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Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones


SteveAJones

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There's two books I won't be buying.

That is, of course, your prerogative. If you say that you will not buy and obviously not read said books, out of pure spite (or whatever) then you are missing out on reading and learning about Led Zeppelin from one of the best authors and friends of the Band. Personally I don't care either way. I just Love to read and learn and absorb anything about Led Zeppelin. I know a lot about Led Zeppelin but I am always willing to KNOW MORE.

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Thanks.

On another note: I just finished re-reading Dave Lewis' book, Celebration II and just began re-reading Dave's A Final Acclaim and I did notice that there is a Steve Jones acknowledgement at the beginning of both these books. All I can think of to say is congratulations for being name-checked in both of these great books and to know how this came to be, if you care to elaborate. If not, that is cool with me.

Those acknowledgements are for a friend of mine, Steve Jones, who hails from Manchester, England. I've known Steve for 25 years, and we are occasionally mistaken for each other from time to time in the Led Zeppelin community. So he's the UK Steve Jones, I'm the USA Steve Jones. Whenever I am acknowledged in print, referred to on online or as my photos or live recordings get credited it is always as Steve A Jones. The Final Acclaim, by the way, is one of the best books written on the band and could rightfully be called essential reading for anyone interested in a behind the scenes, eyewitness account of Led Zeppelin's last tour.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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how come they never played Toronto after 1971?

No specific reason. As JP said here last week, the band had strong support right from the begining and had fond memories of their four dates in 1969 and 1971.

When the 1977 tour was postponed due to Robert's tonsillitis, it was re-sheduled to begin here in Toronto on April 1. It was then changed to Dallas. The 6th revision of the official 1977 tour itinerary stated: "Canadian dates can be rescheduled during week off between Buffalo and Philadelphia". As we know, the tour ended tragically before the New Orleans concert.

3-05-1977 (NME):

post-5-0-02176200-1438168342_thumb.jpg

Official Tour Itinerary (6th revision):

post-5-0-97178000-1438168340_thumb.jpg

3-19-1977 (NME):

post-5-0-57761000-1438168341_thumb.jpg

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No specific reason. As JP said here last week, the band had strong support right from the beginning and had fond memories of their four dates in 1969 and 1971.

Fair enough, Sam but you may recall conjecture here that Peter Grant may have met his match in hard-nosed Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard. Ballard's obstinate business practices may have been a factor in no Toronto dates as it seems there were no other suitable venues in the city for a band of their stature.

http://www.masonicsearch.com/page/608-7431/Harold_Ballard

Edited by SteveAJones
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Fair enough, Sam but you may recall conjecture here that Peter Grant may have met his match in hard-nosed Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard. Ballard's obstinate business practices may have been a factor in no Toronto dates as it seems there were no other suitable venues in the city for a band of their stature.

http://www.masonicsearch.com/page/608-7431/Harold_Ballard

Oh yes, I'm very familiar with Harold Ballard. But I've never heard any indication that he had anything to do with Zep not returning here. Everybody played at Maple Leaf Gardens during the 70s. And from what I'm told, dealing with NY's Madison Square Garden for events is much more involved / expensive, and they returned there many times.

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Oh yes, I'm very familiar with Harold Ballard. But I've never heard any indication that he had anything to do with Zep not returning here. Everybody played at Maple Leaf Gardens during the 70s. And from what I'm told, dealing with NY's Madison Square Garden for events is much more involved / expensive, and they returned there many times.

Good point(s)...and on second thought it seems any Grant/Ballard falling out that kept them from playing in Toronto would definitely have been mentioned in Peter's book or alluded to during that public appearance Peter made in Toronto in 1994.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is more of a question and not a mystery. I am almost finishing re-reading Mick Bonham's book about his brother John, "John Bonham: The Powerhouse Behind Led Zeppelin". It is a great book with insight into the Bonham Brothers early years. It seems that there was a lot of Love and some discord between them. They would have occasional arguments and fights between them which led them to not speak to each other for long periods of time (according to the book and Mick Bonham).

My question is: besides all that, I wonder why John Bonham never employed Mick Bonham in any formal capacity and on the Led Zeppelin payroll. As Johns assistant, photographer, etc... I know that Mick Hinton was Johns personal assistant and drum roadie and that Neal Preston was an official photographer and so on and so forth.

