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Zep-'72 Bombay Visit-Article-Times of India '01


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One afternoon, in the winter of 1972, I got a call from an excited Ramzan, the owner of Slip Disc, the happening discotheque and live band show place of our time. He told me that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin were in town and are to visit the Slip Disc and perform that evening so please get there as early as I could. If only you could imagine the excitement and turmoil that took place for the next few hours in the life of this fledging young Rock singer! A hundred telephone calls later I was on my way to distant Colaba from our bungalow in Chembur and reached the Slip Disc to find it almost full. And this was a good four hours before their scheduled arrival! Good news sure travels fast and as we waited for the arrival of our Rock Icons, we prepared for their performance with a last minute check on the music equipment available. Those were the tough days of import control and we had really poor stuff that was scrounged and smuggled with the help of relatives from abroad and rich benefactors. We were hoping that this would not mar the enthusiasm of the Rock Superstars who were used to the very best!

As the next few hours slowly crawled and H hour arrived, the Slip Disc began to burst at the seams and the crowd was getting difficult to manage, It was weird seeing a discotheque with no music playing, filled to capacity with people just waiting for the stars to arrive and the excitement levels were at danger levels. We received minute-by-minute information about the progress of their arrival from the Taj Mahal Hotel where the duo was staying. Fortunately it was just a hop skip and a jump away and Ramzan was in their room waiting to escort them to his noisy club on Bombay’s waterfront. Just as it seemed that the wait was getting unbearable, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page made their entrance into the discotheque to the spontaneous applause of their crazy fans myself included.

The next hour was like a blur to me especially after all these years, as just too much seemed to be happening. As Robert and Jimmy were busy signing autographs for the crowd that descended on them, for a brief instance, I could not help but feel a sense of disappointment on seeing my idols in person. I had imagined a very strong male and macho presence especially from the tall Plant and their music exuded such incredible energy, yet both of them were so soft-spoken and almost effeminate in their behavior! Their apparent frail exteriors made me more aware of the thousands of misconceptions that we must have been carrying around with us. Don’t forget we did not have television at that time and we were always craving for information. We only had their music to inspire us and we were using our imagination to carve out the entire personas of our idols!

Soon these thoughts were out of my mind as it was time for the duo to perform. It had been decided that Xerxes Gobhai, the talented bassist from the Human Bondage and Jameel Shaikh, the drummer from my band would back them but nobody had any idea what they would perform. There was just no time to get into any details, as anything would do for us music-starved fans and before we knew it, Led Zeppelin, Bombay style were announced to the audience. Jimmy and Plant got into the groove from the word go as they launched into Rock and Roll, the hit from Led Zep 4 and the audience went wild! They followed that with an extended blues where their stay in Bombay seemed to feature a lot. Black Dog followed and before we knew it was all over. They must have been on stage for a maximum of 25 minutes and we savored every second of that. At that time, Led Zeppelin were on top of the charts and it was a great opportunity for us to see at least two of them perform live in Bombay and they were just a few feet away!

In later years, the story of the Plant/Page visit took on an unbelievable aura around it and everybody seemed to have different recollections of that night… myself included. But I guess that is what legends are made of. Today it even seems ridiculous as it to how much hysteria a couple of Rock Stars could generate! Yet this was the barometer with which you could judge the passion with which we loved our music. Please, keep the fire burning and Rock on!

Nandu Bhende

Zep_XerxMadhu.jpg

...additional Rock Articles...

http://nandu_bhende.tripod.com/articles/pune-times.htm

http://nandu_bhende.tripod.com/articles/particle5.htm

Edited by PlanetPage
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One afternoon, in the winter of 1972, I got a call from an excited Ramzan, the owner of Slip Disc, the happening discotheque and live band show place of our time. He told me that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin were in town and are to visit the Slip Disc and perform that evening so please get there as early as I could. If only you could imagine the excitement and turmoil that took place for the next few hours in the life of this fledging young Rock singer! A hundred telephone calls later I was on my way to distant Colaba from our bungalow in Chembur and reached the Slip Disc to find it almost full. And this was a good four hours before their scheduled arrival! Good news sure travels fast and as we waited for the arrival of our Rock Icons, we prepared for their performance with a last minute check on the music equipment available. Those were the tough days of import control and we had really poor stuff that was scrounged and smuggled with the help of relatives from abroad and rich benefactors. We were hoping that this would not mar the enthusiasm of the Rock Superstars who were used to the very best!

As the next few hours slowly crawled and H hour arrived, the Slip Disc began to burst at the seams and the crowd was getting difficult to manage, It was weird seeing a discotheque with no music playing, filled to capacity with people just waiting for the stars to arrive and the excitement levels were at danger levels. We received minute-by-minute information about the progress of their arrival from the Taj Mahal Hotel where the duo was staying. Fortunately it was just a hop skip and a jump away and Ramzan was in their room waiting to escort them to his noisy club on Bombay’s waterfront. Just as it seemed that the wait was getting unbearable, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page made their entrance into the discotheque to the spontaneous applause of their crazy fans myself included.

