Ronnie Lane Passing Show Newcastle Town Moor July 1974
It was the summer of ’74 and Ronnie Lane set out on one of the most ambitious tours of the decade. “A merry troupe of minstrels, travelling the country in caravans, accompanied by clowns, animals and a big top. Ronnie Lane, the beloved entertainer, was taking his music back to the people….. while the likes of Deep Purple cruised from hotels to concert halls in limousines, Lane and his band Slim Chance snailed around Britain in a raggle-taggle convoy. Wearing spotted neckerchiefs and scarves, they almost begged to be flagged down by a patrol car and asked what century they’d come from” (Uncut, 2010).
The tour concept was based on the travelling shows of the past, the circus, and the days of the troubadour. Ronnie assembled a collection of folk singers, dancing girls, and clowns to accompany himself and his band Slim Chance, and promised us “all the fun of the circus and a carnival atmosphere”. Support acts were (according to my programme, which I still have) Lucas and McCulloch, Bill Barlcay, Nicol and Marsh, and Billy Livsey. The line-up of Slim Chance was quite fluid and featured Gallagher and Lyle at one point, although I don’t recall if there were part of the band when I saw the Passing Show. My programme lists the members as Bruce Rowland, Jimmy Jewel (not the comedian) and Kevin Westlake. 
Ronnie’s lovely wife, Katie, entertained us with dance and much swirling of her long flowing skirts. Viv Stanshall, from the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, was a short-lived ringmaster, but wasn’t at the Newcastle gig.
The show took up residency on Newcastle Town Moor for 5 nights from July 10th to July 14th 1974 (according to my poster). I went along, much out of curiosity, with my mate Norm. I have a feeling that these dates may have been put back by a week, as I recall that I had been to see the Allman Brothers at Knebworth the day before, and the date of that gig was Sat 20th July, which would mean we saw the Passing Show on Sunday 21st July. I still have my ticket stub, but it doesn’t help as there is no date on it. It does show that the gig cost us all of £1.10 :).
I remember the show as being very different, good fun, quite long, and that it was pretty cold in the circus marquee. Sadly it was very poorly attended. “How Come” had been a hit for Ronnie the year before, and I remember that song was played, but don’t recall the rest of the set; I think the material was unfamiliar to us. I don’t think any Faces or Small Faces tunes were played, but I could be wrong.
Sadly, the tour was not a success and…. ‘eventually ran out of luck. It was abandoned in Newcastle, where, over three nights, Slim Chance played to a total of 30 people. Ronnie had spent thousands keeping it afloat, as had Bruce Rowland “I lost about four-and-a-half grand, a lot of money in those days,” Rowland says. “Everything was broken and we had to bring it home. I took a 40-foot caravan down the M1 with a Land Rover, then went back to Newcastle on the train and drove the Pantechnicon down. It had two gears, no reverse, back brakes only, and no starter. I drove between 5mph and 10mph most of the way. It took me three days.”’ (Uncut, 2010).
David Cavanagh’s article, ‘ONE FOR THE ROAD’, on Ronnie Lane, was published in UNCUT, July 2010.
Posts Tagged ‘classic rock’
24 Sep
Ronnie Lane Passing Show Newcastle Town Moor July 1974
21 Sep
Bill Nelson The Hepworth Wakefield 20 Sep 2013
Bill Nelson The Hepworth Wakefield 20 Sep 2013
Last night I spent a fascinating couple of hours in the company of Bill Nelson in Wakefield, the city in which he was born and grew up. This was a one off performance that showcased Bill’s instrumental soundscapes, accompanied by live projections. The location of the gig was especially apt as it was once home to Be-Bop Deluxe’s own rehearsal space. The gig took place in the Calder building of the Hepworth, an art gallery just outside the centre of Wakefield. It was a charity gig to raise money for a restoration project for Unity Hall. The venue for the concert was a new annexe to the Hepworth, situated in an old textile mill on the banks of the river Calder. Attendance was limited to 300, apparently for health and safety reasons, although the venue could have held many more, and the event sold out some weeks ago. There were some seats, although not nearly enough for everyone, with most people having to stand. 
I bought myself a badge and a signed programme from Bill’s last 2004 tour, which I missed.
The evening started with a screening of Memory Codes, a very personal film created and soundtracked by Bill which looked back at his early life and at Wakefield in the ’50s and ’60s. It was interesting, if a little like a home movie, with old photos of Bill and his family, as he grew up in Wakefield.
The concert started at 8.30pm and was a set of instrumental performances, each one played on a different guitar (I counted 10 guitars, and there were 12 songs so it wasn’t quite one per song). Bill’s guitars have to be seen to be believed. They really are beautiful, exquisite instruments, all of with tinges of 50s and 60s in their design. The music is difficult to pigeon hole, as is the man himself. You can hear the influences, which Bill discussed at one point; The Shadows, Duane Eddy, Santo and Johnny. Add to that echo, futuristic, soaring solos, some funk, and some rock. The video images of the evening included many which I recognised from my youth: Dan Dare, Rupert the Bear, Torchy the Battery Boy (my favourite TV programme when I was a kid), Amazing Worlds, Sci Fi, MarvelMan, old film of Be Bop Deluxe.
