SteveAJones
-
Posts
24,199 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by SteveAJones
-
-
The UK is an island, and a small one, so the weather/temperature will differ. Never too drastically, but enough to make stats irrelevant in some parts.
He's either bored/sad enough to want to argue (and I'm not too tired to reply), or he's just plain difficult.
Go with difficult and you'll be correct about something for the first time today.
If you scroll up you will see I provided specific stats for a specific region of the UK, knowing as I do that as an island there is variance. I think we are in agreement that,
as I said, scarves and jackets are more likely to be worn in December than in April.
You can spout all you'd like concerning global warming and fail to grasp I maintain residences around the world, and it will not change the correctness of my assertion.
-
...temperatures frequently reach heights in the UK these days that were unheard of when I was growing up there. Just a fact.
This does not necessarily mean you will see an increase in the average annual temp.
Even if you did, a year, let alone 17 or 30, are infitesimal values in this matter.
-
How do I figure? Well, as I live in the country, I'll know that April's have been known to be harsher than December's, therefore your assumption isn't all together correct. Between Feb-April we often get our heaviest snowfall. Added with the fact that 17 years ago, the temperature wasn't as warm as it is now. Oh, and you had to edit your post to confirm that it was in April.
Besides, your original post was about Roger Taylor/Andy Taylor. You assumed that it had to be Andy Taylor because of supposed date and by what they were wearing. Anyone with eyes can clearly see that it's Roger Taylor, and despite being in April, it can often be cold enough to still wear winter clothing. It's not that hard to understand.
Let's get you sorted (again).
Average temperatures for England SE & Central S from 1971-2000:
December - Max 8.1 C, Min 2.4 C, Days of Frost 8.5, Sunshine 48.6 hours
April - Max 12.5 C, Min 3.9 C, Days of Frost 3.7, Sunshine 159.7 hours
I said it is more likely for scarves and jackets to be worn in the month of December than
in the month of April. The statistics above support my position. Your position that it is warmer now than 17 years ago is not only patently false but irrelevant -we know the photo in question was not taken this year.
Insofar as Andy/Roger Taylor I made no assumption, I said "if" it is actually Andy then
there is another possiblity to be considered. I'm not an avid fan of Queen or Duran Duran
so I wouldn't know at a glance whom it was, particularly as he is bundled up.
I edited my post to reflect the fact rehearsals for the Mercury Tribute were held in late
March and on into April. We can speculate the photo was taken during that time, and it
is quite likely so, but it remains unconfirmed.
-
Hi Steve,
Nearing the 30th anniversary of the release of In Through the Out Door, one mystery I'm wondering about is the Stockholm recorded song that was labeled "Hook". Has that mystery ever been solved as to what exactly that song is? We know that besides the finished album, the other tracks recorded at ABBA's studio were Ozone Baby, Darlene and Wearing and Tearing (all of which appeared on Coda).
Besides "Hook", could there have been other tracks recorded, that haven't seen the light of day yet?
Hello, I show it was reworked into 'All My Love'. Theoretically, there could have been other tracks recorded that remain unreleased, and certainly there were some thru the
years, but for this particular album that is very unlikely as this album was done quickly.
They ran thru medleys and worked on 'Carouselambra' at the Clearwell Castle rehearsals in May '78 but didn't reconvene to begin writing until 10/13/78 in London. Then they left
for Stockholm on 11/6/78 for a series of Monday thru Friday sessions at Polar Studios
and were done by the end of the month. Time was of the essence.
-
You point was obviously wrong, then.
How do you figure? I said jackets and scarves are more likely to be worn in December than April. That is not to say they are not worn in April. Regardless, the date of the
photo remains unconfirmed.
Edit: Rehearsals commenced in mid-March at a studio near Shepherds Bush in London. The three Queen members spent the first week sifting through and playing material, deciding which tracks to perform themselves and which to offer to the other acts on the bill. When the setlist is established, the other performers attend to rehearse alongside Queen. Each arrival is eagerly observed by the world's press.
