SteveAJones
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Posts posted by SteveAJones
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Unresolved date for blocoboy:
Robert allegedly attended a Joe Cocker gig at the Black Horse in Kidderminster and while there confided to Mac Poole he was considering drummers to recommend to Page. This was almost certainly in July '68 and probably within a few days of meeting Jimmy for the first time.
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Meg,
The first time I read this I thought the same thing. But when I looked closer, it appears that Bonzo intended to play with "Uncle Joseph" AFTER he concluded his tour with Tim Rose. Needless to say, those intentions changed after Page saw Bonzo play with Rose at the Country Club on 7/31/68 and subsequently convinced him to join the band.
FWIW, in the book 'A Thunder of Drums' it says Bonham (also ?) intended to tour with Chris Farlowe once the Tim Rose tour was complete.
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But what did he know about China?
Please don't start. Let's stay on topic.
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The Firm
Purdue University - Elliott Hall of Music
West Lafayette, Indiana
April 29, 1986
Hey. That's the Hall of Music.
And I was at that show, seventh row center (more or less).
Awesome anecdotes Roger and THAT's the kind of thing I'm looking for around here! It's always a thrill to post
a little something about a long-forgotten concert and find out it's remembered quite well. You've taken us back
to a simpler time with cheerleaders meeting rockers at the airport and Jimmy Page playin' university campuses.
If you could be of any assistance in obtaining copies of the concert photos published in the school paper it would
be much appreciated. Perhaps an alumni still has a ticket stub or their own anecdotes to share - here's hoping.
I have one such person who may have a copy of the audience recording and said if so they'd be willing to share
it with us.
Purdue University Airport
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More splendid contributions to the forum. Bravo!
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The Nassau Coliseum show was on April 3 not March 25.
Apologies! Database error. 2nd video circulating is Binghampton, NY (3/25/86)
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Holy crap, I thought it looked exactly like her but couldn't possibly be her! She's a cool lady, I loved her book.
What a beautiful, atmospheric video. Page is a feckin' superstah.
It was filmed in New York City the afternoon of May 11th 1985 before the band returned to England. Jimmy had been seeing Les quite a bit that week, having attended one of his gigs and then introducing him from the stage at The Firm's Meadowlands (Brendan Byrne Arena) gig in East Rutherford, NJ on May 9th. I don't know for certain if having Les cast to play the part of the bartender had come about as a result of those encounters or not but it's wonderful to have this tangible connection between them, especially now that Les is gone. I'm sure I've mentioned Aubrey Powell (of Hipgnosis fame) produced all five of The Firm's videos (as well as the cover art for Houses of
the Holy).
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Do you mean the Hammersmith Odeon & not the RAH?
He must mean Hammersmith Odeon (Dec 8, 1984) as The Firm never performed at the Royal Albert Hall.
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Anybody know where can I veiw some live video of the Firm's 2nd tour of America for the Mean Business album?
Can't seem to find anything except the '84 Royal Albert Hall concert on YouTube. Thanks
It was a short tour (35 dates); I know of no pro-shot concert videos and just two audience-filmed videos:
Broome County Veteran's Memorial Arena in Binghampton, NY (3/25/86)
Joe Louis Arena in Detroit (5/28/86)
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And Check out who's behind the bar in this one...one of my favorites!
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=YDjRFTIhxnA
May Pang, John Lennon's former lover, is the Asian woman in this video.
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Never understood how a lot of crap bands made it and they didn't get any bigger at that time
In 1985, 80's music style firmly established itself with bands like Duran Duran, a-ha, and Wham while solo artists like Madonna and Michael Jackson became the trademark sound of the decade. Rightly or wrongly, The Firm were found guilty of playing 70s-style album oriented rock. Generally speaking, the albums and concerts received lukewarm reviews. IMHO, their style, sound and stage design was at least five years behind the times and the tours were simply not long enough. I think the videos Aubrey Powell produced for them were interesting and very heartfelt but fell short of contemporaries.This ensured they would not have hit singles in what had quickly become an MTV-dominated era.
Just my two cents, keep the change.
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The Firm
Purdue University - Elliott Hall of Music
West Lafayette, Indiana
April 29, 1986
When sluggish ticket sales for The Firm risked bankrupting the Student Concert Committee a junior took matters into his own hands and admonished students in a letter published in the universities' paper over the weekend.
I understand the tactic worked and The Firm played to a nearly sold-out venue.
The Purdue Exponent, Sat, April 26th 1986
The Purdue Exponent, Thu, May 1st 1986
Courtesy of Steve A. Jones Archive with thanks to PhxHorn
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Also, I remember Robert was scheduled for another leg of 1993 but I don't remember ticket sales being too good. I'm not certain if this was the reason for the cancellation???
