On This Day 13 December

"If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all."
~ Billie Holiday

1969 13 December On This Day Jennings Farm Blues recorded
(posted 2011, 2012)

2013 13 December On This Day mashup Immigrant Song/the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
(posted 2013, 2014, 2015)

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Aberystwyth, Wales at University of Aberystwyth
• 1968 Led Zeppelin - Canterbury, England at Bridge Place Country Club
• 1983 Jimmy Page with Robert Plant for Principle of Moments Tour encore – London at Hammersmith Odeon  

1983

Jimmy Page joined Robert Plant for an encore number, Treat Her Right, at Plant's show at Hammersmith Odeon in London.  The song was written by Roy Head and Gene Kurtz, recorded by Head and The Traits and released in 1965. The encore performance was big news because it was the first time since the debanding of Led Zeppelin that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page had performed together.  If the news stories are correct, Robert knew Jimmy was there at the show, but didn't know Jimmy was backstage and willing to play a few licks in front of the audience.  

1983 Jimmy Page joins Robert Plant for encore at Hammersmith Odeon

1983 Jimmy Page joins Robert Plant for encore at Hammersmith Odeon

2013
I admire Jimmy Page for finding virtue in other peoples' work, but that doesn't always mean I agree. Thus I have included Led Zeppelin doing Black Dog and also Immigrant Song to get the nasty mashup out of your head (see playlist below).

Because fail, Karen O.

♪

♪  Jennings Farm Blues (Led Zeppelin, Rough Mix Of Guitar Overdubs, Deluxe Edition 2014) YouTube
♪  Treat Her Right (Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Hammersmith Odeon 1983) YouTube
♪ Black Dog mashup (Led Zeppelin / Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O & Trent Reznor 2013) YouTube
♪ Black Dog (Led Zeppelin, MSG 1973) YouTube
♪ Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

On This Day 12 December

Not a whole lotta post.  Sorry.

1964 12 December On This Day Jimmy Page with Jackie DeShannon in LA
AUDIO: Preaching Blues (Robert Johnson) Soundcloud

• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Cardiff, Wales at Capitol Theatre (day 2) 

1972 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin, Cardiff Wales

1972 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin, Cardiff Wales

1972  Robert Plant and Jimmy Page with Led Zeppelin, Cardiff Wales

♪

♪  Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin,  Cardiff Wales 1972) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

On This Day 11 December

Oh yes, the spirit of the band was shining bright

2007 11 December On This Day O2 afterglow

• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Cardiff, Wales at Capitol Theatre (day 1)

2007

A great description of the rehearsal and the concert itself by Frank Smith in the comments section of the 09 December post, Soundcheck, 

2007 Mojo Magazine cover

2007 Q Magazine cover

2007 Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, O2 concert (Ross Halfin photo)

What I love about the above photo, besides that it's a great photo by Ross Halfin, is the look on Jimmy Page's face. He so clearly loved playing together as Led Zeppelin again. 

♪

♫  BBC Breakfast Show Interview (11 December 2007) YouTube
♫  Jimmy Page Interview about after the O2 concert: A nightmare (Blabbermouth news)

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

On This Day 10 December

Beyond amazing and into the realm of Magick.

10 December Jimmy Page's On This Day (published 2020)

1998 and 2007 - 10 December On This Day, Page & Plant at Amnesty International Show
and Led Zeppelin/Jason Bonham at Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, O2
Videos: Black Dog  Gallows Pole

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Bristol, England at Student Union, Bristol University
• 1968 Led Zeppelin - London, England at  Marquee Club
• 1975 Led Zeppelin - St. Helier, UK at Behan's Park West (guest appearance with pianist Norman Hale)
• 1998 Page & Plant, Amnesty International Concert - Paris, France at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
• 2007 Led Zeppelin Ahmet Ertegun Tribute - London,England at O2 Arena  

1975

Robert Plant was still recovering from his August car accident, and the four members of Led Zeppelin were in Jersey for a few weeks. John Paul Jones and John Bonham were at a club where the resident pianist, Norman Hale, invited the two onstage to jam. Instead the full band showed up a week later for a 45 minute set with Hale at the piano and Plant seated on a stool, performing to an audience of a few hundred lucky souls.

1975 Led Zeppelin - St. Helier, UK at Behan's Park West
(guest appearance with pianist Norman Hale)

1998
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant performed When the World Was Young, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Gallows Pole, and Rock and Roll at the last Human Rights Concert to benefit Amnesty International. The full 1998 performance with Page & Plant, among others, is available on Amazon.