The next hour was like a blur to me especially after all these years, as just too much seemed to be happening. As Robert and Jimmy were busy signing autographs for the crowd that descended on them, for a brief instance, I could not help but feel a sense of disappointment on seeing my idols in person. I had imagined a very strong male and macho presence especially from the tall Plant and their music exuded such incredible energy, yet both of them were so soft-spoken and almost effeminate in their behavior! Their apparent frail exteriors made me more aware of the thousands of misconceptions that we must have been carrying around with us. Don’t forget we did not have television at that time and we were always craving for information. We only had their music to inspire us and we were using our imagination to carve out the entire personas of our idols!

Soon these thoughts were out of my mind as it was time for the duo to perform. It had been decided that Xerxes Gobhai, the talented bassist from the Human Bondage and Jameel Shaikh, the drummer from my band would back them but nobody had any idea what they would perform. There was just no time to get into any details, as anything would do for us music-starved fans and before we knew it, Led Zeppelin, Bombay style were announced to the audience. Jimmy and Plant got into the groove from the word go as they launched into Rock and Roll, the hit from Led Zep 4 and the audience went wild! They followed that with an extended blues where their stay in Bombay seemed to feature a lot. Black Dog followed and before we knew it was all over. They must have been on stage for a maximum of 25 minutes and we savored every second of that. At that time, Led Zeppelin were on top of the charts and it was a great opportunity for us to see at least two of them perform live in Bombay and they were just a few feet away!

In later years, the story of the Plant/Page visit took on an unbelievable aura around it and everybody seemed to have different recollections of that night… myself included. But I guess that is what legends are made of. Today it even seems ridiculous as it to how much hysteria a couple of Rock Stars could generate! Yet this was the barometer with which you could judge the passion with which we loved our music. Please, keep the fire burning and Rock on!

Nandu Bhende

Zep_XerxMadhu.jpg

...additional Rock Articles...

http://nandu_bhende.tripod.com/articles/pune-times.htm

http://nandu_bhende.tripod.com/articles/particle5.htm

I got a look up error on both those links.

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Some further details were revealed during a Robert Plant interview published in the Aug 1973 issue of 'Zig Zag':

First Page and Plant recorded 'Four Sticks' and 'Friends' with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra at EMI studios and then

Page, Plant and Cole visited this discotheque around the corner where Page & Plant performed 'Whole Lotta Love'. In

the interview the name of the discoteque is Slipped Disc. It would seem it's either that or Slip Disc - something seems

lost in translation.

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Some further details were revealed during a Robert Plant interview published in the Aug 1973 issue of 'Zig Zag':

First Page and Plant recorded 'Four Sticks' and 'Friends' with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra at EMI studios and then

Page, Plant and Cole visited this discotheque around the corner where Page & Plant performed 'Whole Lotta Love'. In

the interview the name of the discoteque is Slipped Disc. It would seem it's either that or Slip Disc - something seems

lost in translation.

...tks ever so much for the fantastic details SAJ, as always!!! I will look it up more closely at RoyalOrleans.Com,

the name is Slip Disc...it is revived in Goa...here is the link

Why 'Slipdisc'?

The original Slipdisc was a swinging discotheque in the late 60's- 70's, situated in the bylanes of Colaba, Bombay. In fact it was Bombay's and the country's first.

http://www.slipdiscgoa.com/

Edited by PlanetPage
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I'd say after, since Jimmy was clean shaven.

...it is definitely after the Australian Tour...I have seen video (I just can't find the link now) Jimmy mentioning that they are indeed going to Bombay. Richard Cole has listed the '71 Bombay Visit pictures as '72 in Stairway to Heaven (Jimmy is with Beard, s/b '71)..

I will see if I can find proper date...

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One afternoon, in the winter of 1972, I got a call from an excited Ramzan, the owner of Slip Disc, the happening discotheque and live band show place of our time. He told me that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin were in town and are to visit the Slip Disc and perform that evening so please get there as early as I could. If only you could imagine the excitement and turmoil that took place for the next few hours in the life of this fledging young Rock singer! A hundred telephone calls later I was on my way to distant Colaba from our bungalow in Chembur and reached the Slip Disc to find it almost full. And this was a good four hours before their scheduled arrival! Good news sure travels fast and as we waited for the arrival of our Rock Icons, we prepared for their performance with a last minute check on the music equipment available. Those were the tough days of import control and we had really poor stuff that was scrounged and smuggled with the help of relatives from abroad and rich benefactors. We were hoping that this would not mar the enthusiasm of the Rock Superstars who were used to the very best!

