LED ZEPPELIN - WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE FESTIVAL APPEARANCE?

'I told Pagey one or two people would be here, but he said he doubted that very much' Robert Plant, Knebworth August 4th 1979 ...

Friday 28 April 2017

LED ZEPPELIN - BLACK DOG

 "Watch your honey drip, can't keep away"




John Paul Jones has always been the quiet one, the studious one. Never one to push himself into the spotlight, he did however have a knack of producing great riffs and ideas. From 'Good Times, Bad Times', to his sterling keyboard work on 'Your Time Is Gonna Come' and 'Baby Come On Home', his brilliantly lyrical (but uncredited) bass licks on 'Ramble On', through the 'III' sessions with 'Celebration Day', 'Since I've Been Loving You' and more. And that pales to his pivotal and unsurpassed onstage musicality.




When the band reconvened at Headley Grange he had ideas. The (too) fast embryonic motif of  'No Quarter' aside, 'twas the riff of  'Black Dog' that stood out. Long, rambling, cutting through time signatures as it ploughed on through. Jonesy recalled listening to Muddy Waters' 'Electric Mud' experimental blues/psychedelic fusion elpee from 1968 as an inspiration. He wanted to do a blues with an impossible riff that turned back on itself. He recalled 'playing a riff so impossible we got to the end and fell about laughing for ten minutes then recorded it'.

The remarkable Headley Grange rehearsal tapes we can now date from November 1970 reveal a relaxed but intense Led Zeppelin learning Jonesy's fantastic riff as they try 3 takes to get locked in. There's some chatter as they get to grips with it and within minutes Bonzo has it down. No wonder Jonesy described playing with Bonzo as 'a dream'. 3 takes and John not only has it but effortlessly elevates it to another level with that ridiculously powerful syncopation.  

Robert adds some tentative guide vocals and with extra count-ins from Bonzo to keep the whole thing afloat, it's more than half way there. It was laid down in Island Studios 2 on December 5th 1970 and the companion disc work in progress mix gives us a fascinating insight to how Jimmy was building the song, layer by layer. 

Opening 'Untitled', 'Black Dog' begins with some handling noise, a scrape of strings. As Jimmy would opine 'the Guitar Army. Wakey wakey, rise and shine!' Call and response in structure, vocals then band, it's a half bred cousin to Fleetwood Mac's 'Oh Well' but lifts way beyond that with the larger than life 5/4 riff that kicks in after 3 vocal lines, twisting and turning while Bonzo powers a 4/4 beat and they all meet together, perfectly, at the end.

With the 'ah oh ah ah, ah oh ah ah' motif before another riff variation it cements its' own power, and for the second half of the song the guitar army adds wave upon wave of harmony guitar building the power and tension all the while. At the coda, Jimmy's solo (not to mention the perfect tight but loose fluidity of the Jones-Bonham groove growling underneath) is startling. Edgy yet melodic, dissonant yet perfectly tuneful and harmonic, it weaves across and above the strutting undercurrent while Robert struts his stuff and they head off into the sunset. Genius.

Auditioned at rehearsal for the 'Back To The Clubs' tour, 'Black Dog' was an obvious live number. Premiered at Belfast Ulster Hall on Match 5th 1971, it came in at 4th in the set. It stayed there, occasionally swapping places with 'Dazed And Confused' until the late 1971 British Tour where it was pushed up to 3rd, more heavy metal adrenalin to follow the 'Immigrant Song'/'Heartbreaker' double shot openers.

Again, when 'Rock And Roll' took over as opener for the second Japanese Tour it followed, pushing the opening salvo crunch. By the time the UK tour was underway 'Over The Hills And Far Away' was slipped in between to give a bit of restbite and colour. By the 9th US Tour it was the final part of the 3 song power start, using a few bars of 'Bring It On Home' as a fanfare introduction. Almost all live performances before or since used a blast of 'Out On The Tiles'. 

1975 was different. Lauded as the official encore, it was preceeded by a token fanfare riff and loose jam of 'Whole Lotta Love'. By the time Led Zeppelin had warmed up and shrugged off their ailments in February '75 the opening verses of 'Whole Lotta Love' were fixed as the introduction. There it stayed - except being dropped for 'Heartbreaker' on March 20th - until the final night at Earls' Court 

1977 saw it disappear from the set, too straightforward Rock to fit with the more fluid songs favoured for the tour. It was to appear twice (as far as we know so far), at the penultimate Madison Square Garden show once again teamed with 'Whole Lotta Love', and as a stand alone encore at the first Oakland Day On The Green gig. With the renewal in 1979 it reverted to 3rd in the set, a reliable crowd pleaser with full call and response muscular power. There it remained in 1980, even having Jimmy introduce it in various languages (chein noir, schwartz hund....) as per their location.

There are countless live performances, various official live releases (the movie, BBC,How The West Was Won) and a fair few filmed ones too. Apart from the truncate then full movie versions, there are the pro-shot Earls' Court and Knebworth bootleg dvd's and much cine film from San Bernardino '72 all the way up to Cologne (possibly Zurich and Munich too) on the Over Europe 1980 tour.

Post Zeppelin Jimmy dropped in an insert in Custard Pie during the Outrider shows, and also was played alongside David Coverdale. The Page Plant project saw a fabulous Australian TV version complete with didgeridoos and a full band run through recorded for the American Music awards. It became a tour staple in 1995 and more of an occasional thrill in 1998. Robert has also teased various arrangements, from straight out rock to bluegrass and banjo semi acoustic versions. Jonesy has performed it too (it is after all his riff) instrumentally to great effect.

Whatever solo performances, the original and subsequent live Led Zeppelin performances show their power and instrumental majesty, the ability to weave in and out of the breath taking power and heaviness with ease, using it as another dimension and not be weighed down by it.
The second US single from 'Untitled', it was backed with 'Misty Mountain Hop'. 

There's a rare edited mono/stereo US promo single, and it's also part of the very scarce 'little LP's' 3 track juke box 7" that also features 'Rock And Roll' and 'Stairway To Heaven'. The Japanese 7" has a gatefold insert featuring facsimile's of their autographs. That aside there are numerous foreign picture sleeve singles too.

Wednesday 26 April 2017

LED ZEPPELIN - SAN FRANCISCO NIGHTS:AVOCADO'S, MOCKINGBIRDS AND MORE!





Richard Cole:"The second US Tour, that was the one. They were on the way up, and no one was looking too closely. 

ANYTHING was possible"




Richard may have been referring to offstage life and antics, but Led Zeppelin's return to the US was certainly a massive turning point. And the opening shows of the tour certainly did prove that anything WAS indeed possible. 

After a frantic 6 weeks across the UK, Scandinavia and various media commitments they returned to their adopted home - California. Although the prestigious Carnegie Hall shows mooted for April 18th didn't happen until two tours and 6 months later, the second North American dates kicked off in style with 4 nights in San Francisco. 

Work had begun on 'II' when Led Zeppelin touched down in California, and the upcoming shows would begin to show glimmers and tasters of new material. Jimmy was using a mixture of guitars, and his Les Paul would take over a major part of his onstage set up and sound, adding more thickness and body as Zeppelin went for the kill wit the already appreciative American audiences. 4 nights were set in collaboration with Bill Graham, two nights at the Fillmore West sitting either side of  brace of nights at the Winterland Ballroom. Brian Auger and the Trinity with Julie Driscoll would open along with the Coldwell-Winfred Blues Band. The stage was set for double sets of Zeppelin, eager to prove themselves and take their fans and music to the next level.


Thursday April 24th - Fillmore West

Sadly, we only have 59 or so minutes of this set, and it's the last of the four nights to appear. Scorpio's 'Fillmore West 69' dated this as January 9th but no matter, the content is all important. From the 2nd set, the opening half is simply stunning. A great recording too, very close to the stage but not a mixing desk ('soundboard') recording by any means. The balance has Robert slightly in the background and Jimmy to the fore and a great sound for the rhythm section, at least until overload blow Jonesy's amps a few minutes in!
The set runs - 



As Long As I Have You 
(Medley inc - Fresh Garbage/Shake/Mockingbird/Bags' Groove/Cat's Squirrel/You Can't Judge A Book/Suzie Q etc)
Killing Floor
(Medley inc - That's Evil/The Lemon Song/Smokestack Lightning)
White Summer/Black Mountainside
Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You
Pat's Delight

An extended and powerful As Long As I Have You kicked things off - this is more likely the second set judging by the tracks we have here. It's difficult to pick the 'star' tonight, all four of them are not only at the top of their game but in complete harmony - the definitive early 'tight but loose'. Jimmy conducts the Led Zeppelin orchestra with that light stun riff intro, punctuated with wah wah figures and dense almost flamenco like dense, dissonant clouds clouds of sound while Robert ad libs and bonzo drops powerful bombs in punctuation. Magnificent!

