Led Zeppelin Photo Mysteries

[SteveAJones]

...eternally grateful to Legendary Chris Dreja/Yardbirds @Yardbirds Meet and Greet CD Signing & Show Winnipeg, 2009; and Joseph C. Pereira/Author, Legends of Golden Venus, Singapore:

This photo is very special to me from the very first time I saw it on the Official Site for many reasons... places alone are nothing without faces, and this photo stood hauntingly alone for so long; and now details have been generously shared with me by above two gracious artists....

Chris Dreja:

The gentleman photographed with Family is a Tourist Officer, the Yardbirds met him and had dinner with him while performing in Singapore; and that "it was unusual meeting"....Chris Dreja

Joseph C. Pereira

- I have seen that picture before elsewhere. I believe it was a house

in Sembawang area. There was a British military base there and the

children you see in the picture are probably children of civilians

who worked in the British military establishments in that area.

...Thank You To Legendary Chris Dreja and Joesph C. Pereira :notworthy:

Outstanding! To my eyes it seems five of the six children could be related to the man on the far right. I do imagine the dinner could have been some sort of cultural exchange opportunity arranged thru the Tourist Officer and/or British Embassy.

[PlanetPage]

To my eyes it seems five of the six children could be related to the man on the far right. I do imagine the dinner could have been some sort of cultural exchange opportunity arranged thru the Tourist Officer and/or British Embassy.

.....very sharp analysis SAJ!!!, that is very very possible....I also think that there are children in mix, as in friends nearby, since the location is British Military Base/Families...to me, the girl with striped short dress and toddler (w/Chris Dreja) are siblings standing hand in hand; and the other three children close by to the Tourist Officer are a unit/Family...with extended friend appearing from behind....

anyway, I missed at least two dinners with Jimmy ;)

[SteveAJones]

.....very sharp analysis SAJ!!!, that is very very possible....I also think that there are children in mix, as in friends nearby, since the location is British Military Base/Families...to me, the girl with striped short dress and toddler (w/Chris Dreja) are siblings standing hand in hand; and the other three children close by to the Tourist Officer are a unit/Family...with extended friend appearing from behind....

anyway, I missed at least two dinners with Jimmy ;)

I've given this some additional consideration and it dawns on me the small girl in the back row isn't a child at all but perhaps the mother, in which case it's a family of seven (Mother, Father and five children). This makes the most sense to me, that this one family posed with them and that the head of this household, the man on the far right, is the tourist officer to whom Dreja refers. Isn't that Dreja, Samwell-Smith, Relf & Page in the shot?

Anyway, we could speculate forever as to more precisely how and why this unusual meeting occured. Dreja's explanation, though brief, seems entirely plausible to me.

Edited September 24, 2010 by SteveAJones

[mick a piper]

It's Oakland Coliseum on either July 23 or 24 1977. He's wearing the Nurses Do It Better t-shirt, though it's barely discernable from this angle.

It is 23th July 1977.

Jimmy is wearing black dragon suits.

[PlanetPage]

I've given this some additional consideration and it dawns on me the small girl in the back row isn't a child at all but perhaps the mother, in which case it's a family of seven (Mother, Father and five children). This makes the most sense to me, that this one family posed with them and that the head of this household, the man on the far right, is the tourist officer to whom Dreja refers. Isn't that Dreja, Samwell-Smith, Relf & Page in the shot?

Anyway, we could speculate forever as to more precisely how and why this unusual meeting occured. Dreja's explanation, though brief, seems entirely plausible to me.

.....the article posted by Joseph originally with photos clearly states Dreja, McCarty, Relf, and Page.........and it is McCarty clearly as we know it...

as for the children they do not resemble...and I do remember clearly Dreja stating that he is in Fact a Tourist Officer....these pictures according to Dreja are now "obsolete" also

..edited for spelling/clarity

Edited September 24, 2010 by PlanetPage

[aen27]

I thought this might be around 1975. His hair is too long to be 1973. But I can't quite figure out when it is or which shows he wore that jacket for after 1973. I thought someone else would possibly know more.

[Stargroves Tangie]

I thought this might be around 1975. His hair is too long to be 1973. But I can't quite figure out when it is or which shows he wore that jacket for after 1973. I thought someone else would possibly know more.