As the next few hours slowly crawled and H hour arrived, the Slip Disc began to burst at the seams and the crowd was getting difficult to manage, It was weird seeing a discotheque with no music playing, filled to capacity with people just waiting for the stars to arrive and the excitement levels were at danger levels. We received minute-by-minute information about the progress of their arrival from the Taj Mahal Hotel where the duo was staying. Fortunately it was just a hop skip and a jump away and Ramzan was in their room waiting to escort them to his noisy club on Bombay’s waterfront. Just as it seemed that the wait was getting unbearable, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page made their entrance into the discotheque to the spontaneous applause of their crazy fans myself included.

The next hour was like a blur to me especially after all these years, as just too much seemed to be happening. As Robert and Jimmy were busy signing autographs for the crowd that descended on them, for a brief instance, I could not help but feel a sense of disappointment on seeing my idols in person. I had imagined a very strong male and macho presence especially from the tall Plant and their music exuded such incredible energy, yet both of them were so soft-spoken and almost effeminate in their behavior! Their apparent frail exteriors made me more aware of the thousands of misconceptions that we must have been carrying around with us. Don’t forget we did not have television at that time and we were always craving for information. We only had their music to inspire us and we were using our imagination to carve out the entire personas of our idols!

Soon these thoughts were out of my mind as it was time for the duo to perform. It had been decided that Xerxes Gobhai, the talented bassist from the Human Bondage and Jameel Shaikh, the drummer from my band would back them but nobody had any idea what they would perform. There was just no time to get into any details, as anything would do for us music-starved fans and before we knew it, Led Zeppelin, Bombay style were announced to the audience. Jimmy and Plant got into the groove from the word go as they launched into Rock and Roll, the hit from Led Zep 4 and the audience went wild! They followed that with an extended blues where their stay in Bombay seemed to feature a lot. Black Dog followed and before we knew it was all over. They must have been on stage for a maximum of 25 minutes and we savored every second of that. At that time, Led Zeppelin were on top of the charts and it was a great opportunity for us to see at least two of them perform live in Bombay and they were just a few feet away!

In later years, the story of the Plant/Page visit took on an unbelievable aura around it and everybody seemed to have different recollections of that night… myself included. But I guess that is what legends are made of. Today it even seems ridiculous as it to how much hysteria a couple of Rock Stars could generate! Yet this was the barometer with which you could judge the passion with which we loved our music. Please, keep the fire burning and Rock on!

Nandu Bhende

Zep_XerxMadhu.jpg

...additional Rock Articles...

http://nandu_bhende.tripod.com/articles/pune-times.htm

http://nandu_bhende.tripod.com/articles/particle5.htm

Nope, this still only sends me to a DNS Look up Error page...

...tks ever so much for the fantastic details SAJ, as always!!! I will look it up more closely at RoyalOrleans.Com,

the name is Slip Disc...it is revived in Goa...here is the link

Why 'Slipdisc'?

The original Slipdisc was a swinging discotheque in the late 60's- 70's, situated in the bylanes of Colaba, Bombay. In fact it was Bombay's and the country's first.

http://www.slipdiscgoa.com/

This link works fine

It's OK, don't worry about it PlanetPage, I believe you.

I do find it hard to understand calling a club a Disco tech that early on, I didn't think that Disco tech was even around in 1972. When I think Disco tech I think 1975 or 1977. I can see calling the club in India, "Slipdisc" as in... dancing so much that you'll hurt your back! :D

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I do find it hard to understand calling a club a Disco tech that early on, I didn't think that Disco tech was even around in 1972. When I think Disco tech I think 1975 or 1977.

Use of the term discotheque dates back to occupied Paris during World War II. New clubs and bars began to pop up literally underground. These late-night basement parties were run like the American speakeasy and included the use of passwords, memberships and rotating locations. The new form of nightclub was called "discotheque", the French word meaning "record library". Live acts and known venues were too dangerous to chance - a one-way trip to the camps in 1941. The latest jazz records from the United States were awaited with bated breath by this new underground. It was a long and dangerous journey into Paris, dodging bullets and Nazi checkpoints (and you thought your bag was heavy!)

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Use of the term discotheque dates back to occupied Paris during World War II. New clubs and bars began to pop up literally underground. These late-night basement parties were run like the American speakeasy and included the use of passwords, memberships and rotating locations. The new form of nightclub was called "discotheque", the French word meaning "record library". Live acts and known venues were too dangerous to chance - a one-way trip to the camps in 1941. The latest jazz records from the United States were awaited with bated breath by this new underground. It was a long and dangerous journey into Paris, dodging bullets and Nazi checkpoints (and you thought your bag was heavy!)

