Peterlee, UK - Argus Butterfly 1969

[sam_webmaster]

Thanks to former promoters Brian Stoker and David Richards who used to book bands into the Argus Butterfly, we now have confirmation of this new date.

http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/march-23-1969

[SteveAJones]

Thanks to former promoters Brian Stoker and David Richards who used to book bands into the Argus Butterfly, we now have confirmation of this new date.

Unbelieveable! It's always great to see evidence of a previously undocumented show.

I also note on this date from 3-5pm the BBC broadcast their March 3rd 1969 session

on John Peel's 'Top Gear'.

[pinky]

Cool, to bad it wasn't something like 5/19/69 Boston, or Berlin 1970 because there are recordings attributed to those dates with no proof they played there.

[SteveAJones]

Cool, to bad it wasn't something like 5/19/69 Boston, or Berlin 1970 because there are recordings attributed to those dates with no proof they played there.

Pinky, they played a series of dates at the Tea Party in Boston in January '69 as well as in May '69, but not on May 19th. On that date the band was flown from Minneapolis to New York after Jimmy decided to do a few days of studio work for their second album.

They played the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin on 7/19/70, and stayed at the Berlin Hilton

adjacent to the Berlin Zoo.

[SteveAJones]

A second feature article concerning Led Zeppelin's gig in Peterlee has been published:

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/The-d...ayed.4655318.jp

[SuperDave]

Thanks to former promoters Brian Stoker and David Richards who used to book bands into the Argus Butterfly, we now have confirmation of this new date.

http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/march-23-1969

Sam,

Very interesting summary on the show. Funny how an unknown singer wanted 100 pounds as the opening act as well. That's what Zepelin were paid. Oh, BTW the unknown singer was Elton John. Great info!

Always love to hear about a new show confirmed from their past. Even better is when a recording of this show starts to circulate.

[StringBender]

Speaking of unconfirmed dates (sorry if I shouldn't post it in this thread) but I have asked this on the forum before without any confirmation.

I have never seen a published date for Columbus, Ohio BUT during some of the HTWWW interviews Robert specifically recalled playing a gig (sorry I don't have the exact quote) of which he said "I remember playing in Columbus, Ohio and the sound was horrible, the monitors were mounted above the stage and you couldn't hear anything....." and this recollection confirms what others have told me of the old St.John's Arena (still standing but rarely used now) that the sound just drifted to the high ceiling in the place and it was the WORST place to go to a concert in the 70's.

I would have to think that it occured in '69, and I know they played Athens, Ohio (and Akron?) but I've never seen a date for Columbus.

Anyone?

[ally]

Speaking of unconfirmed dates (sorry if I shouldn't post it in this thread) but I have asked this on the forum before without any confirmation.

I have never seen a published date for Columbus, Ohio BUT during some of the HTWWW interviews Robert specifically recalled playing a gig (sorry I don't have the exact quote) of which he said "I remember playing in Columbus, Ohio and the sound was horrible, the monitors were mounted above the stage and you couldn't hear anything....." and this recollection confirms what others have told me of the old St.John's Arena (still standing but rarely used now) that the sound just drifted to the high ceiling in the place and it was the WORST place to go to a concert in the 70's.

I would have to think that it occured in '69, and I know they played Athens, Ohio (and Akron?) but I've never seen a date for Columbus.

Anyone?

You sure know how to pick em'

[SteveAJones]

Speaking of unconfirmed dates (sorry if I shouldn't post it in this thread) but I have asked this on the forum before without any confirmation.

I have never seen a published date for Columbus, Ohio BUT during some of the HTWWW interviews Robert specifically recalled playing a gig (sorry I don't have the exact quote) of which he said "I remember playing in Columbus, Ohio and the sound was horrible, the monitors were mounted above the stage and you couldn't hear anything....." and this recollection confirms what others have told me of the old St.John's Arena (still standing but rarely used now) that the sound just drifted to the high ceiling in the place and it was the WORST place to go to a concert in the 70's.

