First bootleg was Dallas 4 March 1975 on a 90min cassette bought in the early 1990s in a second-hand record shop in Dublin which had trays of bootleg tapes right on the counter. Those literally were the days. The recording blew my mind and made the 1975 tour my favourite, not least because of the superior sound quality compared to other tours. If it's poor sound I just can't listen to it, audio snob that I may be. Shortly after that, in the stoned summer of 1992, while working in the flower fields and bulb factories in western Netherlands, I bought a CD called In The Evening, Brussels 1980 in a small record shop, which was another insight into the band - although the audio quality was average at best.

Great article, thank you for the link. My question regarding cassettee vs reel-to-reel soundboard recordings: how do the, say, 1975 boards, not have any break or cassette flip in a three-hour show? If it was a single cassette there'd be the flip every 45min or 60min, but those shows just seem to flow complete from start to finish. Plus the linked article shows that there was only one on-stage recorder. Anyone?

Folks, only one person in this world wrote the words to STH, a song which means so much to millions through the years, but something Plant wrote when he was, what 22 years old? What dire poetry was most of us writing at that age? So if he says that, it's not too surpriseing. Look at the man's long and varied trajectories. Spot the touchstones and tendrils and spores. Think about how proud he was of his Mighty Rearranger lyrics. There's the tone of latter man, no? I interpret this as not that he can't relate to any of those older Zep songs, but STH has a heavy weight to it, and the lyrics are of his youth. He's no problem with, say, Ramble On. So really, who among us - who - could stand up and truly imagine what it must be like to be the actual person who wrote the bloody words of STH? And then judge him for his comment on this one particular song. Lordy lordy. Plus falls for the classic mistake of not double-checking whether Percy was in fact taking the piss a little - as one commenter said above it's prob part of the PR for his new box set . Season of good will and all. Anyhoo, seasons greetings.

Highland resident here. The new owners of Boleskine House have been busy since they got the deeds a few weeks ago. Apparently, two people have been charged with the 1st August arson on the remaining intact wing of the house (it didn't make sense as an insurance rip-off as new owners didn't have insurance yet plus I doubt you can get insurance on a dangerous structure). Here are some links, including a chance to contribute to the renovation. I have no idea who is backing the new owners' endeavours, cos we're talking considerable sums, but overall I see this as a good thing with great potential as their planned retreat centre, operating well beyond the Crowley and Page connections. And yeah, there is a vibe in that area of the Foyers road... eerie in the depths of winter let me tell ya! Anecdote: I was talking to a friend in the Dores Inn by Loch Ness the other week and he told about having a few pints one evening and some eager American Crowley/Page fans came in looking for the house, and all the locals in the pub pulled An American Werewolf in London job on them, telling them that it was dangerous and terribly spooky to be going down to the House. They all cracked up when the tourists left. Stick to the path, boys... beware the moon... 😎 https://www.boleskinehouse.org/ https://www.gofundme.com/f/boleskinehouse https://www.facebook.com/boleskine.house.foundation/ Paywall but you can read some of it: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/volunteers-help-boleskine-house-to-rise-from-ashes-v3s2w985g

Hello Steve - please count me in for a download link. Sounds fab!

Hi Chef Free - non-Dime link please, cheers.

Another wonderfully-written piece by Strider. I laughed, I whooped, I went along the ride of your words. Fine stuff, excellent pace and rhythm. Thanks again.

I shall be glad to be proved wrong, but has anyone noted the general reluctance by Mr Plant and Mr Jones to feed the corporate media machine any more than they have to? Look at their statements and overall attitudes over the decades. Plant's on record several times as being anti-corporate, anti-milking for profit. Jones has never appeared to take any of it too seriously either, seemingly more interested in the here and now, musically. Apart from the big Zep releases and events, it would appear they're not too interested compared to Mr Page's eternal enthusiasm. That said, the last authorized documentary was probably 1990's MTV 30min one. And don't forget, a defunct band's fear about being forgotten is what has arguably damaged several bands' legacies by means of questionable, if not needless, releases and multiple Best Of collections. You know who I mean!!