Setlist: ‘Gloria Mundae’ accompanied by images of the sonambulist from the Cabinet of Dr Caligari, and which Bill explained was first performed in Wakefield in 1990 on the Bandstand with his brother.
‘I always knew you would find me’; ‘Blue Amorini’; ‘Think and you’ll miss it’; ‘The boy who lived in the future’ a new number played on the Stratovariouse(?) guitar; ‘The girl on the fairground waltzer’; ‘Beyond these clouds the sweetest dream’; ‘Sleepwalk’ A cover of the Santo and Johnny track. This was simply astounding. It was difficult to believe that it was one guy on stage producing all those sounds. I found it just stunning. Maybe that was because it was the only song which was familiar to me. ‘Golden dream of circus horses’; ‘A dream for Ian’ dedicated to the memory of Bill’s brother. ‘Artifex’ which featured the voice of William Burroughs; and the last song ‘For Stuart’ in memory of Stuart Adamson, with tinges of Big Country running through it. Bill produced Stuart’s band The Skids.
Bill explained that he would normally perform an encore, but that the back stage area was so far away at the rear of the building, that it would seem silly walking right across their only to return; and hence For Stuart was the encore.
A great performance. It is over 30 years since I last saw Bill Nelson in concert, and his performances are rare occurrences these days. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed; the show made me realise what a tremendous guitar player Bill Nelson is.
The event was a total success and a great homecoming for Bill, with lots of family and friends present, including Bill’s mum, nephew and son and youngest daughter; and fans who had travelled from very far afield, including the USA (which makes my 100 mile drive seem nothing at all :))
Stopped off for sausage and chips at the Wetherby Whaler on the way home. Pleased to see that it is still there, and still making fine fish and chips; must be 10 years or more since I last called in; it used to be a regular calling point when David played hockey in the Yorkshire league. Got home just before midnight.
16 Sep
Lindisfarne live 1971 and 1972
Lindisfarne 1971 and 1972
The next band I’ll be writing about is Lindisfarne. I must have seen Lindisfarne more than 20 times over the years, including the legendary Christmas concerts at Newcastle City Hall, and at many festivals. I’m starting today with gigs I attended in Newcastle, Sunderland and at festivals during 1971 and 1972. I’ll reflect a little about those gigs today, and I’ll then move on to their 1972 UK tour which featured Genesis as support, Lindisfarne Mk II (1973 – 1975), the comeback Christmas concerts ay Newcastle City Hall in 1976 and 1977, the full comeback in 1978 and success with Run For Home, the ongoing City Hall Christmas concerts (1978 and into the 80s), and the sad farewell in 2003. Whew! That’s this week of blogging mapped out!
I first saw this band at Newcastle City Hall on a Charisma package tour, which featured Van der Graaf Generator, Lindisfarne and Genesis. The tickets were all of 30p, and we had some Northern Arts vouchers from school which entitled us to half price entry, and meant we paid 15p each! We hadn’t seen any of the three bands before and were really excited about it. The place was completely packed and we only just managed to get in. In those days, when the hall was full, they would let you sit on the stage on tiered choir seats behind the performers. This became a tradition for Lindisfarne in particular and that’s where we ended up that night. First up were Genesis, who were just great; this was the era of The Knife and the Musical Box, but it was Lindisfarne who stole the show that night. Unbeknown to us they were already local heroes and had everyone singing along with Fog on the Tyne, Meet me on the Corner, Lady Eleanor, and Clear White Light (my favourite along with Winter Song). The band was yet to break through big. We found headline band Van de Graaf Generator quite strange and somewhat difficult to get into, although Killer and Refugees have become favourites over the years. A great evening, a bargain at 15p :), and the first of many great nights that I would spend with Lindisfarne over the next 30+ years.
I then saw Lindisfarne at Sunderland Top Rank, which was another packed night, with support from the excellent Capability Brown; I remember Clear White Light was the encore in those days, and I can picture the packed ballroom singing along, everyone on tables and chairs, hands in the air. Lindisfarne were also great festival favourites and I saw them steal the show on a couple of occasions at open air events; at the Lincoln festival in May 1972, and again at the Grangemouth pop festival near Edinburgh in late 1972.
This was the classic line-up of Alan Hull, Ray Jackson, Rod Clements, Si Cowe, and Ray Laidlaw. The band really were at the top of the game during this period, and couldn’t be betted as fun-time live act. They had two excellent albums under their belt; Nicely Out of Tune (1970) and Fog on the Tyne (1971), and a clutch of great sing-along tunes. A Lindisfarne concert at the time incuded No Time To Lose, January Song, Meet Me On The Corner, Alright On The Night, Train In G Major, Scotch Mist, Lady Eleanor, Knacker’s Yard Blues, Fog On The Tyne, We Can Swing Together, and Clear White Light as encore. Their 1971 December City Hall concert was recorded and released as a live album in 1973, and shows the band at their live best. You knew what to expect when you went along to a Lindisfarne concert in those days: great humorous stage banter from Alan Hull and Jacka, singalong songs that we all knew the words to, classic folk-rock with mouth harp and violin, some rock’n’roll, beautiful harmonies particularly on Clear White Light, and the haunting Lady Eleanor.