As April 20 loomed closer, the rehearsals moved on to Bray Studios near Windsor, Berkshire where the significantly larger sound stage provided a more realistic simulation of Wembley Stadium. The final soundchecks took place at Wembley on Sunday, the 19th.
-
I've always wondered the date and location of those rehearsals. I've found zero info on them.
The Bray Studios website says they were held there in April 1992.
-
Then obviously he should have tried harder.
I think he said he was going for a rockabilly vibe and 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' fit.
Here's his full set:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eCcldu9O_I...feature=related
Getting back to those photos. I don't have the dvd which supposedly has the rehearsal
footage so don't know for certain if they were taken at rehearsals, soundcheck or both.
-
According to http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermo...ewsitemID=39863 (and apparently led-zeppelin.com) the date was a week earlier, on July 24, 2005.
Thanks, Jeff! Correction noted. I must have overlooked the parenthetical reference. So this was two days after Jimmy signed those 'Led Zeppelin IV' limited edition fine art prints for Rockoptic (Fri, 7/22).
-
I have those pictures (and more) at my hand as well. But as I said, it just doesn't look from that time.
But what do I know. It could very well be the answer. Thank you all.
I've gone thru my notes again. Robert was in Morocco with his girlfriend over the Easter holiday in '92 making an effort to learn Queens 'Innuendo' lyrics. It makes sense they
then got together to rehearse the next month (Apr).
-
We still have heavy jackets and sweaters now, never mind back in '87 (or '92).
No shit. Scraves too. My point was they are more likely to be worn in December than in April. Robert did not wear a jacket/cold weather clothing onstage when he performed at the Mercury Tribute. The next real question is when were the rehearsals held.
Edit: Bray Studios site says "April '92".
-
A-ha! So there were what appears to be at least two rehearsal sessions for the Freddie Mercury Tribute. This (circa Apr '92) could well be the answer, glicine.
-
- It is crucial, in my opinion, that Mike Tell Must be asked for further proof/evidence
- The Ice Palace is a major venue, it is not accessible without contract, there must be a source archives...as you know major rock concerts have taken place...
Sure, I can ask but I thought he was working on a book and withholding his anecdotes
on anything until after publication.
-
I would have assumed it was at the show where Robert performed with them around 1991???
Robert did perform with Brian May & Roger Taylor at the Freddie Mercury Tribute at Wembley Stadium in London (4/20/92). However, this photo seems to have been
taken well prior to that.
Note the heavy jackets and sweaters. If that is actually Roger "Andy" Taylor of Duran Duran in the middle than I'm going to say it was taken on or around 12/30/87, when Robert performed a warm-up date for his upcoming UK tour at the Stourbridge Town Hall. Andy Taylor of Duran Duran joined for an encore of 'Gambler's Blues' and
'Johnny B. Goode'
-
The Yardbirds
1967 Australian Tour
January 21-27 1967
Additional press coverage shared here courtesy of "Greg (ac124) from Canberra":
Melbourne Herald January 27, 1967
-
That's not the Starship, Steve.
I didn't say it was, Otto.
Most of my Starship photos have already been posted to this thread so I chose a new
one of Ceasar's Chariot.
-
Here I Go Again, Wasting My Time
Let me explain. David Coverdale and Jimmy Page did not begin working together until 1991, but they were both on the Geffen Records label as far back as Nov '87. I made
some inquiries and found Marty Callner had directed both these promotional videos:
Whitesnake: Here I Go Again (1987)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKTiwCez6Zs
Jimmy Page: Wasting My Time (1988)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVRwhL5-xpA
It appears the same video production stage was used for both, though they were filmed
about a year apart. I am trying to confirm the actual location and date of filming. I know Jimmy reviewed the final edits of his promotional video in New York on 6/21/88, the day before he was on the nationally-syndicated radio program 'Rockline'. Photographs taken
during the filming of the video were used for the tour program and promotional materials.
Video Director Marty Callner
-
???