I love this pic, Jimmy wearing my fave outfit of his (hope it's in the book!)

I agree w/ you aen that it's probably from after '73 because of the hair. I have always wondered why in TSRTS he is wearing the jacket only for Rock & Roll and Black Dog (and Celebration Day on the DVD extras) and for the rest of the show he has the other jacket. If he only wore that jacket for one of the MSG shows does that mean that most of the movie footage was taken from the other 2 nights? As for wearing it after '73, I believe some of the footage for Rock & Roll was redone in '74 at Shepperton Studios (watch the hair) so he would have worn it then.

I've also wondered what was on the lapel & now that I can see it close up one thing looks like a naked plastic doll. He's not wearing the necklace (the one that looks like a Capricorn figure not the scarab) here either.

[aen27]

I love this pic, Jimmy wearing my fave outfit of his (hope it's in the book!)

I agree w/ you aen that it's probably from after '73 because of the hair. I have always wondered why in TSRTS he is wearing the jacket only for Rock & Roll and Black Dog (and Celebration Day on the DVD extras) and for the rest of the show he has the other jacket. If he only wore that jacket for one of the MSG shows does that mean that most of the movie footage was taken from the other 2 nights? As for wearing it after '73, I believe some of the footage for Rock & Roll was redone in '74 at Shepperton Studios (watch the hair) so he would have worn it then.

I've also wondered what was on the lapel & now that I can see it close up one thing looks like a naked plastic doll. He's not wearing the necklace (the one that looks like a Capricorn figure not the scarab) here either.

Yes. I loved the picture too, and this also one of my favorite outfits too, which is why I wanted to find out more. I had forgotten about the scenes being reshot around '74. That could be why his hair is longer. 'Scarab' is the real name for the "dog collar" necklace? Thank you for all of this. I too hope this outfit makes an apperance in the book.

Edited September 24, 2010 by aen27

[c4plant]

I'm sure someone here will know....who is with Jimmy?

[Aquamarine]

A scarab is an amulet shaped like, or with a picture of, a beetle. Big in ancient Egypt in particular, symbol of transformation and the cycle of life.

[PlanetPage]

I'm sure someone here will know....who is with Jimmy?

...C4......I saw this photo in the Hot Pics of Jimmy Page, I recall this is Jimmy's Father.....I think I also seen his father's photos at the Knebworth Concert...seems familiar

[PlanetPage]

I do imagine the dinner could have been some sort of cultural exchange opportunity arranged thru the Tourist Officer and/or British Embassy.

...further explanation from Joseph C. Pereira.....received today..

I think that the band must have been taken to a British military base

North of the island to meet the British troops. Good for morale

building. The soldiers must have loved that. Normally when a British

pop group came to Singapore the British Ambassador would meet them

and maybe host a dinner for them. Similarly I think the British

military establishment might have made a request. I say this because

the house looks like staff quarters for those civilian personnel who

were employed by the British military.

....hope this helps....

[SteveAJones]

...C4......I saw this photo in the Hot Pics of Jimmy Page, I recall this is Jimmy's Father.....I think I also seen his father's photos at the Knebworth Concert...seems familiar

I seem to recall he's one of Jimmy's school chums/bandmates and that it was taken in or around Epsom. Sorry to say his name escapes me at the moment. There is a photograph from Knebworth 1979 of Jimmy and his father in circulation.

[SteveAJones]

...further explanation from Joseph C. Pereira.....received today..

I think that the band must have been taken to a British military base

North of the island to meet the British troops. Good for morale

building. The soldiers must have loved that. Normally when a British

pop group came to Singapore the British Ambassador would meet them

and maybe host a dinner for them. Similarly I think the British

military establishment might have made a request. I say this because

the house looks like staff quarters for those civilian personnel who

were employed by the British military.

....hope this helps....

Splendid clarification!

[aen27]

A scarab is an amulet shaped like, or with a picture of, a beetle. Big in ancient Egypt in particular, symbol of transformation and the cycle of life.

All right. Thanks for clarifying which necklace that is.

[c4plant]

There is a photograph from Knebworth 1979 of Jimmy and his father in circulation.

Is this him?

[PlanetPage]

Is this him?

yes, this is the photo being referred to in this thread...this is Jimmy/W his Father...and I think this is the only one from Knebworth, 1979 that I have seen or most people have

seen...