Its easy to forget just how successful and popular Lindisfarne were at the time. From Rolling Stone magazine in 1972: “Fog on the Tyne has been just about the biggest album in Great Britain this year. The single off the album, ‘Meet Me on the Corner’, was also a bestseller.This makes Lindisfarne the most popular band in England right now — next to T Rex, that is. But Lindisfarne neither looks nor sounds very commercial; the group’s style is uncompromisingly peculiar. The band is unique in every way..”
Tomorrow I’ll write about the 1972 tour, which featured Genesis as support, and was in support of their third album Dingly Dell. The tour called at the City Hall for two nights, and I went along to both concerts.
15 Sep
Greg Lake Newcastle Mayfair 1981
Greg Lake Newcastle Mayfair 1981
The Mayfair was packed for this concert, and quite right too, as Greg had assembled a band of rock heavyweights for his first solo tour. The Greg Lake Band line-up for this 1981 outing was Greg on bass and vocals, special guest guitar ace Gary Moore, Tristram Margetts (from the very under-rated and too often forgotten Spontaneous Combustion) on bass, Tommy Eyre (ex-Joe Cocker and the Grease Band, and Alex Harvey band) on keyboards, and Ted McKenna (ex-SAHB, and Rory Gallagher) on drums. The set consisted of a mix of new songs, drawn from Greg’s first solo album which had just been released, and older ELP and King Crimson classics. Gary Moore played the excellent Parisienne Walkways, with its tremendous soaring guitar, and almost blew his band leader off the stage. But Gregg has a set of classic rock songs to draw from. Lucky Man is one of my favourite ELP tracks, and I was pleased to hear Greg sing it that night. It was also great to see them play tracks from the first, excellent King Crimson album. Epitaph is a particular favourite of mine, and 21st Century Schizoid Man was dark and loud, vibrating through the ballroom. The two Hammersmith Odeon gigs were recorded for a live album. The setlist for the Mayfair gig will have been something like: Fanfare for the Common Man / Karn Evil 9; Nuclear Attack; The Lie; Retribution Drive; Lucky Man; Parisienne Walkways; You Really Got a Hold on Me (a cover of the Smokey Robinson song); Love You Too Much; 21st Century Schizoid Man; Epitaph; The Court of the Crimson King; C’est la vie. I would have sworn that they also played I Believe in Father Christmas, but I’ve searched the internet and everything I have found suggests that my memory is playing tricks again, and that it didn’t feature in the set during the tour. Support came from pop-rock band Voyager who had a minor hit with their debut single, “Halfway Hotel”, which reached No. 33 in the UK Singles Chart in 1979.
14 Sep
Led Zeppelin O2 Arena London Dec 10th 2007
Led Zeppelin O2 Arena London Dec 10th 2007
On December 10th 2007, the (almost) impossible happened and Led Zeppelin reformed at took to the stage at the O2 Arena in London for The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert. This was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün, who had been involved in breaking Zeppelin in the USA. This was the first full Zeppelin concert since the death of John Bonham in 1980. Bonham’s son Jason Bonham took his dad’s place at the drumstool, and did a pretty fine job too. There had been rumours for some time that Zeppelin might reform, and in September, 2007, Harvey Goldmsith confirmed at a press conference that it was, indeed, going to take place. The concert was originally scheduled to take place on November 26, 2007, but was rescheduled when Jimmy Page injured his finger.
As soon as I heard about the show, I was determined to do my best to attend. Tickets were made available via a lottery system. I entered my details several times into the website, hoping against the odds that I would score tickets. Apparently one million people registered for the 20,000 available tickets, so the odds of success were, to say the least, low. As soon as the results of the lottery were released, I was on every Zeppelin online forum that I could find, and soon realised that I hadn’t been successful. Those who had won, were emailed a passcode which enabled them to but two tickets via ticketmaster. I looked on ebay, and to my dismay, found passcodes on sale. It was clear that some enterprising individuals had managed to make multiple entries (presumably using multiple computers, email addresses and postal addresses) to ensure success. I decided to take the risk and bought two passcodes for $100 each. These enabled me to buy two pairs of tickets. The face value of each ticket was £125 (expensive anyway), which meant I was paying around £150 per ticket (which didn’t seem too bad a deal to me). I went straight to ticketmaster and bought two tickets in my name, and two in Marie’s name, using different credit cards. The rules said that one individual could only buy two tickets, and that orders on the same card would be cancelled. The plan was for all four of us: me, Marie, David and Laura to go to the gig. We received our confirmation email immediately, and were told that Marie and I would have to collect our tickets from the O2, along with photographic ID. We were in! Or so I thought. I was so excited, and looking forward to seeing Zeppelin again. Over the next few weeks there was a lot of talk in the press and on the internet about the method of ticket allocation, and the fact that some touts had managed to get hold of tickets. Harvey Goldsmith announced that he would cancel any tickets that had been bought by anyone other than those drawn in the lottery. This resulted in several guys, who had obtained tickets in a similar manner to me, particularly from the USA, threatening legal action. In the end, I’m not sure if any tickets were actually cancelled, but I was pretty stressed out at the time, in case he cancelled our tickets (which he didn’t 🙂 Thanks Harvey).