Hammersmith Palais July 31, 2005
Jimmy, Brian May & Dan Hawkins from Darkness judge the ABC Trust's Riffathon Live Final (2005) featuring ten guitarists. Jimmy presented a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top to winner Martin Tomkins
-
Added
...also, if they played Vegas already on Aug. 11...then Miss P could have been called alone to join them...I don't see reason for them to come all back, then go out again to see Elvis...
Added:
....It is confirmed on the Royal Orleans.Com Site that dates in City of Vegas, around Aug. 12 were searched, although I don't know what publications, there were no results....unless the Report in not Print...
This is all the evidence that I have for now........
I like the idea of Las Vegas on 7/31 because it makes sense from a routing perspective; bring the equipment down from Salt Lake City instead of San Diego (8/10). It makes
more sense to go from San Diego to the next gig (Lubbock) (8/13) as opposed to doing
a short-notice Las Vegas gig on 8/11. If that is really what happened, than Vegas on 8/12 was simply the second of two days off on tour. A bit of rest & relaxation; catch
the Elvis gig.
Los Angeles to Las Vegas is 270 miles so anything over 8/11-12 was probably made possible by plane. We are assuming Pam is correct with 8/12 as the date they went
to see Elvis. She may not recall they flew there. Why drive 270 miles when you can
fly? If your flying, you don't have to stay in Vegas the night of 8/11, you can return
to party on the Sunset Strip. Or you can stay the night and see Elvis the next.
I have made several posts concerning this topic on the R-O thread, so I'm aware of it.
The papers that were researched were Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun
from August 8th-12th 1969. No mention and no ads of Pinkiny Canandy, Led Zeppelin
or The Ice Palace. On one hand, this seems to support it could have been held 7/31,
on the other that it may never happened at all.
Conclusion: 7/31 is possible, as is 8/11. Still, it remains unconfirmed.
-
...tks for reply.....I spend some thinking....
July 30th (OFFICIAL LISTED DATE FOR SALT LAKE CITY)...yes, York states "afterward"...but as I figured out earlier...since the Vegas date is not listed....I don't think the writers know about this date...(Salt Lake city is on the Concert MAP
July 31st - Zep possibly performs....they all leave to Thee Ex/L.A.----Meets with P.
Aug. 1 - Page can only fly from this date from La./back to L.a....Writer York, in my opinion/as I understand his comment, is noting the fact that Page has performed concert...last being Salt Lake City, but York does not know about Vegas...remember it is not listed...I have not taken York's comments word by word, as there is no proof for July 31st...
...and IMO...yes there is a flight on Aug. 12....Remember Grant was in New York for sometime after Page Left on Aug. 1...so unlikely as it may be, it is possible that the flight was confused with Page...Peter Grant was present in L.A. with Everybody to See Elvis....
...NO BODY WAS IN Vega TO SEE ELVIS ON JULY 31....Rodney is "extending" his comments to a month long engagement of Elvis being opened in month of August in Vegas....
...I hope it's somewhat clear....
Concerning Page/Grant flights - I say 7/31 on separate flights because Jimmy is back in LA that night without Peter. However, if Peter is back by evening of 8/1 (next day) then neither miss a gig - always important to Peter so I can't see them in Vegas this night for that reason alone.
On 8/1 Jimmy called Pam in the early morning to inquire why she did not come over last night (7/31) and invited her to tonight's show in Santa Barbara. Interesting that Pam does not say he called from New York, but from the Continental Hyatt House, nor does she say he ever mentions New York at the Santa Barbara show or in the limo afterward. To me, this points towards his having been in LA on 8/1. I just can't see him going to NY and back (time zones) and playing Santa Barbara same day without it being mentioned, if not affecting either his playing, demeanor or energy. Hell, he even partied at Thee Experience afterward!
Which, if correct, leaves us with 8/11/69 as the only possibilitity for a Las Vegas Led Zeppelin concert. The band would have traveled LA to Las Vegas on 8/11 for their concert, while the road crew would have had to get everything to Las Vegas from
San Diego on the same date. Led Zeppelin would've returned to Vegas the following evening (8/12) for Elvis as Miss P. relates. They could not have played Vegas on 8/12
because the next date was Lubbock (8/13) - too far to tear down, travel and set up.