SAJ can confirm further for any more photos or details...but I have never seen anymore photos beyond this in future...

added...

I have seen one more photo of Jimmy circa '69? seated on Sofa with gentleman appeared to be his father?, also in Hot Pictures of Jimmy Thread, earlier in the thread....that would be it....

Edited September 26, 2010 by PlanetPage

[JimmyPageZoSo56]

Steve, I need some clarification; I know of Minneapolis 1975 concert photos in circulation but I don't know if these are some other photos of Jimmy allegedly from the Minneapolis, Minnesota 1975 (which I believe was actually in Bloomington not Minneapolis). However, I have also heard that these photos were from one or all of the shows in Chicago 1975. So my question is, what show are they from? Or does Jimmy just happen to be wearing the same outfit that he often did at multiple shows?

Edited September 26, 2010 by JimmyPageZoSo56

[SteveAJones]

Steve, I need some clarification; I know of Minneapolis 1975 concert photos in circulation but I don't know if these are some other photos of Jimmy allegedly from the Minneapolis, Minnesota 1975 (which I believe was actually in Bloomington not Minneapolis). However, I have also heard that these photos were from one or all of the shows in Chicago 1975. So my question is, what show are they from? Or does Jimmy just happen to be wearing the same outfit that he often did at multiple shows?

According to this very reliable reference source all three of these images were taken January 21st 1975 at Chicago Stadium:

http://www.ledzeppelin-database.com/geekbaseweb/photopage.aspx?showid=445

You are correct that the Metropolitan Sports Center was located in Bloomington; they only flew into and out of the airport in Minneapolis.

[SteveAJones]

Did that April 18th date occur? There was some debate about it and I think it was determined they actually started the tour in California.

Sam, I've just found a link to a Led Zeppelin press release announcing the tour would start in San Francisco (as opposed to the April 18th New York University date):

http://www.ledzeppelin-database.com/geekbaseweb/forumpage.aspx?g=posts&t=93

[Kayte]

I'm sure this is probably a stupid question to you guys, but...

What's those matchin' T-shirts that Bonzo and Planty are a-wearin'?

And I'd never heard of ledzeppelin-database.com. Remarkable!

[Knebby]

Jimmy Page: Where and When?

I'm trying to confirm where and when the photograph above was taken. The Death Wish 2 film premier has been suggested. The film was released February 19, 1982. I know Jimmy delivered the tapes to the studio in December 1981 and then remained in Los Angeles to devote most of January 1982 remixing and reworking the monaural masters into stereo. It seems unlikely he'd stick around Los Angeles until mid-February for a premier but then again perhaps so...or perhaps it was a UK premier? The soundtrack was released in the UK that month and in the US in March. Anyway, I hope confirmation can be achieved here.

The poster behind Jimmy alledgedly promotes this film released in 1980:

I would definitely have dated this before 1981. His hair was way shorter by Dec 1981 and his appearance was far less healthy.

Also - I don't think it has ever been confirmed that the guy on the Knebworth pic is Jimmy's Dad - I recall seeing strong argument that it wasn't. I don't bet either way

[Kayte]

How did Mr. Plant catch this bird?

Was it just sittin' on the stage or sumpin?

Also...

What's that 'ar triangular instrument Mr. Jones has?

[SteveAJones]

How did Mr. Plant catch this bird?

Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, June 3rd 1973

I was onstage with Led Zeppelin at Kezar Stadium, and there were some white doves in cages that were to be released at the end of 'Stairway.' When the signal was given to release them, out they went ...but one circled for a moment and flew right into Robert's hands. Robert was the Prince of Peace, the Golden God, and this photo would look ridiculous with anybody else holding the bird. Any other male, that is. -- James Fortune (Photographer)

Robert Plant cited this as his favorite Led Zeppelin era photograph of himself during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 2005.

[kenog]

I would definitely have dated this before 1981. His hair was way shorter by Dec 1981 and his appearance was far less healthy.

Also - I don't think it has ever been confirmed that the guy on the Knebworth pic is Jimmy's Dad - I recall seeing strong argument that it wasn't. I don't bet either way

Knebby, would it not be the UK because I couldn't see a David Essex film being a big release in the US? (I saw it, it was unbearably corny:D )