On This Day 30 June

 "Please give us a chance..." 

 

1990 30 June On This Day Jimmy Page with Robert Plant at Silver Clef Awards concert at Knebworth

• 1967 The Yardbirds - Shrewsbury, Shrops, England at Shrewsbury Music Hall
• 1979 Led  Zeppelin visit Knebworth House 
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Frankfurt, Germany at Festhalle Frankfurt
• 1990 Page & Plant - Knebworth for Nordoff  Robbins Silver Clef Winners Charity Concert 
• 2000 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Holmdel, NJ at PNC Bank Arts Center

1979:

"Led Zeppelin, arguably the world's most popular hard rock band, came down before the (1979) festival to meet us and look around Knebworth House. Guitarist Jimmy Page was a fan of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, who lived in the House in the early 1800's. They shared an interest in the occult, and Jimmy wanted to see all our Bulwer Lytton memorabilia. He used to have a resident medium living at Knebworth and we have his crystal ball and books on magic and witchcraft. It is his ghost that roams the passages at night!

"Drummer John Bonham was more interested in the gardens and singer Robert Plant nearly took a swim in our pool but decided his hairdresser wouldn't be happy about it if he did."
--Chryssie Lytton Cobbold, Knebworth Rock Festivals

Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803 – 1873) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, and politician. He wrote a number of bestselling novels that were very popular in his day. If you've come across any of the following phrases, you've read some of his words: "the great unwashed", "pursuit of the almighty dollar", "the pen is mightier than the sword", "dweller on the threshold", and yes, "It was a dark and stormy night".

Zanoni is a story of love and occult aspiration.
A Strange Story, with its supernatural theme, was an influence on Bram Stoker's Dracula 

1980:
The Frankfurt audience was so loud that Jimmy Page had to stop playing White Summer when he couldn't hear himself and had to ask the audience to please give them a chance. Those were the days before in-ear monitors.

Phil Carson, then senior vice president at Atlantic Records, joined Led Zeppelin for an encore version of Money.  Carson started out his musical career with Dusty Springfield.

1980 John Paul Jones & Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Frankfurt (Photo Hans P Kirsch)

1980 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Frankfurt

1990:

The Knebworth Festival is held on the grounds of the Knebworth House in England. The Nordoff Robbins Silver Clef Award Winners Concert was held there in 1990. The awards recognize outstanding talent across the music industry. Nordoff Robbins is a music therapy charity dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults.  

Robert Plant, who was awarded a Silver Clef that year (Jimmy Page received it in 2014), did a set for that show and Jimmy Page joined him on stage for three songs. As one person said who was there, when Jimmy walked on the stage the volume of the audience went up 1000%. The concert is available on DVD Live at Knebworth.

 

1990 Jimmy Page with Robert Plant at Knebworth

1990 Robert Plant, Jimmy Page at Knebworth

Knebworth House

♪  White Summer/Black Mountain Side (Led Zeppelin, Frankfurt Germany 1980) YouTube

♪  Money (Led Zeppelin with Phil Carson, Frankfurt Germany 1980) YouTube

♪  Wearing and Tearing (Page with Plant, Knebworth 1990) YouTube

♪  Rock and Roll (Page with Plant, Knebworth 1990) YouTube

♪  Full show (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, Holmdel NJ 2000) YouTube

On This Day 29 June

The Thing.

1995 29 June On This Day Page & Plant in Denmark

• 1966 The Yardbirds- Bromley, England at Bromel Club ,Bromley Court Hotel
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - City of Westminster, London, England at Royal Albert Hall (two shows in one night!)
• 1969 BBC Radio 1 broadcast of the 24 June Maida Vale session
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Zurich Switzerland at Hallenstadion
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Roskilde, Denmark at Festivalpladsen - Roskilde Festival
• 1998 Page & Plant - Grand Rapids, MI at Van Andel Arena
• 2000 Jimmy Page - The Black Crowes - Milwaukee, WI at Marcus Amphitheatre

1969:

"...it is boggling that in a matter of months they have achieved such a high degree of musicianship and become one of the biggest crowd pullers around."
~ (NME, July ’69)

Led Zeppelin performed at two "Pop Proms" shows in one night at Royal Albert Hall, appearing with the sax players from The Liverpool Scene and Mick Abraham's Blodwyn Pigs for the final jam Long Tall Sally.  The performance was wild, with the audience dancing in the aisles and throwing flowers and paper airplanes onto the stage.