1998 Page & Plant, Amnesty International Show, Paris

2007
Ahmet Ertegun (1923-2006) was a powerful figure in Led Zeppelin's career. He was founder and president of Atlantic Records and was a chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After hearing Led Zeppelin's demo recording, Ertegun immediately signed the then unknown band to his label.

At age 83 Ertegun was backstage at a Rolling Stones' concert at the Beacon Theater in New York when he tripped and fell, hitting his head on the cement. During the Led Zeppelin induction to the UK Music Hall of Fame on 14 November, 2006, Jimmy Page announced that Ertegun had gone into a coma. Ahmet Ertegun died on December 14, 2006 and was buried in his native Turkey.

The remaining members of Led Zeppelin organized an Ahmet Tribute Concert to raise money for the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund for university scholarships in the UK, US and Turkey. Although other performers were to share the stage, it was the reunion of Led Zeppelin, with Jason Bonham taking his father's place, that stole the headlines.

Over 20 million people tried for tickets.

2007 February, Led Zeppelin statement on passing of Ahmet Ertegun

2007 10 December, Led Zeppelin reunion, with Jason Bonham,
at Ahmut Ertegun Tribute concert, O2 Arena, London

2007 O2 ticket

2007 Dave Grohl with Scarlet Page and the "secret" setlist, before the show
(Ross Halfin photo)

Setlist:
Good Times, Bad Times
Ramble On
Black Dog
In My Time of Dying
For Your Life
Trampled Under Foot
Nobody's Fault But Mine
No Quarter
Since I've Been Lovin' You
Dazed and Confused
Stairway To Heaven
The Song Remains the Same
Misty Mountain Hop
Kashmir

Encore:

Whole Lotta Love

Rock and Roll

2007, the Concert of the Century

2007 Jimmy Page at the mic, O2

2007 Jimmy Page, O2 (Ross Halfin photo)

2007 Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, O2

2007 John Paul Jones, Jason Bonham, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant at O2 (Scarlet Page photo)

2007, the Concert of the Century

It's rock and roll, baby.  It's Jimmy Page.  It's Magick.

♪

♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Amnesty International Paris 1998) YouTube

♪  When the World Was Young (Page & Plant, Amnesty International Paris 1998) YouTube 

♪  Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (Page & Plant, Amnesty International Paris 1998) YouTube
♪ Gallows Pole (Page & Plant, Amnesty International Paris 1998) YouTube
♪  Good Times Bad Times with concert intro (Led Zeppelin with Jason Bonham, Ahmet Tribute Concert at O2, 2007) YouTube

♪  Black Dog (Led Zeppelin with Jason Bonham, Ahmet Tribute Concert at O2, 2007) YouTube

♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin with Jason Bonham, Ahmet Tribute Concert at O2, 2007) YouTube

♪  Kashmir (Led Zeppelin with Jason Bonham, Ahmet Tribute Concert at O2, 2007) YouTube
♪  Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin with Jason Bonham, Ahmet Tribute Concert at O2, 2007) YouTube

♫  Rolling Stone review by David Fricke

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

Soundcheck

Eight years ago today, just about now (allowing for the time difference and when you read this), the final O2 rehearsal/soundcheck was happening.

Tickets for the show itself, available through a lottery system, had been snatched up by some 16-18,000 lucky devils, with literally millions of us losers sobbing about it.

Some lucky suckers had gotten access to the rehearsal/soundcheck, too.

2007 Led Zeppelin O2 rehearsal

Meanwhile, back home millions of us remained crying into our beer (or wine, in my case), not having won
one of those precious concert tickets or an invitation to the soundcheck. But we were not idle. No we were not. We were searching online for every scrap of information, any report - first or second hand, or even rumor. Anything at all.

Much had been kept secret, but in this day and age, there are always leaks. What was out there was hard to distinguish from rumors, but you had to find trustworthy sources and, well, trust them. Early feedback from Cameron Crowe (who was not there but had heard from someone who was) was that the soundcheck was thrilling.

The few hundred or so blessed witnesses to this penultimate performance were not allowed to record, but yes, that happened anyway.

The setlist for the sound check included:
 Good Times Bad Times

 Ramble On

 In My Time Of Dying

 No Quarter

 Nobody's Fault But Mine

 D'yer Mak'er

 Communication Breakdown

It was already common knowledge that the band had been practicing For Your Life, a song they'd never played live before.

Afterwards, some of the blessed met up at the Pilot Inn/Pub for a Led Zeppelin fan club meeting arranged by Dave Lewis, who, after all was said and done, referred to the whole experience before, during and after, as inhabiting Planet Zeppelin.