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page later commented: “I knew it was going to sell out quickly, but the tidal wave of euphoria that preceded the gig—the anticipation—went beyond what I could possibly have imagined. We’d had a few shambolic appearances in the past, like Live Aid, so if we were ever going to come back together, we were going to do it properly and stand up and be counted.”
On November 1, 2007, it was announced that Page had broken his little finger after a fall in his garden, and the show was postponed to December 10, 2007 :(. Panic! We had trains and hotel rooms booked! We cancelled those and rebooked, which cost us, but hey ho in for a penny….and this was Zeppelin :).
We were advised to turn up early to collect our tickets, and the O2 opened the day before to issue tickets and wristbands for the show. We went down to London a day early, joined the queue and collected our tickets and wristbands. It was obvious from talking to people in the queue that many had travelled from all over the world for this historic gig. The USA contingent was particularly strong.
We went along to the O2 on the night of the gig very excited about the prospect of seeing Zeppelin. David and Laura were really looking forward to it. We had seats in two pairs upstairs in the same block, with a reasonable view of the stage. The show opened with a performance by a supergroup consisting of Keith Emerson (ELP), Chris Squire and Alan White (Yes) and Simon Kirke (Free, Bad Co) with the brass section from Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. They started with ELP’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”. The show also featured Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Paul Rodgers, Paolo Nutini, and Foreigner. The Rhythm Kings acted as backing group for Nutini and Rodgers both singing two songs each. Other guests were Maggie Bell and Alvin Lee. Ronnie Wood was billed to perform, and appears in the programme and on the t-shirt, but he didn’t play. We watched the start of the set, caught Paul Rodgers and Foreigner, but sent much of the time having a look around the arena, taking in the atmosphere. We saw Bob Geldof and Joe Elliott from Def Leppard in the bar. Many other stars attended the gig.
There was a short interval and then we took our seats. You could feel the anticipation in the air. What would they be like? What would they start with? The entrance of Led Zeppelin was preceded by a short film, taken from TV reports of a 70s US tour. And then there were on stage, and the familiar opening riff of “Good Times, Bad Times’ echoed across the massive arena. The sound was a little patchy at first, but that was soon sorted out. The atmosphere was strange; the crowd seemed subdued, as if they were completely awestruck, and couldn’t believe what they were experiencing. This developed as the evening progressed, with later songs getting crazy audience receptions. They were everything I could have hoped for. The performance of each band member was stunning, the weeks of rehearsal paid off. Plant sang songs in a lower key, and his scream wasn’t as piercing as it had been, but then how could it be? I also reckon that Page fluffed some of the notes at the start of Stairway. But these were minor points. Overall it was a great performance, and Zeppelin reclaimed their legacy. Highlights for me were Since I’ve Been Loving You, Dazed And Confused, Stairway To Heaven (although I’ve heard it so many times that the magic it held for me in the 70s has dimmed), and Kashmir. Encores were Whole Lotta Love, Rock And Roll. I was hoping for a further encore of Communication Breakdown, which they had apparently rehearsed, but hey you can’t have everything. Marie, David and Laura all thought it was just great. Probably not the best time I’ve seen Zeppelin, but a momentous, unforgettable and emotional event.
Setlist: Good Times Bad Times, Ramble On, Black Dog, In My Time Of Dying, For Your Life, Trampled Underfoot, Nobody’s Fault But Mine, No Quarter, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Dazed And Confused, Stairway To Heaven, The Song Remains The Same, Misty Mountain Hop, Kashmir. Encore 1: Whole Lotta Love. Encore 2: Rock And Roll
13 Sep
Led Zeppelin Knebworth Park 11th August 1979
My ticket stub. Wish I had the other half.
Led Zeppelin Knebworth Park 11th August 1979
Line-up: Led Zeppelin, New Barbarians, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, Commander Cody Band, Chas and Dave. Master of ceremonies: Nicky Horne
Led Zeppelin played two shows at Knebworth Park, on 4th and 11th August 1979. The shows were promoted by Freddy Bannister. Zeppelin had not performed live for two years, and it was four years since they had last played in the UK, at Earls Court. This was big news at the time, and was seen as the eagerly awaited comeback. The first show, on 4th August was announced first. The demand for tickets for the first date was enormous, exceeding all expectations, leading to a second date being added on 11th August. There was a whole new group of fans who had never seen Led Zeppelin, had heard about them from their older brothers, sisters, and friends, and was hungry to see them live in concert. Add to this all of the existing fans, who hadn’t seen the band since Earls Court or the 1972 UK tour, and it was a hell of a lot of people. Expectations were high; to say the least, and the band’s fee for performing was reportedly the largest ever paid to one single act at that time. Sadly Bannister and Zeppelin’s manager, Peter Grant, ended up in dispute over the number of people who attended the two concerts, and the gate takings, and Bannister ended up winding up his festival activities as a result. 