"Prom" is short for promenade concert.  The term was originally used for the concerts in the pleasure gardens of London, where the audience could stroll about while listening to the music. The BBC's eight-week summer seasons of daily orchestral classical music and other concerts and other events take place primarily in the Royal Albert Hall in London. "Pop Prom" refers to the popular music offerings. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones performed at a Pop Prom in 1963, the first of only two times when they appeared on the same bill.

Long Tall Sally was a song originally recorded by Little Richard (Richard Penniman) and released in 1956. It has been covered by hundreds of artists, including Elvis and the Beatles, though of course some of us know that Led Zeppelin did it best. The band used Long Tall Sally for encores in 1969 and 1970. (Note the Led Zeppelin link below is from a week later in the US).

1969 Led Zeppelin - Westminster, London at Royal Albert Hall "Pop Proms" shows

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin - Westminster, London at Royal Albert Hall
(Photo Peter Sanders)

1980 Led Zeppelin in Zurich (Photo L Viti)

1980 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Zurich (Photo Chris Turner)

♪  Long Tall Sally (Little Richard, 1956) YouTube

♪  Long Tall Sally (Led Zeppelin Newport 1969) YouTube 

♪  Train Kept A Rollin' (Led Zeppelin Zurich 1980) YouTube

♪  In The Evening (Led Zeppelin Zurich 1980) YouTube

♪  Full show (Led Zeppelin Zurich 1980) YouTube

On This Day 28 June

1969 and 1970 28 June On This Day - Led Zeppelin at Bath Festivals

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Bath, England at Bath Pavilion Recreation Ground
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Shepton Mallet, England at Royal Bath & West Showground
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Tucson, AZ at Tucson Community Theatre
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Stockholm Sweden at Maritime Museum
• 2000 Jimmy Page - The Black Crowes - Pittsburgh, PA at  Star Lake Amphitheatre

1969:
The Bath Festival of Blues was held at the Bath Pavilion Recreational Ground in Bath, Somerset, England, on 28 June 1969. The headline act was Fleetwood Mac. The festival was produced by Wendy and Freddy Bannister, London club show promoters. All 30,000 tickets were sold out in the first week. Led Zeppelin had only played their first show nine months before, and this was the band's biggest UK audience to date. As we know, things would be drastically different very quickly.
Bath got its name from the hot springs that were shrines in prehistoric times and later developed by the Romans and others into public baths. Bath is said to have been where King Arthur's defeated the Anglo-Saxons.

1970:
The Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music was held at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England on 27–29 June 1970. Led Zeppelin was the headline act. This location, about 20 mi (32 km) south of Bath, allowed for a much larger crowd. The logistics were not so great - some of the bands' equipment trucks couldn't get to the site due to the country lanes being blocked by cars. Donovan showed up on the stage on Sunday morning, providing an unscheduled 2½ hour performance because the scheduled band wasn't there yet.

Peter Grant had arranged for Led Zeppelin to hit the stage as the sun was setting. They played to an audience estimated at 200,000 for three hours and performed five encores. The show is considered one of the most important performances of their career.

Plastic bags and raincoats were de rigueur in the audience. A bearded Jimmy Page wore a rain hat and his long overcoat during the show.

"ANOTHER ENCORE – at 10:50pm Zeppelin had won. They had made all the hang-ups worthwhile and given the crowd a night to remember – whatever else happened."
~ MelodyMaker, July 1970

1970 Bath Festival (Photo Terry Farebrother)

1970 28 June Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Bath Festival (Photo Michael Putland)

1972 28 June Led Zeppelin at Tucson (Photo D. Ford)

2000:
The venue for this show has changed names over the years.  Originally it was the Star Lake Amphitheater and it was called the Post-Gazette Pavilion when the Page/Black Crowes show took place.  It is currently named the First Niagara Pavilion.  Burgettstown is a suburb of Pittsburgh.

2000 28 June Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes at Pittsburgh

♪  8mm film footage (Led Zeppelin, Shepton Mallet 1970) YouTube

♪  Bring It On Home (Led Zeppelin, Shepton Mallet 1970) YouTube

♪  How Many More Times  (Led Zeppelin, Shepton Mallet 1970) YouTube

♪  Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin, Tucson 1972) YouTube

♪  Full show (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, Burgettstown /Pittsburgh 2000) YouTube

On This Day 27 June

When Jimmy Page calls...