Really? I didn't know this.. How about that. Like they say.. You learn something new every day. I live in the state's so maybe that's why I don't remember the term until the mid 1970's, or maybe not, I was only 12 years old in 1975. :slapface:

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Really? I didn't know this.. How about that. Like they say.. You learn something new every day. I live in the state's so maybe that's why I don't remember the term until the mid 1970's, or maybe not, I was only 12 years old in 1975. :slapface:

..see also SAJ Mystery Thread...Venues such as Slip Disc were simply referred to as "Disco" right from the very late 60's to 70's on in Cinema...(When Zep played, the "audience" could not tell the difference between two styles of music...they were western music entertainers...excluding the select few musicians who were present...

Slip Disc Venue Article...

Before the night club and street action moved to Bandra, Mumbai’s night life was centred around south Mumbai’s Colaba Causeway. Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts’ fictional character in his book of the same name, spent most of his life negotiating its labyrinths. Mumbai’s first discotheque, Slip Disc, opened here in the 1970s. However, over time, this one-time bastion of bohemianism, even sleaze, has transformed into a premium drinking and dining haunt for the glitterati of south Mumbai.

During the 1970s and the 1980s, Colaba’s 2-km ‘action district’ was dominated by an assortment of sailors, students, hippies and hookers. Sailors from the neighbouring Indira Docks descended on the all-night bars and brothels, the hippies congregated at Hotel Stiffles, hookers abounded around Blue Nile, the popular striptease joint, and college kids danced away their afternoons at Slip Disc, which used to open for business rather early to accommodate students.

In the 1980s, police closed down Blue Nile and Slip Disc was replaced by Sab Bistro, a fine-dining restaurant, which later made way for Voodoo Bar, a popular gay bar.

...Now, Colaba has gotten over its sleaze boom, it is returning to being a lifestyle hotspot. Azmi and his ilk must ensure that a Blue Nile does not return, but a Slip Disc does.

http://www.businessworld.in/index.php/After-Hours/Colaba-Comeback.html

Edited by PlanetPage
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  • 2 weeks later...

...This email from Nandu Bhende today...

Hi,I'm sorry that no one seems to correctly remember the date of this performance. The sign of the crazy days of that era . I guess!!!

I know that a picture came in the Times of India the next day which was reprinted some 10 years back.

I will try and see if I can find any more details.

All the best,

Nandu

...later...

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  • 1 year later...

SlipDisc.jpg

SlipDisc2AF.jpg

Psychedelic Madhooo in action early 70's...... (He is the skinny one in glasses in the Zep Photo)

http://www.myspace.com/madooocom/photos/albums/album/1818870

Atomic Forest - You never know who might just show up, you just never know ;)

...Jimmy, on your birthday with fondest regards......

Edited by PlanetPage
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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

..........Fellow Zep Fans, here are The Photos/articles which finally have come to light since Fall of Last year.

I sincerely want to thank foremost our Webmaster, Sam, for providing such wonderful forum for Led Zeppelin fans around the world.....

Thanks to Ms. Radha Nair, Writer, Pune, India for her encouragment (I gave up!!) that I should pursue my passion, it is fruitful indeed. It is her prayers that connected me to many writers/journalists who further the cause each step of the way to present....

Writer/Journalist Sidarth Bhatia from Bombay who assisted in archives from Bombay...

A Big Thanks to our Veteran Forum Member MadScreamingGallery, MSG - Thank you for your friendship through this challenging archival process. Your friendship is truly noted in hearts of hearts, thank you!!!

..and Vinayak Razdan, New Delhi expert who assisted to search for any copies of lost Junior Statesman Issues and many other archival publications. There are none Junior Statesman (JS) to be found. Only one issue exists...and that leads me to The Statesman, Kolkatta, archives.

Very sincere thanks to Mr. Prasanto Banerjee, Assistant Editor of The Statesman, Calcutta for making these highly restricted archives to public available!!! These archives of Junior Statesman resided in a warehouse of Calcutta since the war of '71, Zep's first visit to India...

...finally I post the photos with this thought "Life is too short" ...........

js3.jpg

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Is there confirmation of the date and publication in which the article "Led Zeppelin Land Briefly in Bombay' was published?

.....thanks SAJ, hope you enjoyed the photos;

yes there is, I cannot think of everything at once to post, too many details at once...

Yes, the Junior Statesman, in which these photos were published is said to be dated November 25, 1972.

The Statesman from Kolkata forgot to attach the Junior Statesman Front Cover, P. Banerjee will send me the scan tomorrow. (It has some other sports related photo).

I will post the scan. In those days, the photos for publishing were sent via regular mail, from Bombay to Calcutta. This is why the photos appear in Nov.'72 issue.

...as you know, there is no visit to Bombay in Mar'72 for the purposes of Bombay Sessions Recordings.

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