76229 Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 In Mick Wall's When Giants Walked the Earth, it says that while on the '77 tour Peter Grant had opened negotiations with the Soviet embassy in Washington to have Zeppelin become the first rock act to play behind the iron curtain. Does anyone on the forum know anymore about this project? Naturally it got left to one side after the events of later in the tour, but I wondered if Grant ever mentioned it afterwards as something he still wanted to do in 1981 had the band not split up. Playing in such an unusual (for a Western act) place would have suited Page's self image as an innovator, and maybe Plant might have got some lyrical inspiration similar to the Iceland trip ("I come from the land of vodka and potatoes"?). Seriously, it would have been fascinating to see what kind of reception they'd have got, since I assume the records would have had to be smuggled in. Was there much of a fan base east of Vienna? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 I'm away from notes so off the top of my head it is known that members of the Russian Embassy were guests of Peter's at one of the four concerts in Landover, MD in May 1977. During that show, JPJ played a little Rachmaninoff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff I don't specifically recall anything in Peter's book that suggests there was ever any serious discussion about performing in Russia. Of course, I can see where it could have come up either on the night or around that time. Led Zeppelin did enjoy popularity in Russia, but most Russians had to settle for crude, pirated copies of the official albums and bootlegs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 ...it was the May 30, 1977 show... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Work Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Remember hearing the same thing. But nothing about playing there. At any rate, damn, they caught a hell of a show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
76229 Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 On 04/04/2017 at 10:40 PM, SteveAJones said: ...it was the May 30, 1977 show... Funnily enough, my birthdate. be interesting to know if anyone in the band has mentioned it in interviews etc. I don't recall so in the interviews I've seen & read though. Pity it never happened, because it means Wham! were the first major western act to play behnd the iron curtain. (albeit in China rather than Russia) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NealR2000 Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 1 hour ago, 76229 said: Funnily enough, my birthdate. be interesting to know if anyone in the band has mentioned it in interviews etc. I don't recall so in the interviews I've seen & read though. Pity it never happened, because it means Wham! were the first major western act to play behnd the iron curtain. (albeit in China rather than Russia) I know Elton John played in the USSR in 1979. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Work Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Hell they made a big deal about it when the Red Hot Chili Peppers played there Bands should have toured there all along. Not a bad show, for an average group... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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