My conclusion: 7/31 possible. 8/11 more likely. Ultimately still unconfirmed.
-
Love those tales from the Starship! "Do not look John Bonham in the eye!" Haha. You know, I saw Detective at the Starwood. Never thought to look around the VIP area, I'm sure I missed seeing JPJ and others.
Catch them if you can...
-
I still think that was a live simulcast Steve.
I sat in my living room and listened to it in 86 (in quad)
I thought it was a great performance,Jimmy was definitely "on" that night!Any luck finding out whether or not it was?
FWIW, the Superstar Concert Series radio broadcast is absolutely pre-recorded, not live.
It has Commercials for Coke, Sprite and Levis as well as breaks for local stations. I have
listed the musical content below. I cannot fathom this having gone out live, as so far as I know Westwood One Radio never did live simulcasts for Superstar Concert Series, King Biscuit Flower Hour, etc. I've got a very hazy recollection of Jimmy himself having taken a personal interest in the outcome of the editing for the 1985 Firm WWO SSC Series program. It was of course their first tour and he wanted the showcasing to be just right. Additionally, there is no mention whatsoever in the news archives of the Cleveland Plain Dealer for a live simulcast in '85 or '86. Perhaps the airdate (weekend of Aug 9, 1986)
or the program listing below will jog some memories for you.
Westwood One Radio Networks - Superstar Concert Series
For Broadcast the Weekend of Aug 9, 1986
Show # SS86-18
3LP set (1 hr 24 mins 5 secs)
Performance Date: 5-11-1986
Location: Richfield Coliseum - Cleveland, Ohio
01 - Fortune Hunter [4:53]
02 - Someone To Love [4:55]
03 - Make Or Break [4:45]
04 - Introduction [0:53]
05 - Prelude [1:55]
06 - Money Can't Buy [4:54]
07 - Satisfaction Guaranteed [4:29]
08 - Radioactive [3:35]
09 - All The King's Horses [3:25]
10 - Cadillac [6:38]
11 - You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling [5:20]
12 - Midnight Moonlight [11:12]
13 - Tear Down The Walls [5:10]
14 - Live In Peace [5:18]
-
Mystery Solved: Vegas DATE: JULY 31, 1969 Ice Palace (as stated before)
(edit)
Finally, I am sincerely indebted to Miss Pamela for her cooperation and prompt replies as she took the time to acknowledge my requests, (Miss Pamela is the KEY EYEWITNESS) to all accounts...It would have been IMPOSSIBLE to solve this without her cooperation...THANK YOU MISS PAMELA...
Tks. to the posters and Steve A. Jones for his assistance under busy circumstances....it was all very interesting....
PlanetPage
Hold up. They played Salt Lake City on 7/30, and Yorke states Jimmy flew to New York (and on to Los Angeles) afterward - I take this to mean 7/31 - so it's possible but highly improbable to be the correct date for this concert. You'd think Jimmy could recall flying all the way to NYC to work on mixes all day and then fly all the way to Las Vegas for a concert. Peter Grant did remain in New York longer than Page, possibly until 8/1. We do know the night of 7/31 Jimmy had Cole deliver a note to Pamela Des Barres who was at Thee Experience watching Bo Diddley.
If anything, we have actually ruled out 8/12, based upon Miss P's assertion she flew to Las Vegas with Jimmy on that date to attend Elvis. If they played Las Vegas it would have had to have been 7/31 or the day prior - 8/11 - as those are now quite simply the only open dates between 7/31 & 8/31. Mike Tell was the promoter, perhaps he has some anecdotal or tangible evidence yet to be revealed.
Thoughts? Did I miss something?
-
Revisiting the soundboard recording for Cleveland 5/11/86 as I post this. Volume set to 10, the windows in the turret rattling. 'Fortune Hunter' is the show opener and everyone in Cleveland is losing their minds over it. 'Someone to Love'. God, that brings back memories of spotlights and denim and...moving under moonlight. 'Live In Peace' sounds so poignant. The Firm. A better band than you may or may not recall.