The US tour ran thru Dec 1st, ending in New York, to allow everything to be shipped over to Europe for further
touring Dec 6th-23rd, followed by South American dates in Jan. All these dates were in place for several weeks. If you meant early '94 it sounds as if there may have been the possibility for doing so at one point. However,
I've never seen anything to support solo Plant dates anywhere in '94 - certainly no tickets were ever sold.
Perhaps you are thinking of Coverdale/Page, whose 45 date North American tour was postponed & ultimately
cancelled in part because of slow ticket sales.
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Oops, I was looking under October 1989. Interesting find though, even if it was unrelated. That is the first time I've heard that song.
Oh, I see. It was originally released as the b side of the 'Heaven Knows' single.
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At that time('89) there was speculation that Robert dropped out of the Who performance because Townshend made an unflattering comment about Zeppelin in a Who cover story in Rolling Stone. I'll try to find the direct quote but I believe the genre of Heavy Metal came up in the interview and Townshend, to paraphrase, said it became "that gross, disgusting object that was Led Zeppelin." Shortly after that interview was published (June 89'?) Robert dropped out of the Tommy performance. Rolling Stone even commented on Robert's dropping out a few issues later in their Random Notes section that it may have been due to Townshends comments. I'll try to post the original quote because I just found that issue in a box of my old magazines a week ago.
Thanks for that, I vaguely remember a falling out between them but cannot remember if it was rumor or fact.
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I'm pretty sure he actually said that at the very end of the night. The crowd went nuts as thousands of people said "Whoo! I'll be there!" Tucson is a hundred miles south of Phoenix, which amounts to a 90-minute drive, and so it's not really unusual for people from Phoenix to see a show in Tucson or the other way around. I also remember that earlier in the show, he rattled off a bunch of AZ city names, along the lines of "Welcome Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, Phoenix.....anyone from Flagstaff?" And Flagstaff is 140 miles north. So he has some awareness of AZ geography.
FWIW, Mesa Amphitheater is in Mesa AZ, several miles east of Tempe. All part of the Phoenix metropolitan area, a big sprawl.
On the '98 show (with Page), I remember that he dedicated a tune to a little bar in Carefree, which is at the very north edge of town and probably close to an hour from the concert venue by car.
I've been through AZ many times myself so I can see what you mean about it not being so out of the ordinary,
but still I find it unusual that he included a specific month, if in fact he did.
I have the '98 show on dvd but don't remember a reference to a little bar in Carefree. If anyone out there has it as well please confirm this and check to see if he provides the name of the bar.
As mentioned via PM the other day, I have an audience recording of the '93 Mesa gig but it's not within reach at the moment. I did annotate the setlist before I archived it, perhaps it will jog a few memories or help to clarify the one we've been discussing:
Robert Plant
October 19th 1993 Mesa, AZ USA Mesa Amphitheatre
Tall Cool One
Ramble On
29 Palms
I Believe
Thank You
If I Were A Carpenter
Going To California
Promised Land
In The Mood
Calling To You
What Is And What Should Never Be
----------1st Encore-----------
Ship Of Fools
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
----------2nd Encore-----------
Hurting Kind (I've Got My Eyes On You)
Whole Lotta Love
Note 1: Lyrical reference to 'I Will Be Your Sun' (song title unconfirmed) during 'In The Mood'.
Note 2: Lyrical reference to 'Love Me Two Times' & 'The Lemon Song' during 'Hurting Kind (I've Got My Eyes On You').
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(3 February 1989) - Soundtrack (performer: "Walking Towards Paradise" (uncredited))
imdb.com/name/nm0686619/filmoseries
Ok, that entry is for the television program Miami Vice, it has nothing to do with Tommy.
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Answer to question #1: On July 4, 1989, the 'Tulsa World' newspaper (probably among many others) published a news item reporting Robert Plant was to play the part of Hawker in version of 'Tommy' to be performed in L.A. on Aug 24th. The August 10, 1989 issue of Rolling Stone reported the same, adding it was an all-star cast. For
some reason, he did not participate. The Boston Globe ran a favorable review of the concert on Aug 26th, and
it mentions Robert Plant, but I don't have this article so I don't know for certain if it explains why he was not involved. Perhaps his involvement was not as confirmed as the papers reported.
Answer to question #2: Did he really say that? For one thing, it's a very odd thing to tell a Tempe crowd he'll
see them in Tucson. I have never seen any evidence to suggest the tour was not going to end with two dates
in Mexico City on Jan 28 & 29 1994. No tour itinerary booklets, ticket announcements, etc. Nothing was put together. The way it was routed he would not have come thru Arizona getting to Mexico but he was free to do what he pleased after the tour ended.