I applied for tickets by post, and got tickets for the first day. However, when I saw that the The New Barbarians (featuring Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards) were playing only at the second concert on August 11, I swapped my ticket with a mate for one for the second gig. This may have been a mistake, as the first gig is often reported as the better of the two; it was certainly much better attended. In hindsight, I wish I’d gone to both gigs, which is what my mate Dave did. The rest of the line-up for the 11th August was Todd Rundgren and Utopia, Southside Johnny, Marshall Tucker, Commander Cody, and Chas & Dave. The Festival involved the largest stage ever constructed, attracted at least 200,000 people over the two weekends, and these were the final shows Led Zeppelin performed in the United Kingdom until 2007.
I drove to the gig with a group of mates, four of us crammed into my little yellow mini. We left early on the Saturday morning, arrived around lunchtime, pitched our tents and went into the arena, which was already crammed. I remember little about the support acts. Todd Rundgren was good, as usual. I saw him play a couple of the Knebworth events and he always went down well with the crowd. The New Barbarians were OK, but not as good as I had hoped. The Barbarians were led by Rolling Stones members Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards, and also featured bassist Stanley Clarke (replaced by Phillip Chen at the Knebworth gig), Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, Rolling Stones saxophonist Bobby Keys and drummer Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste from The Meters (who had supported the Stones on their 1976 UK tour). Their set consisted of Ronnie solo songs from the lp he had out at the time, a couple of Stones songs (Honky Tonk Women and Jumping Jack Flash), and Keith’s Before They Make Me Run. They opened with Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Rock’n’Roller. I’m glad I saw them.
There was a long wait before Zeppelin took to the stage and it got quite cold. They opened with The Song Remains the Same, and played quite a few new songs; I remember that there were several songs which were unfamiliar to me. Highlights for me were Nobody’s Fault But Mine, Kashmir, and Stairway which was accompanied by thousands of raised lighters. The crowd was quite reserved at first. There was some clever use of lasers with Page being surrounded by a laser pyramid. It was never going to equate to being a few feet away from the band as when I saw them in the early 70s, but it was a great concert, and moreover a great event. Reviews at the time were mixed, partly because, given the emergence of punk, Zeppelin were seen as last year’s thing by some elements of the press. But overall, it was seen to be a triumph, and a fitting showcase for the Zeppelin legend.
Robert Plant said of the concerts: “…..we weren’t ready to do it, the whole thing was a management decision. It felt like I was cheating myself because I wasn’t as relaxed as I could have been. There was so much expectation there and the least we could have done was to have been confident enough to kill. We maimed the beast for life, but we didn’t kill it. It was good, but only because everybody made it good. There was that sense of event” and in an interview in 2005, he added: “I was racked with nerves. It was our first British gig in four years and …. we went back in such a flurry and a fluster to 210,000 people in a field, surrounded by Keith and Ronnie and Todd Rundgren. Nobody’s big enough to meet those expectations. But because there was some chemical charge in the air, it worked….it was fantastic for those who were there.” Indeed, it was fantastic. There was a massive sense of occasion about the event. We all felt that we were witnessing something historic. Sadly a year later, John Bonham was dead, and what was arguably the greatest rock band ever was no more.
The last memory I have is of walking out of the arena towards our tent, watching a lighting tower going up in flames….
Setlist: The Song Remains the Same, Celebration Day, Black Dog, Nobody’s Fault But Mine, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, Hot Dog, Rain Song, White Summer ~ Black Mountainside, Kashmir, Trampled Underfoot, Sick Again, Achilles Last Stand, Jimmy Page solo, In The Evening, Stairway to Heaven, Rock and Roll, Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown.
Thanks to John for the photo of his poster of the event.
12 Sep
Led Zeppelin Earls Court London Saturday May 24th 1975
My ticket for the concert. £2.50 seems such a bargain now.
Led Zeppelin Earls Court London Saturday May 24th 1975
Led Zeppelin were initially booked to play for three nights on May 23rd, 24th and 25th at the massive Earls Court Arena in London, which has a capacity of 17,000. The venue had been used for concerts before, notably one by David Bowie, at which the sound was reportedly atrocious. Due to what Mel Bush described as “unprecedented demand in the history of rock music” two further dates were added on May 17 and 18th. The total attendance for the five sold out shows was 85,000. Bush negotiated with British Rail to advertise the ease with which Inter City trains could bring fans in.”The Zeppelin Express Physical Rocket” was how it was dubbed, and the posters for the event featured a picture of Zeppelin riding the express. There was no support act for the shows, and Zeppelin played a long set, around three hours, each night.
This was the first chance to see Zeppelin after an almost three year gap since I last saw them at Newcastle City Hall in 1972. I went with John and a couple more mates, and we travelled to London by train, and straight back after the show on the midnight train. It was the day of the Scotland England match at Wembley and the train home was completely packed, full of very drunk (and disappointed) Scots fans (England won 5-1), travelling home after the match. We couldn’t get a seat and spent most of the night trying to sleep on the (cold metal) floor of the guards van, which was pretty uncomfortable :(!
Tickets went on sale for personal applicants only at various points across the country. John and I queued all night at Virgin Records in Newcastle for our tickets. We arrived late, just before the pubs closed, and the queue grew massively overnight. I took my car and parked it beside the queue, hoping to catch some sleep. Some of the guys in the queue took a dislike to this idea and threatened to turn my car over, so I quickly moved it, parked it a few streets away, and rejoined the queue. When the box office opened, we were quite disappointed to find that all they had on sale were tickets with pretty poor views, up the back of the arena. This was often the case in those days, with the best seats being sold at the venue itself, in London.