Amazingly, after all these years I'm still upset that I wasn't there and I'm still green with envy even as I type this blog post. So go ahead, ticketholders.  Torture me. Post your story of O2 in the comments.

♪

♪  Rock and Roll (Shepperton Studio, 05 December 2007) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

On This Day 09 December

Here comes the brilliance!

1964 09 December On This Day Jimmy Page at Brill Building
AUDIO: Here Comes the Night (Lulu)  Soundcloud

• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Coventry, England at Coventry Locarno Ballroom
• 1983 Jimmy Page ARMS Charity Concert Tour - New York at Madison Square Garden (day 2)
• 1984 Jimmy Page The Firm - London, England at Hammersmith Odeon  (day 2) 

1964
The Brill Building is famous for its music industry tenants.

Text from Jimmy Page's website:

I visited the Brill Building in New York.

I arrived in New York today in 1964, in transit to Los Angeles as a guest of Bert Berns and his wife Ilene. It was my first time in the US. Bert was a legendary R&B producer and songwriter for Atlantic Records who was responsible for countless hits including The Isley Brothers' Twist & Shout, Irma Franklin's Piece of My Heart and Solomon Burke’s Everybody Needs Somebody. During my stay Bert took me to the legendary Brill Building and Atlantic Records where I met Jerry Wexler, Nesuhi Ertegun and Tom Dowd. When people visit America, the very first port of entry always has a lasting effect on them. It certainly did for me, feeling the energy of New York and being introduced to these musical icons.

I had first met Bert when he came over to England. Atlantic Records were being distributed by Decca in the UK at the time. It was a pretty unique situation to have a producer come over from the States to work with in-house artists. One of the sessions that Bert did in London was Here Comes the Night with Lulu, which he was also to produce with them. Lulu’s version was recorded in Decca Studios in Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead. She sings a really credible version, which is worth hearing. I played guitar on this and also did some guitar overdubs on it.

1971

The show is interrupted after the first three songs by an IRA bomb scare.  Although authorities attempted to clear the building, many in the audience just took it as an opportunity to score closer positions to the stage.

Later, during Dazed and Confused, Jimmy Page lost his grip on his bow and it flew out into the crowd.

1983

"On the ARMS tour I realized the fans wanted me back."

~ Jimmy Page, as quoted by Dave Lewis

How could he have ever thought otherwise?  

1983 Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, ARMS MSG

1983 Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, ARMS MSG

1984
Full Circle, written by Gene Clark in 1972, refers to a wheel of fortune and the unpredictable nature of fame and fortune. It was released initially by Clark exclusively in The Netherlands, but is probably more known for its inclusion on the Byrds' 1973 reunion album, and has been covered by a number of musicians.

We'll be coming around to a full circle in 2016.

1984 Jimmy Page / The Firm Hammersmith Odeon London

2007
What exquisite torture it was waiting for this concert. What frustration it was if you were one of the many millions who couldn't be there.

2007 09 December - getting ready for the concert of the century

♪

♪  Cadillac (Jimmy Page/The Firm, Hammersmith Odeon 1984) YouTube
♪  The Full Circle (Jimmy Page/The Firm, Hammersmith Odeon 1984) YouTube
♫  Pre-show, interviews, concert footage (Jimmy Page/The Firm, Hammersmith Odeon London 1984) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

On This Day 08 December

"It's nice to be back.  Especially with friends like you."
~ Jimmy Page,  ARMS MSG 1983

1984 08 December On This Day Jimmy Page with The Firm at Hammersmith Odeon

• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Manchester, England at Hard Rock Concert Hall
• 1983 Jimmy Page ARMS Charity Concert Tour - New York at Madison Square Garden (day 1)
• 1984 Jimmy Page The Firm - London, at Hammersmith Odeon

1972 08 December Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Manchester (Frank Mullin Photo)

1972 08 December Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Manchester (Frank Mullin Photo)

1983
"The stage goes dark after Becks set and when the lights come on Jimmy Page is onstage which causes the crowd to go crazy".
This was a quote from someone who was at one of the Cow Palace shows - I meant to share it a few days ago but forgot.

1983 Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck  ARMS Madison Square Garden

1983 Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page ARMS Madison Square Garden

1983 Jimmy Page ARMS Madison Square Garden (Michael Brito photo)

1984
"...and Tony Franklin on hair and bass."
I'd have liked to have been a fly on the wall listening to some of the cracks that must have been made about Tony's hair back then.

♪

♪   Over The Hills and Far Away (Led Zeppelin, Manchester 1972) YouTube
♪  Jimmy Page, ARMS MSG 1983 YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube