On This Day 02 November

Blues can be happy

1985 02 November On This Day Blues 'N Booze benefit for Neville Hall

• 1966 The Yardbirds Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour - Magnolia, AR at Southern State College
• 1967 The Yardbirds - New York City at Village Theatre
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Toronto, Canada at O'Keefe Centre
• 1985 Jimmy Page - Waltham St. Lawrence, England at Neville Hall - Blues 'N' Booze Benefit
• 1998 Page & Plant - Glasgow, Scotland at SE+CC, Hall 4
• 2009 Jimmy Page attends Classic Rock Awards, London 

1969:

While in Toronto John Bonham bought a miniature drum kit for his three year old son, Jason.

ca 1969 John Bonham and Jason Bonham 

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin backstage, Toronto

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin, Toronto

1985:
Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera was a British rock band active in the late 1960s. They started out as a soul and blues band called The Five Proud Walkers, but after opening for Pink Floyd on tour, the group went more towards psychedelic rock and changed their name to Velvet Opera. The band was comprised of Richard Hudson (drums), John Ford (bass), Colin Forster (lead guitar), Jimmy Horrocks (organ and flute), and Dave Terry, a.k.a. "Elmer Gantry" (vocals and harmonica). When Dave Terry started wearing a cape and preacher's hat like Burt Lancaster did in the title roll of the 1960 film based on Sinclair Lewis' novel, Elmer Gantry, the band's name changed again.  It wasn't the last time, either.

Neville Hall was originally a cottage held by the Manor of Waltham St Lawrence. In modern times it was used as a school, sold in 1913 to the Parish Council and became known as The Neville Hall in memory of the Reverend Honorable Grey Neville.

The House of Neville has been around since medieval times,and was a leading political force in English history. The House of Neville and the House of Percy were rivals, heavily involved with the machinations of the Wars of the Roses. However in 1569 the Houses Neville and Percy joined forces in the Rising of the North, the attempt to overthrow Elizabeth I and replace her with the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots.

To Brits, this is all recent history. For the rest of us, what's important is that Neville Hall is still used for community events, including concerts; and that Jimmy Page joined up with Elmer Gantry one night years ago to raise funds for the building.

2009:

According to Ross Halfin's diary, the Classic Rock Awards in London on this day was a guitarist extravaganza.  Attending were Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood, Billy Gibbons, Pete Townshend, Joe Perry, Tony Iommi, Brian May, Slash, Mick Ralphs and Joe Bonamassa.

Among the other awards, John Bonham was posthumously awarded the Tommy Vance Inspiration Award, which was sponsored by Rhino and was accepted by Bonzo's sister, Deborah Bonham, and mother, Joan Bonham.

2009 Jeff Beck, Paul Rodgers, Jimmy Page, Classic Rock Awards London
(Ross Halfin Photo)

2009 Slash, Ronnie Wood, Joe Perry, Jimmy Page
Jeff Beck, Paul Rodgers, Classic Rock Awards (Ross Halfin Photo)

♪

♪  Flames (Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, 1967) YouTube
♪  Full set (Led Zeppelin, Toronto 1969) YouTube
♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Glasgow 1998) YouTube