Let me backtrack for a moment. John did employ his brother and father and various friends but that was only in the building and re-building of various properties and farms that John bought. And lets not forget Matthew Maloney, John Bonham's chauffer and various other jobs that Matthew performed whilst an employee of John.

Any thoughts about this?

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This is more of a question and not a mystery. I am almost finishing re-reading Mick Bonham's book about his brother John, "John Bonham: The Powerhouse Behind Led Zeppelin". It is a great book with insight into the Bonham Brothers early years. It seems that there was a lot of Love and some discord between them. They would have occasional arguments and fights between them which led them to not speak to each other for long periods of time (according to the book and Mick Bonham).

My question is: besides all that, I wonder why John Bonham never employed Mick Bonham in any formal capacity and on the Led Zeppelin payroll. As Johns assistant, photographer, etc... I know that Mick Hinton was Johns personal assistant and drum roadie and that Neal Preston was an official photographer and so on and so forth.

Let me backtrack for a moment. John did employ his brother and father and various friends but that was only in the building and re-building of various properties and farms that John bought. And lets not forget Matthew Maloney, John Bonham's chauffer and various other jobs that Matthew performed whilst an employee of John.

Any thoughts about this?

I would imagine that he didn't want his family seeing what the band got up to on the road. Given the stories about John Bonham's often generous nature, he would've looked after his family in other ways rather than employing them as members of the Led Zeppelin organisation.

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This is more of a question and not a mystery. I am almost finishing re-reading Mick Bonham's book about his brother John, "John Bonham: The Powerhouse Behind Led Zeppelin". It is a great book with insight into the Bonham Brothers early years. It seems that there was a lot of Love and some discord between them. They would have occasional arguments and fights between them which led them to not speak to each other for long periods of time (according to the book and Mick Bonham).

My question is: besides all that, I wonder why John Bonham never employed Mick Bonham in any formal capacity and on the Led Zeppelin payroll. As Johns assistant, photographer, etc... I know that Mick Hinton was Johns personal assistant and drum roadie and that Neal Preston was an official photographer and so on and so forth.

Let me backtrack for a moment. John did employ his brother and father and various friends but that was only in the building and re-building of various properties and farms that John bought. And lets not forget Matthew Maloney, John Bonham's chauffer and various other jobs that Matthew performed whilst an employee of John.

Any thoughts about this?

Jack Bonham (John & Mick's father) owned a construction business. It is my understanding Mick was employed for some time by his father. Mick also opened a Dolly Disc franchise circa 1975, around the time he married. Within a year they had a small child to raise, and by 1979 they had two children to raise. If I had Mick's book at arm's reach I could probably find some relevant quotes to post.

As a by the way, I believe the freehold country house building site John is briefly seen breaking up bricks at in The Song Remains the Same was one of his father's business projects at the time.

Edited by SteveAJones
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This is more of a question and not a mystery. I am almost finishing re-reading Mick Bonham's book about his brother John, "John Bonham: The Powerhouse Behind Led Zeppelin". It is a great book with insight into the Bonham Brothers early years. It seems that there was a lot of Love and some discord between them. They would have occasional arguments and fights between them which led them to not speak to each other for long periods of time (according to the book and Mick Bonham).

My question is: besides all that, I wonder why John Bonham never employed Mick Bonham in any formal capacity and on the Led Zeppelin payroll. As Johns assistant, photographer, etc... I know that Mick Hinton was Johns personal assistant and drum roadie and that Neal Preston was an official photographer and so on and so forth.

Let me backtrack for a moment. John did employ his brother and father and various friends but that was only in the building and re-building of various properties and farms that John bought. And lets not forget Matthew Maloney, John Bonham's chauffer and various other jobs that Matthew performed whilst an employee of John.

Any thoughts about this?

Had I been in John Bonham's shoes, I wouldn't hire my brother either and my decision wouldn't have anything to do with my brother's abilities. I want the freedom to fire anyone who works for me without worrying about damaging important family relationships. IMO, it's a lot easier to find competent people to work for you than it is to find another sibling. I would share my new wealth with my family in other ways.