1999 27 June On This Day Jimmy Page with Black Crowes at Scream charity event

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Provins, France at Tour de Cesar - Provins Rock Festival
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Westminster, London  at Playhouse Theatre - BBC Radio Session 
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Long Beach, CA at Long Beach Arena
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Nuremberg, Germany at Nuremberg Messehalle
• 1998 Page & Plant - Auburn Hills, MI at The Palace at Auburn Hills
• 1999 27 June On This Day Jimmy Page with the Black Crowes at  charity event in London for Task Brazil / ABC Trust

1999:

Task Brasil Trust was established in the UK in 1992. Its mission is to improve the lives and support the needs of children and pregnant girls living on the streets in Brasil. In 1997 Jimmy Page made a major donation to Task Brasil after having seen the plight of children in Rio de Janeiro when he was there performing. The donation was used to buy the land and house for "Casa Jimmy", which provides a home for abandoned street kids and pregnant teens.

Action for Brazil’s Children Trust (ABC Trust) is is also a UK based charity dedicated to helping children and young people in cities across Brazil. ABC was founded by Jimena Pratcha, with Jimmy Page as the founding patron. Other patrons include Brian May, Jeremy Irons and Pelé.

1977 27 June Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin final night at LA Forum (Photo Paul Dahbour)

1980 27 June Led Zeppelin at Nuremberg Germany

♪ Moby Dick (Led Zeppelin, Long Beach 1972) YouTube
♪ Ten Years Gone (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 27 June 1977) YouTube
♪ Since I've Been Loving You (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 27 June 1977) YouTube

Chris Robinson:  "When Jimmy Page gives a call and wants us to be his band... you don't turn it down."
♫  Scream 99 Cafe De Paris ABC Trust (Tommy Vance for VH-1, 1999) YouTube

On This Day 26 June

Will somebody please explain the firecrackers to me?  What's with that?

1998 & 2000 On This Day Jimmy Page at Auburn Hills MI

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Paris, France at Le Weekend Club
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Portsmouth, London  at Portsmouth Guildhall
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Vienna, Austria at Weiner Stadthalle
• 1998 On This Day Page & Plant - Auburn Hills, MI at The Palace at Auburn Hills
• 2000 On This Day Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Auburn Hills, MI at The Palace at Auburn Hills

1977 26 June Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin LA Forum

1977 26 June Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin LA Forum (Redfern)

1980:
It's hard for me to fathom why people kept throwing firecrackers at the band. Jimmy Page was hit in the face with with one in the middle of White Summer.  The band walked off the stage and there was a long wait for anything else to happen. An announcer came on stage and said the following (translated from German):

 "We have a group here that is giving their best but they can't be disturbed by idiots who throw something onto the stage! Jimmy Page has been injured by a firecracker that landed on his eyes! I can only ask for one thing: if someone is standing next to you who does this kind of nonsense, give him a smart rap over the knuckles! I can't set up concerts in vienna - and i'm setting up concerts since 15 years - if I can't guarantee for the safety of my acts (or performers). And now I must request your patience in order for us to clear this situation. We can't just forget what just happened, that's why we want the person who threw this to come up here on stage, or to be brought here by his neighbors. We want to meet him, we want to talk to him. And if he himself doesn't have the guts to come up here - because we can't continue with the concert until we talked to him - his neighbors should get him on the stage. Then the concert will continue. We'll have to talk to this man. I want him here because this idiot is messing up the show for everyone." 

What's amazing to me is that the band did come out and finish the show.  It boggles my mind to think about being on stage,giving yourself to the music while being a moving target for the weirdos.

1980 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Vienna Austria

1980 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Vienna Austria

♪  8mm concert footage (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 26 June 1977) YouTube
♪  Full concert/That's All Right Mama (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 26 June 1977) YouTube
♪  White Summer (Led Zeppelin, Vienna 1980) YouTube

On This Day 25 June

Music, separated by time but not by magic.

1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour, Glastonbury Festival

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Bury, England at Bury Palais de Danse
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Glastonbury Festival, Pyramid Stage 

1972 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum

1972:
This show was so good that when Jimmy Page used it and the June 27 Long Beach show for How the West Was Won, a 2003 triple disc release.    In the liner notes, Jimmy Page says that Led Zeppelin was at its artistic peak in 1972.