When we arrived at Earls Court we found that out seats had an obstructed view. We were sitting behind a wide pillar and literally could not see anything. However, we were able to sit on the stairs between the rows of seats for the whole show, which gave us a great view. This was one of the first shows to use videotron screens at either side of the stage which was very cool for the time, and the first time we had seen colour video screens. All the other screens I had seen before that, usually at outdoor festivals, were black and white, and used a projector. Looking back, the screens were pretty low tech compared to today, but at the time they were streets ahead of anything seen before at a rock concert. The sound wasn’t great, but was ok with a massive PA system, particularly given the size of the venue.
The compere for Saturday the 24th was Nicky Horne who opened the proceedings with something like “Welcome to Earls Court. For the next three hours….your mother wouldn’t like it”. The Saturday night that we attended is often rated as the best night of the five shows, despite a couple of minor glitches such as Page’s guitar cutting out during In My Time of Dying. Kashmir was a particular highlight and Plant joked “If you go along the A449,past Droitwich, take the third turn on the right, Kashmir is just up there – its got a white fence around it”. Tangerine was dedicated to “families and friends who have been close to us through a lot. Its a song of love in its most innocent stages”. Trampled Underfoot was simply breathtaking and included Robert unaccompanied leading into Rip it up by Little Richard for a few bars.
A DVD of the show exists, which includes around 90 minutes of the show. John has a copy and watched it through to remind us of some of the details of the night, particularly Plant’s stage banter: “Page wore the Dragon Suit, Jonesy his Matador Jacket, Bonham a black T shirt with a silver sequinned front and Plant an open “short blue kimono”. After Rock and Roll/Sick Again Plant welcomes us with “Good Evening (audience response)…Good Evening (louder response). Last time I was suffering from a touch of cholera, it seems to have worn off, must be all these eastern influences. Our intention is to play between three and three and half hours, and when we say play we don’t mean groove along (sings first line of Livin Lovin Maid in a goofy voice). We intend to take you on a little journey, some of the experiences we have had which had made the music so different in (emphasis) ….six and a half years !!” More banter then “This is the the beginning of that journey” – and then they play Over the Hills and Far Away.
After Over the Hills and Far Away Robert said “Malacoom Salaam as we Welsh would have it” (presumably a joke, the words are Salaam Alaykum -Peace unto You – or just – Hello). Then its more banter and into “As we divert from one stratosphere to another.We intend to take you through some of the changes -six and a half years in three hours”. They play ThatsThe Way.
After the song he sings a couple of lines from Old Man by Neil Young. He then says “The chairs are supplied by Habitat.This is a preview for all the talking shows we’re gonna do in the Fall…when we’ve really made it.” “This is about a blue eyed friend who wags his tail and keeps his mouth shut”.Then Bron Y Aur Stomp. “We’ve seen a lot of ups and downs, and ups and downs are the ability to create rhythm, and if you liken the ups and downs of the human body to parts of a motor car sometimes you can get Trampled Underfoot.
Dazed and Confused is dedicated to Dennis Healy (then Chancellor of the Exchequer) as he says “We gotta fly soon.Y’know how it goes with Dennis….dear Dennis. Private enterprise …no artists in the country anymore …he must be Dazed and Confused !! ” It included an excerpt from Scott McKenzie’s ‘If you’re going to San Francisco”. The intro to Stairway is “This is a song which typifies the mood of hope which in our brightest moments surrounds us.”
I’ll leave the final comment on the gig to John: “I though the entire set was great with In My Time of Dying,Trampled Underfoot, the acoustic set and Stairway being the highlights. Sick Again was a surprising choice. As you know I am not a big drum solo fan and by then I think Whole Lotta love was sounding a bit “overplayed”, but minor quibbles on a fantastic experience. I assume the posters must have been sold out by the time we got there or I would have bought one. Jimmy wore the Dragon Suit.
All I can say is this was greatest gig I have ever seen. A great venue, great kvisuals and sound, and a great time to see the greatest rock and roll band of all time. Like a a lot of things, at the time it felt a bit special, but I now realize it was a historic event it was. Sometimes the sun, moon and stars are aligned, I feel very fortunate to have been present.”
Setlist: Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Kashmir, No Quarter, Tangerine, Going to California, That the Way, Bron Y Aur Stomp, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love and Black Dog.
Thank again to John for his extensive help with this post and the photos of his memorabilia.
11 Sep
Led Zeppelin Newcastle City Hall 30th November 1972
Led Zeppelin Newcastle City Hall 30th November 1972
A year after my first live Zeppelin experiences our heroes were back out on tour in the UK again. This was the first show of their 24 date UK tour. The tour sold out in four hours: a total of 110,000 tickets, which was some sort of record at the time. The 1972 tour consisted of stops at concert halls around the UK and also included two nights at the massice 6000 seater Alexandra Palace in London. It was Zeppelin’s longest ever UK tour, and included two nights at the City Hall on 30th Nov and 1st December. I can’t recall how I got tickets for this gig; I guess I must havd queued at the City Hall. However we did get them, we had pretty good seats, about half way back downstairs, on the first night. All tickets for the tour were £1, which was very reasonable, particularly given the popularity of Zeppelin at the time. I went along with three mates, a couple of whom had been at the Sunderland show the year before. We were all excited about the show; Led Zeppelin were at this point the biggest band in the world, and they had a lot to live up to.