Edited by Disco Duck
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  • 3 weeks later...

I was wondering if anyone was curious as to why Jimmy Page visited Headley Grange in 1970? Was Headley used by other bands to record music? What would be his thought process to visit an obscure place like this and have it 'click' that it would be a good place to record an album?

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I was wondering if anyone was curious as to why Jimmy Page visited Headley Grange in 1970? Was Headley used by other bands to record music? What would be his thought process to visit an obscure place like this and have it 'click' that it would be a good place to record an album?

On the wiki page for Headley, there's a quote from Page mentioning that other bands had rehearsed there. Also, the Rolling Stones mobile truck had only just been put together over the previous few years, so I would imagine that a few bands were itching to use it for the very purpose of not having to sit in a studio to record an album (including the Stones, who I don't think had had a chance to yet).

Worth noting that Headley Grange is only about an hour 1/2 outside of London. On the bootleg for the 1972 LA Forum show, Plant tells a story about how the band opted not to go to "London's version of the Whiskey", and stayed in for the night to write the song. So, even though the band were in this house, it wasn't so remote that they couldn't still make it into London to party.

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I was wondering if anyone was curious as to why Jimmy Page visited Headley Grange in 1970? Was Headley used by other bands to record music? What would be his thought process to visit an obscure place like this and have it 'click' that it would be a good place to record an album?

"Headley Grange was somewhat rundown, the heating didn't work. But it had one major advantage. Other bands had rehearsed there and hadn't had any complaints. That's a major issue, because you don't want to go somewhere and start locking into the work process and then have to pull out."

"The reason we went there in the first place was to have a live-in situation where you're writing and really living the music. We'd never really had that experience before as a group, apart from when Robert and I had gone to Bron-Yr-Aur. But that was just me and Robert going down there and hanging out in the bosom of Wales and enjoying it. This was different. It was all of us really concentrating in a concentrated environment and the essence of what happened there manifested itself across three albums."

-- Jimmy Page

"Jimmy had the nickname ‘Led Wallet,’ and it’s true, he was a bit tight...Mick Jagger had offered us his baronial mansion Stargroves for £1,000 a week and Jimmy wouldn’t pay it. So we ended up in this 20-by-25-foot room with Bonzo playing drums in the hallway.”

-- Andy Johns

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Sorry, I can't get the 'quote' option to work again, but this is a question for those of you who have visited Boleskine.

I was planning a visit to the area, so I was using Google Earth and taking a good look around.

When I scrolled up the mountain behind Boleskine, just to the South, I see a giant hole on the top of the mountain.

Has anyone hiked the area I am talking about? Anyone have pictures? What the heck is this??

Here are the coordinates. 57 Degrees 15' 37.47" N , 4 degrees 28' 37.93" W.

Thanks to all in advance...

Edited by Moddey Dhoo
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  • 1 month later...

Hi Steve

I don't know if this has been discussed at all, but what were the plans as far as the setlist for the upcoming 1980 North America tour?

Was Zep just going to pretty much replay the "Tour over Europe" "short" setlist and have it be condensed or were they going to expand it to the standard 2 1/2 to 3 hour+ gigs that everyone here in the states were accustomed to for the better part of their career

I was always curious about what they were intending on doing for that tour

Thank you in advance

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just checked Reuters, Getty, AP, none of them have photos of DeNiro with Led Zeppelin.

I am not asking anyone to delve into this because it probably is futile, but I have to and want to believe that their is at least one photo of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones meeting (maybe for the first time) and shaking hands with Robert De Niro. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Steve

I don't know if this has been discussed at all, but what were the plans as far as the setlist for the upcoming 1980 North America tour?

Was Zep just going to pretty much replay the "Tour over Europe" "short" setlist and have it be condensed or were they going to expand it to the standard 2 1/2 to 3 hour+ gigs that everyone here in the states were accustomed to for the better part of their career

I was always curious about what they were intending on doing for that tour

Thank you in advance

Have never seen anything to suggest it wouldn't have been very similar, if not the same, as the Over Europe '80 setlist. Of course, had the rehearsals continued there's no telling what changes may have been made.  

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