However, a month after the Tempe concert he met with Jimmy twice while on tour in Boston to discuss the MTV Unledded project he had been offered. Ultimately, they entered Depot and RAK Studios in London in February,
so that project may have cancelled out any intention to return to Arizona. I show he attended a fifth round F.A. Cup match pitting Wolverhampton vs. Ipswich (1-1 tie) at Molineux on Feb 19th, so F.A. Cup matches may have
been another reason he "hurried home" instead of returning to AZ. Regardless, he was probably just pulling
everyone's leg...but it is odd for hiim to say...
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Old one...
Slash sans Top Hat
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The call might have been after they had met, and Robert's visit to Pangbourne, to actually offer him the spot. It's at that point they'd have presumably talked money details.
Agreed but Wall's writing suggests it was before Robert went to Pangbourne, which could be incorrect. I won't
comment on the Luton date (7/7/68) except to say I've yet to see it substantiated, but I'll have Pete Frame's
Dec '72 Jimmy Page interview recordings tomorrow and will review what was said about it as it was a topic of
conversation between them.
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I can't remember where I came across this picture, but supposedly it is at some point during Zep's stay in Tempe (note the ASU T-shirt; click on the pic to make it bigger):
I'm going strictly from memory so don't hold me to it but it may have been taken in California while Jimmy was on the ARMS Tour in December 1983. Perhaps at the hotel in San Francisco. I'm really struggling to recall. It could actually be Tempe '77 'cause he was wearing white pants and black boots in July '77, but that looks like Dec '83 hair. Hard to say from that angle.
It could be it's the jacket that looks familiar to me. I have a stack of color and b&w off-stage photos taken of Jimmy during the '83 ARMS tour (Nov 28th thru Dec 9th). Some of them were taken by Steve Granitz of Los Angeles. They aren't within reach or I would post them. Anyway, as I recall he wore that jacket (if it is the one I'm thinking of it's actually a shade of orange) offstage on the West Coast, and wore his butterfly jacket while playing the New York city dates. It's just that until now I didn't know he may have worn both jackets in '77 & '83. He definitely
wore the butterfly jacket from Led Zeppelin's last North American concert in Oakland on 7/24/77 in NYC on 12/8/83 (see below).
Oakland 7/24/77
Madison Square Garden, NYC, Dec 8, 1983
ARMS Photo courtesy of Steve A. Jones Archive
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I have a few "unsolved mysteries":
- Did they ever play 3/02/75 which has long been listed as "Bent Harbor TN"? This date has never been proved or disproved.
- Were 7/23/73 Baltimore and 7/24/73 Pittsburgh multitracked? This was a rumor for a long time.
- Was any 1977 show multitracked?
So far as I know 3/02/75 Bent Harbor, TN never appeared on any version of the tour itinerary, and there is no
press coverage whatsoever to support a Led Zeppelin concert was held there on that date (or any other). This seems to be another "internet error" found at Wikipedia, etc. I've also seen the date attributed to Knoxville
but regardless the evidence suggests this was an off day for the band.
When Jimmy was selecting material for the 'Led Zeppelin DVD' he was unable to find any multitrack concert recordings from their 1977 North American tour and none from '77 have been confirmed to exist elsewhere.
Rumors of 7/23/73 & 7/24/73 multirack recordings remain only that - rumors - fueled in part by the knowledge that camera crews for their concert film were present at both shows.
If I am mistaken on any point or someone has anything to add to this please feel free to do so.
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Has anyone bought or read this?
Just wondering if it's any good. Looks quite smart, i like all the pully-outy bits and thought it might make a nice Christmas present.
Haven't read it yet. Must say my hopes for this book nosedived when I read his recent comments in the press suggesting 'Stairway to Heaven' became popular because djs gave it airplay for smoke breaks.
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According to legend, didn't Robert expect JPJ to be some "bloke with a pipe" upon hearing that a session musician was the bass/organ player for Jimmy's new Yardbirds? If that's truly the case, then Robert could not have met JPJ before then.
Not sure if she was suggesting Jones & Plant's paths crossed prior to August '68, but would agree they did not.
Robert Plant - Pre-Zep History
in Pre / Post-Zeppelin Forum
Posted · Edited by SteveAJones
Unresolved date for blocoboy:
My notes show that according to a recollection in the Dec 1994 issue of 'The Lemon Tree' fanzine, Robert took the train in from London and hurriedly dashed over to The Factory in Birmingham where John Bonham was set to perform with Tim Rose to ask him if he's interested in joining The New Yardbirds. If this date can be confirmed, it
may well establish exactly when he had gone to Jimmy's houseboat in Pangbourne. In 1988 interview with Chris Tetley, Robert said he grabbed a beat up old suitcase and went to Pangbourne about two weeks after their first meeting, staying the night before returning to Birmingham the next day. We've establish Page went to see Bonham perform on 7/31/68 so it must be sometime in July 1968, but the Lemon Tree fanzine reports it was Aug 4, 1968.
...mikezep61 previously inquired on this some time ago....