It was 41 years ago (on August 11th, 1979), that I attended my VERY FIRST Rock and Roll Concert, LED ZEPPELIN at the Knebworth Festival in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England.
I was 3 weeks short of my 14th Birthday. My Mum's Cousin Mark was my chaperone! We ended up about 75 feet from the Stage. During the day and Opening acts, a group of people who were from Amsterdam, taught me how to smoke Hashish "under Glass", well Paper cup, in this instance! Up until that time, other than a couple of cigarettes, I had "Virgin" lungs. As the day went on and the sunlight faded, anticipation grew for what was to be the FINAL United Kingdom appearance of John Henry Bonham on the drums for Led Zeppelin!
When the lights went down and the announcer said, "Ladies and Gentlemen: Jones, Bonham, Plant and Page, Led Zeppelin"!! Within two minutes, the MAGIC began! I felt every note throughout my body, probably due to the "Hashish", which I was later told was Opium! Not knowing the entire repertoire of Led Zeppelin at that time, I heard several songs I hadn't heard before! This made the experience even more unforgettable! After nearly three hours, the music ended, the limited venue lighting rose, and we started our slog through the grounds toward our vehicle, a mile and a half away... Everyone was talking to each other as we were leaving, remarking about one part of the show or another. I kept talking about the Pyramid of Green LASER lights that encircled Jimmy Page during "Dazed and Confused"... The 2.5 hour drive back to Norfolk was a constant conversation between Mark and I. I couldn't get a minute of the show out of my head. And of course, I dare not tell Mum and Stepdad about the Hashish/Opium lesson!
I'll never forget that trip to Knebworth. Though I would make several others in future years! There was NOTHING like my VERY FIRST ROCK AND ROLL CONCERT that day!