I would have to think that it occured in '69, and I know they played Athens, Ohio (and Akron?) but I've never seen a date for Columbus.

Anyone?

Having the exact quote might help clarify things, but then again they've all made some howling mistakes in regards to speaking from recollection (Jimmy placing the Earls Court dates in 1976 comes to mind).

I can offer a theory regarding the comment Plant allegedly made during an interview in 2003, and that is he played Columbus, Ohio (Germain Amphitheater) on 8/28/02, less

than a year prior. So he may well have meant to say Athens, Ohio (5/17/69) but said

Columbus instead.

The day of the Athens, OH gig at Ohio University - Grover Center (5/17/69) they were flown in from Detroit and immediately checked in to their hotel. No time to eat before or after the show, just quick stops at the hotel bar. Their flight enroute to Minneapolis the next day was delayed, causing that show to start late.

There's no evidence Led Zeppelin ever played either Columbus or Akron, Ohio.

[StringBender]

Having the exact quote might help clarify things, but then again they've all made some howling mistakes in regards to speaking from recollection (Jimmy placing the Earls Court dates in 1976 comes to mind).

I can offer a theory regarding the comment Plant allegedly made during an interview in 2003, and that is he played Columbus, Ohio (Germain Amphitheater) on 8/28/02, less

than a year prior. So he may well have meant to say Athens, Ohio (5/17/69) but said

Columbus instead.

The day of the Athens, OH gig at Ohio University - Grover Center (5/17/69) they were flown in from Detroit and immediately checked in to their hotel. No time to eat before or after the show, just quick stops at the hotel bar. Their flight enroute to Minneapolis the next day was delayed, causing that show to start late.

There's no evidence Led Zeppelin ever played either Columbus or Akron, Ohio.

Thanks for the input Steve but to clarify a couple things. It wasn't a statement Plant "allegedly" made but did make. There was a radio interview with all 3 members (probably recorded separately) at the time of the DVD release - questins were asked about the premier and how they felt watching themselves these many years later (maybe that will help someone track down a transcript). Unfortunately I don't have the exact title, but we discussed the interview at length on the "old board" the evening the interview was conducted (since all of us Zep nuts here on the board were still in awe of the DVD release and were eating up every bit of press material).

When Plant made the comment he was specifically speaking about Zeppelin and his experiences, not his solo tours. Sure there is a possiblity that they are mistaken and quote one city when they meant another - how many of us can remember what we did nearly 40 years ago?!

I just found it interesting and as I pointed out, it certainy echoed comments others have told me about St.Johns Arena's concerts.

And keep in mind plenty of "new" tour dates have surfaced (such as this very thread) that were never thought to have existed. I can see an obscure '69 date being a likely candidate.

Maybe this shoulda went in the "Mysteries...." thread?

P.S. Sidenote here, one fella I know who watched a ton of concerts in the 70's at St.Johns also told me he had a bunch of tapes he recorded there, loaned them to a friend years ago, and never saw them again. Granted, he made no mention of a Zeppelin tape (I didn't even ask him about Zep when I spoke with him) but I thought afterwards, just wonder if there were a tape to prove it and it's rotting in someone's attic......

[Hotplant]

Great find Sam!

[SteveAJones]

Thanks for the input Steve but to clarify a couple things. It wasn't a statement Plant "allegedly" made but did make. There was a radio interview with all 3 members (probably recorded separately) at the time of the DVD release - questins were asked about the premier and how they felt watching themselves these many years later (maybe that will help someone track down a transcript). Unfortunately I don't have the exact title, but we discussed the interview at length on the "old board" the evening the interview was conducted (since all of us Zep nuts here on the board were still in awe of the DVD release and were eating up every bit of press material).

When Plant made the comment he was specifically speaking about Zeppelin and his experiences, not his solo tours. Sure there is a possiblity that they are mistaken and quote one city when they meant another - how many of us can remember what we did nearly 40 years ago?!

I just found it interesting and as I pointed out, it certainy echoed comments others have told me about St.Johns Arena's concerts.

