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| 1975 06 January On This Day Led Zeppelin caused a riot and they weren't even there |
1975:
"Banned in Boston" describes works of art (painting and sculpture, literature, music, theater, etc.) that were prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston because of , "objectionable content", including but not limited to works with sexual content or foul language. Remember, Boston was founded by Puritans, and artwork was banned in Boston as early as 1651. The city was still banning art in the twentieth century.
On this day in 1975, events in Boston led to the band's being banned there for five years. Led Zeppelin wasn't even in the USA at that time, but it didn't matter.
It all started when Led Zeppelin was booked to play a show at Boston Garden on 04 February 1975. The announcement of the concert, the “first monster rock show of the new year”, was made on December 31, 1974, and stated that tickets would go on sale the following Tuesday (07 January, 1975), with the show expected to be sold out immediately.
By that time in the USA fans often would line up the night before concert tickets went on sale. That wasn't uncommon. But on the night of 06 January, Boston police (including a few from Boston's Tactical Patrol Force) were sent to Boston Garden to deal with a reported 3000 fans who had arrived in advance for the box office to open at 10 a.m. the next day - and who were trashing the place. Because of the cold, the doors had been opened to allow freezing fans to wait inside. Somehow that act of mercy resulted in the fans running amok, vandalizing the building to the tune of about $30,000. Police confiscated knives and martial arts implements from some of the rioters. The estimated average age of fans was reported to be 14, but since no one was actually arrested it's hard to know how accurate that was.
And then, in spite of the fact that Led Zeppelin had been booked for the show, somehow the concert had not actually been licensed by the Boston Licensing Board. That was all the excuse that Mayor Kevin White, reportedly a Stones fan, needed to refuse the permit for Led Zeppelin's show, and on top of it the band was banned in Boston for five years.
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| 1972 busted in Rhode Island but saved by Boston's mayor |
Fair? Hardly. Mayor White didn't make a fuss when fans who were waiting at Boston Garden rioted in 1972 when the band didn't show up on time. No, instead White personally got Keith Richards and Mick Jagger out of
assault busts in Rhode Island so they could get back to Boston for the gig. No banned in Boston for them.
Meanwhile in 1975 Led Zeppelin fans in Boston who never got the tickets for Led Zeppelin because now the band was banned there were offered tickets by mail for a newly scheduled show in Uniondale NY on 04 February. Those who showed up with an envelope bearing a Massachusetts postmark got preferential seating.
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| 2012 January Classic Rock Magazine (Ross Halfin cover photo) |
By the way, Boston seems to be a bit proud of their place in Led Zeppelin history. On their "Celebrate Boston" website (albeit in the Crime folder) there's a more detailed account of the
Led Zeppelin Riot.