-
The Led Zeppelin Laws by Steven Rosen
When: 1977
Where: Chicago, Illinois
What: This is probably the most extraordinary experience I've ever had as a music writer. Read on:
I'm sitting aboard Caesar's Chariot, Led Zeppelin's customized Boeing 707 jet. Appropriately named after the conquering emperor who was ultimately doomed by an addiction to his own glory, this flying fortress now carries onboard an invading modern-day musical force. Zeppelin has just annihilated a sellout crowd of pagan revelers in St. Louis. We're returning to Chicago where the band has set up its base of operations, the city that will represent ground zero for the next several weeks. For the previous two tours, in 1973 and 1975, they have adopted a similar strategy of positioning itself in one location and then flying out to concerts from a central point. It is the refuge for only the high and mightiest of groups. And it is the brainchild of tour manager Richard Cole, Peter Grant's first lieutenant and longtime fixer.
We're headed back to the Windy City's Ambassador East Hotel. I've been sequestered there for eleven days, a week-and-a-half of unchecked excess and dark rumblings. The former balances the latter. The plane, for instance, has been refitted to accommodate a bar, two bedrooms, a 30ft. couch, and a Hammond organ. Luxury comes at an uncomfortable price - $2500 per day leasing fees. Still, amidst this opulence, you can't help but notice how John Bonham lumbers about the cabin, a bottle of something in his hand, greeting everyone he encounters with barely-concealed contempt.
Bonzo walks by me and I don't dare make eye contact. This is one of the many commandments handed down: Do not look directly at John Bonham. Actually, it is a sub-command but must be obeyed religiously in any event. I'm still seat-buckled in, trying to make myself inconspicuous and ruminating over what I'd been through this past week or so. Only a couple days earlier was I finally granted my first audience with the guitarist. I had begun to think that might not ever happen. But my room phone rang one late morning and a voice informed me that Jimmy would see me now. As I was ushered into his spectacular suite, you never walked anywhere within the hotel compound without an escort, it was impossible not to notice the busted telephone, the hole in the wall, and a half empty bottle of Jack Daniels perched on his nightstand. Telltale signs of an angry young musician. He would upend that bottle at regular intervals during our conversation. His speech would become increasingly slurred and deliberate but this was more than a guitarist getting drunk in the early afternoon. This is 1977, Zeppelin's eleventh U.S. tour, and Page's drinking habits are by now, well documented. No, there's more, an underlying current of anger in every word slowly muttered. As if he's in a constant posture of self-defense or even, paranoia. In fact, he's ripped the telephone from the wall because he felt intruded upon and didn't want spying ears listening in.
And now here we are, cruising altitude, and I'm accompanied to the rear of the plane. Janine Safer, the band's publicist, is on point, a monster of a security guard follows her, then me, and another security soldier brings up the rear. Military precision, though, for all the world, this feels more than anything else like a dead man walking. And I'm about to understand why. I greet Jimmy (it's hard to tell whether he recognizes me from a few days ago or not), sit down, and begin talking. As I'm hunched over, trying to hear him above the din of the whirring white noise, from behind, a vise-like grip grabs my right shoulder. I'm thinking that was a fast 15 minutes when I'm physically lifted from the seat and violently spun around. Standing before me is one seriously pissed-off John Paul Jones. And that's when my world unravels.
"Rosen, you fucking cunt liar, I should fucking kill you."
In punctuation to his remarks, as if these shouted invectives coming from the mouth of the world's most important bass player and directed at me aren't enough to reduce me to some lifeless mass - he demanded the return of all the interview tapes I'd thus far conducted. I handed them over, watching my reputation and any hopes of a music career encased inside these little plastic cassette cases. At this moment, cassette coffins better described them.