It was, as the previous year, an amazing show, but I must admit I don’t have the same strong memories of this concert as I do of the two 1971 gigs I attended. Maybe thats because it was my first time seeing the band in 1971, maybe those shows had a slight edge over this one; I don’t know. They were introduced by promoter Tony Smith with a simple “What can I say – Led Zeppelin!”. Robert plant apparently wore silver shoes, although I don’t recall this. In those days, the City Hall would sometimes let people sit at the back of the stage behind the band, and this happened at this gig, with around 100 lucky people being allowed to pay on the night to take their place on some raised steps just a few feet away from the band. Stairway to Heaven was dedicated to Roy Harper who was in hospital at the time. The set included four numbers from the new album: Over the Hills and Far Away, The Song Remains the Same, the Rain Song and Dancing Days.
Set list: Rock and Roll, Over the Hills and Far Away, Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Dancing Days, Bro Yr Aur Stomp, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love (including Let the Boy Boogie, Lets have a party, Goin Down Slow, the Shape I’m In), Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, extended Melletron introduction into Thank You.
Wish I’d gone both nights.
Thanks to John for jogging my memory on some of the details of this concert, and for the photo of the tour advert.
10 Sep
Led Zeppelin Sunderland Locarno 12th November 1971
My ticket from the gig. Pretty cool graphics.
Led Zeppelin Sunderland Locarno 12th November 1971
So having recovered from my Zeppelin experience at Newcastle City Hall the previous night, I was ready to see the band again at our local ballroom Sunderland Locarno (or The Mecca, as we knew it). Local ace promoter Geoff Docherty had been promising us a Zeppelin gig in Sunderland for some time. By 1971 the band were massive, and it seemed unbelievable that they would come and play at our local Mecca ballroom. But Geoff was true to his word, and delivered the rock gods to us on a Friday night in November. The account of how his persistence landed the Zeppelin gig is well documented in Geoff’s excellent book “A Promoter’s Tale” (Docherty, 2012). Tickets had been on sale at Bergs record shop in Sunderland, for all of 75p. I still have mine, and pretty cool it looks too. Like many others, I rushed home from school, and got over to the Mecca early, to join the queue and get a good spot down the front near our idols. By the time the doors opened there was a massive queue right down the ramp which used to lead into the venue, along the street and over the road to the Wheatsheaf pub, which stood on the corner. Everyone I knew was going; there were lots of friends in the queue with us. I was full of stories of the previous night’s gig and how great Zeppelin were.
Rear of the ticket. I wonder how many people took up the offer of 25p off the lp?
As soon as we got in, we took our places on the dance floor. Those were the days when you would sit cross-legged on the floor watching the band. The Mecca was a medium size ballroom, I would guess it must have held around 1,500 or so people. The dance floor had wonderful plastic palm trees at either side, and there was a revolving stage, although for bigger bands like Zeppelin a wooden platform was built above that. I remember that Zeppelin came on stage quite late, and the crowd immediately rose to their feet and surged to the front, forming a terrible crush. There was some concern about taking photographs, I think they searched us at the door on the way in, and were confiscating cameras. I remember a guy trying to take a photo of Robert Plant just as they came on stage, and the bouncers waded into the crowd to get his camera. Robert intervened, and told the bouncers to leave off the guy to a great cheer from the crowd. The set list was similar to the previous night, but the atmosphere was so much better. I was right down the front close to the band; I could almost touch them and the atmosphere was electric. 
They played an extended version of Whole Lotta Love, incorporating a medley of rock’n’roll standards, such as Hello Mary Lou. I managed to stay down the front for about half of the set, but I was too hot, sweaty and crushed and in the end I gave up and made my way to the back of the hall, and spent the latter part of the concert up in the balcony.
My friend, John, was also at the gig and sent me his memories of the night: “Obviously this was a really big deal for them to play in Sunderland, probably everyone we knew tried to go. They had just returned form Japan and played a 16 date UK tour to close out the year, which included two London Empire Pool concerts, known as the Electric Magic shows; which lasted for five hours and included Stone the Crows and some mixed vaudevillian and circus acts. I can remember queuing up to get in and standing on the ramp that leads up to the entrance with friends. It was the only time I can recall queuing up to get in. I can vividly remember being at the very front at the beginning of the show, I could almost touch the band, at the right hand side of the stage in front of a speaker stack when they played the Immigrant Song. It was so loud and with Plants voice so high, I am embarrassed to say that it was a bit hard to take and I had to move back a few spots. I remember them sitting down for the acoustic set on stools, which was quite unusual for the time and Robert saying something like “we are going to have a cup of tea”. Although I was not a big acoustic fan I thought that section was just great.The fourth album had been released just before the show (it was out on November 8th 1971) and I do not recall Stairway seeming a big deal at the time, but rather Whole Lotta Love was the highlight for most people.”
