaken n Stirred and during interviews small teasing clips were shown that he tried to downplay and brush off, even pretending he knew nothing about them and couldn't remember it!.
I remember getting an audio tape in the 70's, very slightly incomplete, obviously recorded with a mic in front of a TV speaker. That source was used by Japanese bootleggers for the Danish TV elpee and we were almost resigned to the performance being lost forever until the interviews with Robert started circulating. But, not much more than half an hour into the 1990's the good old BBC broadcast the whole wonderful thing. With an extra few seconds at both ends this is revelation. 4 tracks, 2 bow sketches, and prime primeval Led Zeppelin right in your living room!
Ok, so Robert is low key with some vocal issues, even if he still has that wail that both frightened and intrigued Jimmy at that teacher training college the previous summer. Jonesy is professional, inspired and perfect. Jimmy holds control, weaving commands with shemanic arm movements and brooding under his shockingly for the time long hair. He's playing wonderfully with a confidence and versatility that's breathtaking at times. But the star is Bonzo. He's a beast, so powerful yet with a light, deft touch and an already developed sense of drama and use of space and silence.
It took ages to appear, and after 13 or more years of hearing the audio before seeing the broadcast in all its' glory, I wasn't disappointed. In fact, the opposite is true. If various film clips show a more professional, musical, mature and grandiose Led Zeppelin, TV Byen is a microcosm of what all the fuss was about in the first place. Head and shoulders above everyone else, musically already incredible, and raw, powerful and confident.They already KNEW.
March 19th
Maida Vale Studios, Delaware Road, London, W9
Back on British soil and a second BBC session, on the invitation of producer Jeff Griffin. A short 14 minute 3 track blast featuring the two blues covers from the first album and a made up on the spot rollicking blues hybrid 'Sunshine Woman'. Again, the full run down is part of my BBC Sessions article, but I will say this is wonderful stuff. Much more forceful and confident than the bluster of their debut session just 16 days before, it's a great set.
March 21st
BBC TV Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherds Bush, London
One of the most legendary 'lost' pieces of footage in Led Zeppelin's history. How Late It Is was a late night BBC Arts and Current Affairs programme, broadcast at 10.50pm at that time, probably on BBC2. Michael Wale introduced it. The band recorded a live version of Communication Breakdown during the afternoon after being asked to replace the Flying Burrito Brothers who had withdrawn from the show for reasons unknown.
The performance was aired but sadly there has never been a copy found either audio or video. The BBC wiped the VCR soon after transmission, so the chances of finding anything 48 years later is very very slim. Then again, even now seemingly lost episodes of Dr Who, Steptoe & Son etc do turn up that were filmed by cine cameras as broadcast or shown overseas, so the door is only 99% closed.....
March 22nd
Mothers Club, Erdington, Birmingham
Back to playing live with a stunning show at the legendary Mothers Club. And this is the earliest recording we have of Led Zeppelin live in the UK. Sadly, it's only 12 minutes. BUT, what we have is so powerful, to a frightening level. Robert's voice is spectacular, such a shame we don't have the rest of the show. The quality is good, even if the Japanese bootleg CD rushed out decided to remove the tape hiss therefore squashing the sound and making it much less enjoyable. This show was witnessed by one Ritchie Blackmore. Deep Purple (mark one) were rehearsing nearby and he decided to check out the new hot ticket in town. What he experienced made his mind up to revamp Purple, bring in a new bassist and singer. He was quoted as saying he wanted a singer like Planty, and eventually found Ian Gillan. Support for the gig was Blodwyn Pig, ex-Tull guitarist Mick Abraham's band.
March 23rd
Sunday afternoon. The perfect post-roast time to sit back, tune into Top Gear and listen to the 4 track session Led Zeppelin recorded for John Peel some 20 days before.
The Argus Butterfly, Peterlee
That evening Led Zeppelin travelled to the North East for a show at the Argus in Peterlee. A great venue by all accounts and one the band would have revelled in. Once again we have no pictures or recording, just gig adverts and some interesting personal recollections on the official Zep site
March 25th
Supershow, Staines, Middlesex
March 27
Beat Club, Bremen. German TV session
Led Zeppelin fly to Bremen to record 2 lip-synch performances' of You Shook Me and Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. Long lost in the vaults and not aired for 40 years, this is both curious and hilarious! They can't mime very well at all! The footage shot was scraped together with a mix of other images for a promo clip of Whole Lotta Love. That was eventually broadcast a year and a day later and is one of the earliest and most common circulating bits of footage.
As interesting this is, the fact Led Zeppelin mimed was against everything they were and stood for. Once this burst of promotional activity was over they would steer clear of TV and concentrate on what they did best. Watching this it's easy to see why!
March 28th
The Marquee, London
A burst of shows in and around the capital kicks off with a return to the Marquee club for their 3rd appearance in 6 months. Again we have no recordings, only a picture of Robert and a couple of reviews. We were obviously still coming to terms with Led Zeppelin. The BBC were given the opportunity to film the band at the Marquee, possibly for their Colour Me Pop show, but according to a quote from Peter they didn't show up! Of the 3 early appearances this is the most likely to have been filmed being in the middle of this media angled activity.
March 29th
College Of Technology, Bromley, Kent
Another great show according to first hand recollections. As Peter said at the time 'we just went out, went to work and did the venues'.
This same afternoon Dutch TV network TROS apparently broadcast Good Times Bad Times on their 'Jam' programme. If I was to guess, it's most likely a collage of pictures put together with the studio version playing over the top. No confirmation or footage has as yet seen the light of day
March 30th
Farx Club, Northcote Arms, Southall, London
Another intimate pub gig, and a great night by all accounts. Various first hand recollections talk about it being so packed you couldn't move and the amazement of everyone that they were actually seeing Led Zeppelin! And Robert was said to have quipped that the stage was so small 'you wouldn't get a 10 piece Soul Band on this stage!'.
March 31st
Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, London
A legendary venue, on the gig circuit for most of the new 'Progressive' bands on the scene. Remember in the 80's a taxi driver that took me to and from the Royal Standard a few times talked about the gig and said it was so loud but great and they had Deep Purple a week or two later, Tull too. All accounts talk about the volume, and how Robert managed to hit all the high notes and Jimmy kept his greycoat on throughout the show!
As we slid into April the intimate shows continued. 8 more 'confirmed' gigs and 3 or 4 unconfirmed were scheduled before they returned to San Francisco. They also managed to squeeze in at least 2 days at Olympic, recording La La on the 14th and Whole Lotta Love and What Is... on the 19th, the first serious studio sessions for the upcoming 'II'.
Looking more than half a century ago, March '69 was such an interesting month for Led Zeppelin. The last time they would court the media, appear on TV and generally get out there to help promote their music. After the second North American Tour things were never quite the same, but what happened back in March '69 shows not only the media and venue set up artists had to go through then but how quickly Zeppelin rose out of the pack and into the stratosphere.
Really excellent stuff here Andy, many thanks indeed for this detailed coverage of the band so early on in the UK and Europe. It was when I first discovered Led Zeppelin through the first LP. Very happy days and memories!
ReplyDeleteI saw shows from 3 different tours in the US in '69 and one could see how the music was changing and evolving. Good article, Andy!
ReplyDelete