The venom in his voice staggers me. I feel as if I'm having an out-of-body experience. But each time I shut my eyes and open them, I'm still there, and horrifically, so is Jones. I'm on an airplane traveling 600 miles an hour, hurtling towards a destination I know I don't want to reach. I keep waiting for some miracle, an engine falling off, or a wing icing up. And the only thing that grows colder is the look on his face and the blood running through his veins
What makes this all the more unnerving is that John Paul and I had spent some illuminating time together just two days after I'd arrived. No Jack, no mutilated furniture, only a soft-spoken bass player telling me about his life.
"The first time, we all met in this little room just to see if we could even stand each other. It was wall-to-wall amplifiers and terrible, all old. Jimmy said, 'Do you know a number called 'The Train Kept A-Rolling?' I told him, 'No,' and he said, 'It's easy, just G to A.' He counted it out and the room just exploded, and we said, 'Right, we're on, this is it, this is going to work!' And we just sort of built it up from there. (And now) I wouldn't be without Zeppelin for the world."
And I believed him; you couldn't help but believe him. Led Zeppelin was his life and his love and he was forever protecting it, as he told me, from those who would try to run it down. He was talking about critics, in the main, journalists who would tell him how much they admired the band and then turn around and write scathing reviews. And here, confronting me now, is all that passion turned poisonous. The bassist hurls curse after curse, and even motions in a gesture carrying with it physical implications. Though I've never been in a fight in my life, his veiled threats do not cause me much alarm. John Paul, I felt, was someone against whom I could probably hold my own. No, it is the standing mountains of muscled beef surrounding him, his security team, that give me pause. They shoot me looks that convey a pretty simple message: Make even the slightest motion towards this man before you, and what happens next will surely be one of the less pleasant moments you'll ever experience.
At that point, it's hard to determine whether it's more the fear or embarrassment that has rendered me speechless and immobile. But, no, it's the fear, definitely the fear. As I fall in and out of moments of lucidity, I'm trying to figure out why I've been singled out for Jonesy's personal attentions. Then I see, there in his right hand, the cause of my dilemma. It is a copy of Rock Guitarists Vol. I (ironically Vol. II would feature my Page story on the cover), a compilation of Guitar Player stories collected over the past several years. That magazine is the reason I'm here; to do a cover piece on Page and a major feature on Jones. My very own cause celebre, the very thing that has brought me here, is going to bury me.
He has rolled it up into a tube shape and smacks it repeatedly into his open left palm. I had written the Jeff Beck story gracing the cover and had brought copies for he and Jimmy. Peace offerings. They both knew Jeff, of course, and I thought the gesture would present me as a writer with a bit of street cred. And in that terrible second, it hits me, no not magazine as bludgeon but the realization: I have sent Jonesy off the deep end because I've betrayed his trust. I have mutated into one of them, one of the conniving and lying journalists he had been ranting about. Repeatedly during our interview, I told him how honored I was to be on the road with him and how much respect I had for the band. I know he believed what I said because it was the truth and I meant every word of it. And now he'd read these words I'd written four years earlier and what was he to believe?
This is what he read:
"A contemporary of Beck, Jimmy Page has failed to recreate the magic he performed as guitarist for The Yardbirds. Led Zeppelin started off as nothing more than a grandiose reproduction of Beck's past work.." and so on.
It was stupid and ridiculous and I'm ashamed to this day for writing that. I wrote my way into this - how would I write my way out?
I had been warned. On the very day I arrived, the rules were outlined for me. And now, only eleven days later, I had already broken the 5th commandment.
Chalk it up to inexperience, and maybe no little bit of stupidity. At this point, I've only been freelancing for about 3 ½ years, plying my trade in various local and regional papers. I made my bones and cracked the inner sanctum of magazines like Creem and Circus. And then in December 1973, Guitar Player, after rejecting multiple submissions, accepted a Q&A on Jeff Beck and used it for that month's cover. This is the story, the first one I'd ever written for GP, that would make Jones go for the jugular. It was my breakthrough as a fledgling scribe.
And here, now, all that hard work had culminated with the opportunity of a lifetime. After nearly a year's worth of phone calls to the Swan Song offices in New York (Zeppelin's private record label), I was finally being greenlighted ; I'd be allowed to travel with the band on their private plane and stay with them in the same hotel. After all this, getting this close, I was going to leave empty handed. Or maybe with a broken finger. Tales were rife about Zeppelin's enforcers doing bodily harm to bootleggers and overzealous fans.