Jonesy is forceful too, the recording really lets you get 'inside' the rhythm section! Not even half way through you can hear those familiar (those players amongst you!) squeaks, buzzes and surges before his bass sound overloads and the amp gives up. But this only distracts not destroys the piece. After the usual suspects Fresh Garbage and in particular Mockingbird push Led Zeppelin into the stratosphere the unique ad lib sees Bo Diddley joining Garnet Mimms, Spirit, Sam Cooke and a pinch of Dr Ross when then run through a spirited You Can't Judge A Book and blues standard Suzie Q while they forge on through the equipment problems.

Once Jonesy gets some kind of sound back - a bit shakey at first! - Jimmy challenges his mates to some scintillating call and response, one at a time no less as the 20 minute opus reaches a fantastic climax. Killing Floor has that snaking unison Page/Jones/Plant scat introduction unique to this residency of 'Frisco shows. Again a great bit of detective work by Luis Rey to spot the origin as Willie Dixon's (That's) Evil sung by Howlin' Wolf, played obsessively with a key change too before Jimmy powers in the usual Killing Floor riff. The riffs flow, including a nod to the original Lemon Song and even the sliding snaking riff of Smokestack Lightning, another Chester Burnett (Wolf) song that the Yardbirds used to get all blueswailing over. It's in truth a way of bringing the set down in pace and intensity, but is a wonderful blues dirge all the same. Jonesy and Bonzo shine with their near telepathic syncopation as the frontmen bring the volume down.

The rest is fine but not up to the drama of that first 30 minutes. White Summer is as virtuoso as ever, and Bonzo really shines in his solo spot too. It would (will!?) be fantastic to hear the encores and indeed first set....


Friday April 25th - Winterland Ballroom

Well, how do you follow that. No first night of tour nerves at the Fillmore, just some equipment issues. Sadly, what we have - and it was the first recording from this group of shows to circulate - is a far too brief 25 minutes. Sprinkled around the edges of the 'rubber dubber' source tape of the 'Blueberry Hill' show on Wizardo's 2LP bootleg 'Caution;Explosive!' (also called '329D' after the catalogue number on reissues....) it's another truly amazing performance. We get - 


Train Kept A-Rollin'
You Shook Me
As Long As I Have You (cut)
(medley inc. Fresh Garbage/Shake/Bag's Groove)
Communication Breakdown

A mixture from the performance which would lead to confident speculation much more was recorded. A source tape with slightly more audience noise turned up in the late 70's but thus far no more music. Even the emphatic edit in As Long As I Have You remains. It may well be out there, but like the Going To California masters could have been thrown into the ocean.......allegedly.

There has also always been much speculation on the date of this recording. I've seen it traded and indeed been sent it as Seattle, Chicago, New York and the 24th April too! Robert doesn't help, he says 'the last time we played here it was the first err the second thing we ever did in America'. We know the legendary 'plantations' aren't always 100%...!! Anyway, I'm with Luis on this, the sound is so similar to the next night it's probably this show. Big shame we (as yet) have very little from this tour on tape to compare or confirm. 

As for the performance, You Shook Me is the outstanding performance. Slow, heavy and erotic in the extreme, Jimmy is almost certainly using his newly acquired Les Paul (from Joe Walsh) with some brilliant slide figures and Robert soars higher than any guitar can with some incredible, lustful howls and moans. 10 minutes of Led Zeppelin like this can be too much! Communication Breakdown is a delight too, the hysterical crowd adding to the frenzy as Jonesy accompanies Jimmy's stun gun attack with some high flying bass figures before Led Zeppelin drop the bomb! 


Saturday April 26th - Winterland Ballroom

At last, a complete recording! And what a show. 2 great sets -


Bill Graham Introduction
Communication Breakdown/I Can't Quit You Baby
Dazed And Confused
You Shook Me
How Many More Times
(medley inc. Smokestack Lightning/Roll Over Beethoven/The Hunter/Girl Of The North Country etc)

White Summer/Black Mountain Side
Killing Floor
(inc. Evil/Lemon Song/That's Alright Mama etc)
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
As Long As I Have You
(medley inc. Fresh Garbage/Shake/Bag's Groove/Mockingbird /Cat's Squirrel etc
Whole Lotta Love  

Both sets, and an almost complete recording. Again, it's been around a long long time. It pre dates the circulation of the soundboard recordings of the 27th and was used for a variety of compilation and erroneously dated bootleg elpees. And the original tapes and therefore bootlegs run slow. Thankfully that's been arrested over the decades and we now have a fantastic audience recording to enjoy. And what a show. Nothing is even average, and it's clear how much they're all enjoying being back in California, feeding off the receptive and familiar crowd.