Little things I don't like about Led Zeppelin? Hmm. Well, regarding this forum, first up to call out are the numerous derogatory terms on this thread to describe Plant's wardrobe and hair like "fairy" and "girly" as if such things are somehow "bad" and not macho enough for some. As RuPaul might've said, fuck that shit and check your misogyny. Another thing I don't like about Led Zeppelin is, to paraphrase Robert Plant in the 1990 MTV rockumentary, is often how wrong they got it in concert (as referred to above regarding set lists). I get why folk like their early stuff, but let's face it, even Plant has acknowledged that his first few years with Zep were full of vocally heliumesque histronics that are embarrassing to hear and kill listeners' enjoyment.

Boy, am I glad I sold my Classic Records 4LP copy of BBC Session a few months ago for over £200. However, I fear now my Dark Side inner capitalist will grow stronger... while my bank accounts grow weaker with all these temptive Super Deluxes... Lesson? Marry up, folks - and divorce rich!

Wonderful photos, thank you Nick.

Delighted to hear the verdict. Somewhat disappointed to hear the above internet warriors calling for a countersuit - as if such a vengeful and mean spirit (ho ho) has anything to do with the joyous essence of Zeppelin. Messrs Page and Plant do not come from as litigious a culture as America. As their statement indicates, they're moving on. Peace, out.

Summing up the case pre-deliberations by the jury, seems the judge just killed the plaintiff's whole case. "In a significant boost to Zeppelin, Klausner [the judge] instructed jurors before they began deliberations that the string of chords in question was an example of a common musical device that cannot be copyrighted." http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-led-zeppelin-copyright-20160622-snap-story.html

If there's a lawyer in your hedgerow, be alarmed now, it's just a clean-up for the legal scene. Yes there are two riffs you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to sue the riff - that's wrong. The Defence rests!

I don't know why anyone - bar the actual parties involved - would get overexcited or indeed upset about this case, which would appear to be a money sniffer. Should it go in favour of the plaintiff (snarl dammit curses for stealing the Precious), there's a looong road ahead with appeals etc. I mean, it's not like courtrooms worldwide have made clanging errors in the past only to be overturned later on. And, it's an American courtroom in California, where legal history tells us anything can happen. I rest my case. (Been holding off that pun for 20 pages on this thread).

Wanted to debate the following without starting yet another bloody thread, so here goes. It's about Zep and Bowie. Since Bowie died, I must admit to going on a total binge of his work. I already had several of his LPs, but like Neil Young or Bob Dylan, unless you're a fanatic, you can pick and choose which albums to hear because there are so many (that might be blasphemy to some of you but we don't all have time to digest every artist's entire catalogue!). The one album that has blown me away is 1976's Station To Station. However this album passed me by, I dunno. It's sublime, amazing and I can understand why it is considered possibly his best album. This is where Zeppelin comes in. Having listened to the title track many times and in many versions, I detect a bit of a Zep influence on it. Why? Well, it's a mix of chronological timing and musical similarities. I don't know if Bowie had seen Zeppelin in concert before recording, but it really sounds like he'd listened to Physical Graffiti in 1975 prior to recording the Station LP. Station To Station has an eerie opening (similar to In The Light). The opening riff section is similar in spirit the hypnotic slow groove of Kashmir. Then it all speeds up kinda like the structure of In My Time Of Dying. Musically different but in the same spirit, if you get me. Same ballpark anyway. And then if you add Bowie's own occult interests which intersected with Jimmy Page's - in additional to the supposed paranoia Bowie had about Page during that period, well then it seems plausible to me that Station To Station was a kind of response to elements of Physical Graffiti. It sure goes for an epic aesthetic that Bowie didn't do very often, unlike Zep who did it on at least one track every album. Anyhoo, am I mad? Just another internet wanker theorising about something which has no bearing on reality? Your informed thoughts and observations welcome. Ta. (Here's a fan-made music video of the studio version of Station To Station, for ref)

Thanks for the heads up on the Davey Graham track - the similarity to STH and Taurus is uncanny: it makes a mockery of the entire case. Reminds me of the story when a journalist asked George Harrison about writing While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Harrison admonished the reporter for suggesting that he was in any way special for writing it. Harrison said that someone could written the exact same tune 400 years before (and was forgotten), but he simply happened to be lucky guy who wrote it during a period when it could be copyrighted and monetised. I'm envisioning Davey and Randy looking down from above, both bemused at all this silly mortal material kerfuffle. Then Bonzo pops in and says "lads, what de fook is going on? Forget that earthly shite. Come on back to the jam. Bowie's about to sing for his heavenly supper..."