I wasn't really worried about a fractured phalange, but I had broken one of the Led Zeppelin Laws and I was now suffering the consequences. On the day I arrived, a black limo had been sent to the airport to retrieve me. Janine Safer, band publicist, introduced herself and welcomed me. After a glass of champagne and settled snugly into the plush leather backseat, I listen to her as she personally instructs me on the Five Rules of Engagement:
Rule 1. Never talk to anyone in the band unless they first talk to you.
Rule 1A. Do not make any sort of eye contact with John Bonham. This is for your own safety.
Rule 2. Do not talk to Peter Grant or Richard Cole, for any reason.
Rule 3. Keep your cassette player turned off at all times unless conducting an interview.
Rule 4. Never ask questions about anything other than music.
Rule 5. Most importantly, understand this, the band will read what is written about them. The band does not like the press nor do they trust them.
This is the one that would prove my undoing.
Not much to get lost in translation here. Seemed simple enough. The long stretch Cadillac wends its way through the streets of downtown Chicago. I have a second glass of champagne, a third?, and I hand Janine two copies of a special issue of Guitar Player magazine. I've brought them along because I thought they might curry favor with the band. I do hesitate for the briefest of moments but I'm not quite sure why (multiple glasses of Dom had erased the memory of what was written on those pages). She tells me she'll personally deliver them to John Paul and Jimmy.
Janine was as good as her word. Because here it is, that cursed little magazine, in Jones' hand. She had also given a copy to Jimmy, who was sitting right there during this fracas, but I didn't know if he had read it. And even if he did read it, I didn't know if he cared.
The flight is interminable. After an excruciating 45 minutes, we return to the Ambassador East, I pack my bags, and prepare for an early-morning flight back to West Hollywood. Menacing scowls from bouncers told me I was now an unwanted entity and I made as hasty a retreat as possible. Janine came to my hotel room door and encouraged me to go and talk to John Paul, to try and explain my side of the story. She had witnessed the entire flying episode and realized my predicament.
I went down to his hotel suite, knocked, and as the door swung open, my head went blank, my tongue shriveled and I stood there, once again, like an idiot. As a failsafe, I had written him a letter. I handed it to him; he grabbed it without reading it, and shocked me by returning my tapes. He told me he thought I was a lowlife piece of garbage and the worst writer he'd ever read, but that I did have a responsibility to the magazine.
I did leave Chicago early the next morning and returned to California. I wrote the story and the cover appeared in GP's July 1977 issue. It was an extraordinarily well-received piece and though I wish it could have been more extensive (damn you, Rule #5), I was quite pleased with it. Page was on the cover and John Paul was the main feature.
One evening, about a month after the Zeppelin blowup, I was at the Starwood club in West Hollywood. I'm sitting there with my brother, Mick, watching Detective, the band Swan Song was signing to its label. Mick tells me John Paul Jones is in the corner and he's walking this way. I'd told him about the encounter and I know he's just goofing with me. I turn around and once again, Jonesy confronts me. I don't know whether to go into a boxer's crouch or scurry down the stairs. He extends his hand in a sincere gesture of forgiveness. He had read my apology letter and in light of that, understood what I'd said in the Jeff Beck story. That writer was simply trying to make a name for himself by camouflaging opinion as fact. Sensationalism. National Enquirer-styled journalism. John Paul Jones had read the Guitar Player story and loved it. John Paul Jones read my words and he loved them.
I hugged him, he hugged me back, and sat down at our table for a drink. I grinned like an idiot for the rest of the night.
I thought it was a great performance,Jimmy was definitely "on" that night!
Who's That Bloke With Percy?
in Photos
Posted
Well, we've established you are easily confused so I have gone to great lengths and
painstaking detail to show the logic upon which I framed my position. At the end of
the day it is a position you can't refute, and one in fact you agree with. I have
nothing more to say on this matter and you may have the last word.