Dazed and Confused is already becoming experimental, Jimmy extending passages and riffs as Led Zeppelin take their time and cast their spell. There's a hush of expectancy and awe as he weaves those now familiar bow figures and drones, and as the song reaches its climax we get the debut recorded outing of the Theremin, for the only time in Dazed! With the huge echoing sound tonight it adds an amazing dramatic coda, an other worldly atmosphere. You Shook Me once again stomps over everything, gyrating blues as nasty and dirty as can be, wonderful all the same. The first set climaxes with a driving How Many More Times that mutates through various blues and folk Plant ad libs and Howlin' Wolf licks and references.

You need a break after that! The return for the second set starts slowly and deliberately. Jimmy's showcase is perfect and certainly placed to draw the audience into yet another side of the band both on record and onstage. Killing Floor is once again groinal and powerful with Robert shrieking some Arthur Crudup in the calm mid section. Babe is dynamic, and although I've never been really convinced by the 1969 live versions this one is as tough and dramatic as could be, while letting the subtle moments shine too.

But, the finale is the best. As Long As I Have You is even better than the previous 2 nights, and the arrangement is now seemingly perfected. Jimmy duels with each member in turn and the roar ebbs and flows as the tension remains high and finally bursts through. a really progressive and daring arrangement, and only Led Zeppelin could even attempt this, let alone pull it off with such astonishing results! And after that the audience has been wrung dry, two ours of one of THE great shows for me. And almost as a treat, we get the encore of Whole Lotta Love. Almost certainly the first performance, just a week after recording it in Barnes. And you can tell it's not finished yet, not 'there' so to speak, but does show their confidence and ability. Great guitar white noise and they hit that groove for the climax that leaves everyone exhausted and satisfied as it should. 


Sunday April 27th - Fillmore West

The last night, and the most 'familiar' atmosphere between the band (mainly Robert of course) and a happy, excited crowd. Two sets again and two recordings. A soundboard, unbalanced and at times unnerving with a few edits and a more 'normal' audience recording that is more complete and adds a few in between moments and details too. 


Train Kept A-Rollin'/I Can't Quit You Baby

As Long As I Have You
(medley inc. Fresh Garbage/Shake/Bag's Groove/Cat's Squirrel/Cadillac/No Money Down/I'm A Man etc)
You Shook Me
How Many More Times
(medley inc. Feel So Bad/The Hunter/Mulberry Bush etc)
Communication Breakdown

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
White Summer/Black Mountain Side
Sitting And Thinking
Pat's Delight
Dazed And Confused
Killing Floor
(inc. Evil/Lemon Song/Sweet Jelly Roll etc)

The weight of the performance falls on the first set, doubtless the crowd were buzzing with the previous performances, and the two big medley's are the highlights here. In fact, these are undoubtedly the best 4 As Long As I Have You improvisations I've ever heard. Tonight is the loosest for sure, but every time they seem to almost run into a cul de sac a new riff, nuance or lick powers through while Robert adds Chuck Berry to his list of San Francisco ad libs. How Many More times is even looser, and Jimmy experiments with slow heavy echoed riffs as Bonzo hammers his newly acquired Paiste Gong and Robert runs around the Mulberry Bush!

The encore is a bit out of tune but a fine way to round off an amazing set. the second set, not complete here, is too much of a come down. Still, there are moments to savour including the unique version of Sitting And Thinking, a Buddy Guy blues played as a stand alone track and not as part of a medley. Consequently it has been plucked out of the show to be included on many a bootleg compilation. Again, the running order is varied so Bonzo's solo comes before Dazed And Confused and both recordings end with the heavy sludge of Killing Floor. 

It sounds odd to say and think it, but there's nothing over inspiring about some of the second set but that's a relative thing. April 1969 vintage Led Zeppelin is hardly 'average' in terms of anyone else or indeed much of their own career! 

Four days, 8 sets and some of the most inspired playing of the Rock era and genre. Massively important and potent shows. And at the start of a tour we only have 2 other shows and an encore from another on tape out of 22 nights. In fact there are nearly as many tapes of studio work on 'II' - 3 and counting.... - from this tour as there are live shows. I'm always hopeful, however feint that hope can be at times, of more discoveries, more tapes, even cine film, and more memorabilia from these shows. As I quoted Richard Cole at the start of this piece, no one was watching too closely. I just hope someone was courageous enough to record something from this era and we'll get to enjoy it one day.


Saturday 22 April 2017

LED ZEPPELIN IS A GAS! SPOTLIGHT ON MARCH 1969



"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.


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


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!


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


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. 

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.