Mr Page said that when they were playing their best - such as at these two shows - “we combined to make it a fifth element.  That was the magic, the intangible." (Guitarist Magazine interview, 2003)

The fifth element, in metaphysical and other teaching, is aether or spirit, the other four being  earth, air, fire and water. The fifth element is the thing that is more than the sum of the parts. It is quintessence, qi, mana. It is life force, the energy of the universe.

1977 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum

1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour, Glastonbury Festival (Photo Ross Halfin)

1995:

Glastonbury Tor is a hill in Somerset County, in SE England.  There is archeological evidence of human occupation of the tor since before human written history.  The Celtic name of the hill, Ynys Wydryn means "Isle of Glass".  In ancient days the plain that the hill rises from would be flooded by high tides.  The Britons named the hill Ynys yr Afalon meaning "The Isle of Avalon".  When there are thermal inversions, heavy mists can blanket the plain with the tor rising from it - these mists are called Fata Morgana, after Morgan le Fay, a sorceress of Arthurian legend.  

The five-day Glastonbury Festival has its own history.  The first series of concerts, lectures and recitals were held in the town of Glastonbury were held in 1914. The first festival at Worthy Farm was the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival held in 1970.  It now attracts well over 100,000 people each year, and tickets sell out within hours.

Glastonbury Tor (Photo Rob Holden)

You might want to compare SIBLY performed at each of these shows.

♪  Since I've Been Loving You (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 25 June 1972) YouTube

♪  Full Show "Badgeholders Annual Meeting" (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 25 June 1977) YouTube

♪  Full show (Page & Plant, Glastonbury 1995) YouTube

On This Day 24 June

1969 24 June On This Day Led Zeppelin - London,England at Maida Vale Studios,Studio 4 - BBC Sessions Radio 1

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Durham, England at University of Durham
• 1969 24 June On This Day Led Zeppelin - London,England at Maida Vale Studios,Studio 4 - BBC Sessions,Radio One Session
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Hannover,Germany at Hannover Messehalle
• 1984 Jimmy Page with Yes - Dortmund,Germany at Westfalenhalle 
• 1995 Page & Plant- Unledded Tour - Schwalmstadt, Germany at Wildenrath Airfield,Wegberg Festival
• 2000 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Tinley Park, IL at New World Music Theatre 

Maida Vale Studios entry arch

1969:  

Maida Vale is a neighborhood in west London, part of the City of Westminster. First called Maida Hill. The name is named for the Hero of Maida Inn (no longer a pub, though the building still stands). The hero was General Sir John Stuart, Count of Maida.

The site of Maida Vale Studios started out in 1909 as the "Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club". It was rebuilt (the roller skating palace's arches preserved) for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which has been there since 1934. The studio complex was the centre of the BBC News operation during World War II.

There are seven studios, five of which are currently in use for recording and the others for rehearsals and tape archives. Studio MV4 was used for the John Peel sessions from 1967 to 2004, and is still used for those BBC Radio 1 sessions that replaced replaced John Peel's Top Gear.

Top Gear was a Radio 1 program that ran from 1967 to 1975. It was created to provide exposure for up-and-coming bands, and for musicians and bands to experiment with new material, non-album material, different sounds and guest musicians.

1984:

“Jimmy moved and bought a house in England near the house I was living in. So, we became neighbors and got together,” explained Yes bassist Chris Squire. “He was obviously pretty depressed about John Bonham’s death for awhile, and I kind of helped him out of that by saying ‘Let’s try to do some new music’ and that’s really what happened.”
Read More: 30 Years Ago: Jimmy Page Joins Yes on Stage to Cover the Beatles | 

2000 24 June Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Tinley Park, IL
at New World Music Theatre (Photo Andrew Labis)

2000 24 June Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Tinley Park, IL
at New World Music Theatre (Photo Andrew Labis)

2000:

Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes became the first artists ever to crack the Top 10 with an internet-only single, Led Zeppelin's What Is and What Should Never Be, from Live at the Greek.

♪  Travelling Riverside Blues (Led Zeppelin, BBC Session, 24 June 1969)  YouTube
♪  What Is and What Should Never Be (Led Zeppelin, BBC Session, 24 June 1969)  YouTube
♪  What Is and What Should Never Be (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, Greek Theater Los Angeles, 1999)  YouTube
♪  I’m Down (Jimmy Page with Yes, Germany 1984) YouTube


♫  Guitar World interview with Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes 2000