You're very welcome, Patrycja. There won't be anymore updates, I imagine, until there's some official report on the fire. No idea if or when that's happening. And yes, the projections of perceptions from people onto people like Page is fascinating, in its way. Don't follow leaders, watch your parking meters. As previous media reports have stated, Boleskine was used as a guest house after the MacGillivray family who were local hoteliers, bought it in the 1990s (poss from Page, I dunno). You can find some online reports from people, often Thelemic-type folk, who managed to stay there when it was open to the public. One report recalls £300 for a very lovely weekend, en suite and great views and food. There's more in the linked news reports further back in this thread. And as evidenced earlier, the house is fairly wrecked, with enough heat blast to decimate the interiors right down to the original stone, which in turn probably has heat cracks and water damage... anyone can be sure that none of that is cheap to repair, even for a wealthy person. If I were a betting man, I'd reckon costing at least a million pounds to restore - literally would have to be rebuilt. Page's Crowley fascination is certainly diminished, if not simply gone completely (and understandably) private, so his interest in Boleskine is long, long gone. ** One niggly thing that a few folk have referred to: the figure of £176,000 that was supposedly to buy Boleskine House is erroneous. We'd be talking twice or three times that at least, depending on the holding. The £176K refers to an approx one acre plot which was for sale on the former Estate by the House some time ago.

No, they're not teens, hence my use of "adult children" meaning grown up.

Indeed - I have no yet heard any official confirmation as to the cause. This is why I'd refrain from too much speculation and judgement about details which we may yet or even never know. I'm only a layman when it comes to building and the trades, but debating things we cannot resolve seems to be the main purpose of the internet. All I've garnered from reports is that the fire supposedly started in the kitchen while the adult children of the owners were visiting for Christmas. They left in the morning to go shopping in Inverness and when they came back early afternoon the fire was already under way. This could happen in almost *any* home, old and new. Here's a photo from my anonymous photo donor, where you can see the interior of Boleskine and the complete devastation. Right to the original walls. Argh.

Come to Inverness and I'll take you to the Market Bar for some fun and music, and you're guaranteed to meet several older blokes who'll all swear they did joinery work at Boleskine for Jimmy Page. "Sure wouldn't you find him here in the pub, sitting over there, right enough!" There's a radio documentary in that. Jimmy's Joiners and the tale of Boleskine Hoose. Hmm.

Agreed. It's probably game over for Boleskine. It's always a shame when any location with historical or cultural significance is lost so violently. Ah jeez no! Or, as we'd say back in Dublin, ah shite. But of course if they do indeed raze the remains, I cannot but idly wonder if the myths and whispers are true and there are indeed passageways under the house, leading down to the cemetery below... [paging Mr Price for evil laugh, paging Mr Vincent Price...]

Some good points there. However, I don't think apportioning blame is appropriate or constructive. In the great scheme of things when the architectual and cultural histories are being updated to cover the (possibly) final four decades of the House's existence, it seems reasonable to ask why a succession of apparently wealthy owners failed to future-proof Boleskine by re-wiring the entire site. But to point sharp internet fingers at former or current owners seems a tad unfair (and smacks of wealthy envy, wrote this fiscally challenged writer!). If you see the Youtube video showing the interior of the house, you can see what look like the dreaded electric storage heaters in some rooms. As anyone in these islands will tell you, these heaters are expensive and useless. So that would indicate that an electrical rewiring might have to include a entire heating replacement, which would definitely be a big job in such an old house. Which brings us back to the succession of wealthy owners who might have been in a position to afford to do this. If only we had Captain Hindsight to help us... Coulda! Woulda! Shoulda! All in all, it is a definite loss to a landscape that already is witness to the shells of burned out or abandoned manor homes, gentry mansions, and crofters' cottages. Can anyone who saw the video and knows about construction and house damage give their opinion on the feasibility of restoration? Looks like a total loss to these layman's eyes.

Indeed! But you never know when you're dealing with a lot of Zep zealots.

Folks, as you will see from this new silent video, Boleskine House is destroyed. Contrary to news reports, only 10-15% of the House survived the fire last December. The structure looks terribly damaged, looks beyond repair due to multiple roof and wall collapse, which, with strict building regulations, makes any reasonable chance of restoration unlikely. As reports have stated, there was nothing suspicious about the fire. The house had old electrical wiring. It is a sad loss, but then all things must pass. Let it be. [with apologies for a Beatles reference on a Zep forum.]