And keep in mind plenty of "new" tour dates have surfaced (such as this very thread) that were never thought to have existed. I can see an obscure '69 date being a likely candidate.

Maybe this shoulda went in the "Mysteries...." thread?

P.S. Sidenote here, one fella I know who watched a ton of concerts in the 70's at St.Johns also told me he had a bunch of tapes he recorded there, loaned them to a friend years ago, and never saw them again. Granted, he made no mention of a Zeppelin tape (I didn't even ask him about Zep when I spoke with him) but I thought afterwards, just wonder if there were a tape to prove it and it's rotting in someone's attic......

I've surveyed everything I have for 1969 and there are actually very few open dates remaining whilst on the East Coast. Open date defined as no confirmed travel or event having occured on that day, leading to the possibility of a new concert discovery.

Even so, there are some possibilities and here they are:

January 16 1969 (open date between shows in Iowa City and Detroit)

January 22 1969 (open date between shows in Pittsburgh and Boston)

July 7-10 1969 (open dates between shows in RI and MD)

July 14-16 1969 (open dates between shows in NY state and Cincinnatti).

July 22-24 1969 (open dates between shows in NY state and WI)

August 26 1969 (open date between shows in NY state and NH)

August 28-29 1969 (open dates between shows in NH and NY state)

October 22-23 1969 (open dates between shows in Philly and Cleveland)

October 26-29 1969 (open dates between shows in Boston and Buffalo)

The possibilities are posted for the sake of anyone with access to Columbus newspaper archives who is inclined to research this a bit further. Most, if not all of the gigs during

this era were being advertised in the local press.

[mikezep61]

Having the exact quote might help clarify things, but then again they've all made some howling mistakes in regards to speaking from recollection (Jimmy placing the Earls Court dates in 1976 comes to mind).

I can offer a theory regarding the comment Plant allegedly made during an interview in 2003, and that is he played Columbus, Ohio (Germain Amphitheater) on 8/28/02, less

than a year prior. So he may well have meant to say Athens, Ohio (5/17/69) but said

Columbus instead.

The day of the Athens, OH gig at Ohio University - Grover Center (5/17/69) they were flown in from Detroit and immediately checked in to their hotel. No time to eat before or after the show, just quick stops at the hotel bar. Their flight enroute to Minneapolis the next day was delayed, causing that show to start late.

There's no evidence Led Zeppelin ever played either Columbus or Akron, Ohio.

Steve,

The band actually played the Convocation Center at Ohio University, not the Grover Center:

[widget]

The day of the Athens, OH gig at Ohio University - Grover Center (5/17/69) they were flown in from Detroit and immediately checked in to their hotel. No time to eat before or after the show, just quick stops at the hotel bar. Their flight enroute to Minneapolis the next day was delayed, causing that show to start late.

They probably ate and drank at the airport lounge as well as on the plane. There are pics of Jonesy stuffing his face with food at an airport lounge, in the Chris Welch LZ photobook. I can't imagine them living on pork scratchings and beer nuts alone.

Meg

[SteveAJones]

Steve,

The band actually played the Convocation Center at Ohio University, not the Grover Center:

Mike, thank you for the correction. Not sure where I got Grover Center from, unless it has since been renamed. I can read up on it. Convocation Center looks like it was/is a suitable venue. Thanks again.

[LZJoker]

MisterHank who taped Zeppelin in 1971 at the City Hall was there:

And, one for the Led Zeppelin diehards, did anyone else except me go see them at the Argus Butterfly pub in Peterlee in ... 1968 (?)

It was the New Yardbirds but bugger me if I can remember what they played

[SteveAJones]

On 11/14/2008 at 7:12 AM, SteveAJones said:

The possibilities are posted for the sake of anyone with access to Columbus newspaper archives who is inclined to research this a bit further. Most, if not all of the gigs during

this era were being advertised in the local press.

I have since acquired paid subscription access to www.newspapers.com. Exhaustive searching of that archival site today yielded no evidence Led Zeppelin ever performed in Columbus, Ohio.