Setlist: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Black Dog, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Rock and Roll, Stairway to Heaven, That’s the Way, Going to California, Tangerine, Dazed and Confused, What Is and What Should Never Be, Celebration Day, Whole Lotta Love (medley including Hello Mary Lou, Let the Boy Boogie, and other rock’n’roll standards), Communication Breakdown.
Sadly the Mecca was demolished a year or so ago, and in the spot now stands a massive supermarket. I drove past this morning, and thought of that magical night. The next time I saw Zeppelin was back at Newcastle City Hall, a year later. I’ll write about that show tomorrow.
Thanks to John for the photographs of his classic Page and Plant posters.
Reference: Docherty, Geoff (2012) A Promoter’s Tale: Rock at the Sharp End, CreateSpace Independent Publishing.
9 Sep
Led Zeppelin Newcastle City Hall 11th November 1971
My ticket stub; a bit battered and with rusty pinholes from when I had it proudly displayed on my bedroom wall.
Led Zeppelin Newcastle City Hall 11th November 1971
For an old guy like me, who grew up listening to rock music in the late 60s and early 70s, Led Zeppelin were THE band. Their early albums are absolute classics of blues rock, and their live shows were simply the thing of legend. Everyone I knew had a copy of Led Zeppelin II, and would bring it to school to play at the record club, proudly displaying it to as a badge of honour. I’d so wanted to see Zeppelin live since I’d heard my friend’s older brothers talk about how great they were. They were lucky enough to see them at Newcastle City Hall and the Mayfair in the late 60s, and they came back from those gigs so excited, full of tales of Plant’s screaming vocals, of Page’s amazing guitar and how he “played his guitar with a violin bow”. In those days such tricks seemed almost unbelievable to a teenager like me. So when Zeppelin toured in late 1971 it was my turn to see them for the first time. I was determined to make the most of the opportunity, and was lucky enough to end up seeing them twice in two days, on the first two nights of their UK tour, when they played in Newcastle and Sunderland. The concerts took place in the week that the classic Led Zeppelin IV album was released. Zeppelin were at the peak of their powers at this time, and were simply an awesome, electric live act.
I had a ticket for the Led Zeppelin concert at Sunderland on the Friday night, and just couldn’t wait! So I decided to try and see them at Newcastle the night before. The City Hall gig has been sold out for weeks, with people queuing all night for tickets; but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I got home quickly after school on the Thursday night, had something to eat, and then set off on the train to Newcastle to try and blag a ticket outside of the venue. I managed to buy a ticket for a pretty ropey seat up in the circle, paying £1; which was twice the 50p face value. This may sound cheap now, but it seemed quite expensive at the time. But hey I was in, and although my view wasn’t great; I was going to see Led Zeppelin for the first time! I took my seat and waited for Zeppelin to take the stage. 
There was no support act; soon the lights went down and the guys stormed out, Robert Plant greeting us with a simple “Good evening! Here we are again”; and then it was straight into Immigrant Song, with Plant’s screaming wails roaring above Jimmy Page’s guitar. Page was wearing his guitar low, down around his knees, prowling around the stage while Prant posed, and played the rock god at the front. John Paul Jones stood quiet, and calm, providing the bass rhythms while John Bonham pounded and bashed away at his massive drum kit. For the next couple of hours I sat completely mesmerised by this band. I couldn’t take my eyes off Page and Plant. The set unfolded; featuring old favourites and tracks from the new lp. There were so many highlights: the opening “Hey hey mama said the way you move, Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove” lines of Black Dog; the mystical beauty of Stairway to Heaven; the back to their roots rhythms of Rock and Roll; the exquisite blues guitar and blood-tingling vocals of Dazed and Confused; the acoustic guitar interlude for Thats the Way, Going to California and Tangerine. And Jimmy Page did play his guitar with a violin bow, and he has this strange aerial which he waved his hands at and, as if by magic, made weird spacey, spooky sounds (I later learned that this was called a theremin).
A crowd recording exists, on which you can apparently hear Robert Plant talking about the release of the new album: “Now then, today’s the day of the Teddy Bear’s picnic, and to go with it, the new album came out. I know what they say about the lenght of time between the two, and I’m sure you can read all sorts of reports and toss a coin!” The concert was quite long, over two hours, and LOUD (which was good; for me the louder the better), even up in the circle where I was sitting. Just perfection; the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world. I caught the late train, the music still ringing in my ears, still buzzing and knowing that I’d experienced something very special. I couldn’t wait to see them again the next night, and bored everyone at school with how great they were.
There seems to be a little debate as to the setlist that night. Most sites show the set as: Immigrant Song; Heartbreaker; Black Dog; Since I’ve Been Loving You; Rock and Roll; Stairway to Heaven; That’s the Way; Going to California; Tangerine; Dazed and Confused; What Is and What Should Never Be; Celebration Day; Whole Lotta Love. Encore: Communication Breakdown. However, I’ve also read that they played Moby Dick, but I am assured that this was not the case. They did however also play Bron-y-aur Stomp.
The next night I saw Led Zeppelin again, when they played at Sunderland Locarno ballroom. I’ll write about that, my second, and equally as exciting, Zeppelin experience tomorrow.
Thanks to John for the snap of the poster, and for helping jog my memory.
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