Led Zeppelin Photo Mysteries

[sam_webmaster]

John Bonham jamming @ The Railway club in Birmingham, circa 1975. There's 8mm footage of this event, as well as an audio recording.

[click to view]

[reids]

Here's a color pic from Atlanta. It does kinda look like dusk. I'm thinking their set is maybe 45 minutes long...Either Robert changed shirts during this set or they played a second one later that night....

Wow! Small world. I know the guy at the bottom right corner (in the t-shirt) with the camera. His name is Dan.

R

Edited August 23, 2010 by reids

[dazedjeffy]

Flushing Meadows 1969 ?

Yes, August 29-30, 1969

[dazedjeffy]

John Bonham jamming @ The Railway club in Birmingham, circa 1975. There's 8mm footage of this event, as well as an audio recording.

[click to view]

Wow, he even brought out the Vistalites.

November 24, 1978

Stourport Civic Hall

Stourport, England

Another jam, with GB Band.

Edited August 23, 2010 by dazedjeffy

[pblaster]

Check the guy at lower left. Jimmy must have liked the shirt.

1971-08-07 Montreaux

1971-08-27 San Antonio, TX

[Conneyfogle]

Check the guy at lower left. Jimmy must have liked the shirt.

1971-08-07 Montreaux

1971-08-27 San Antonio, TX

Well spotted

[dazedjeffy]

Well spotted

And even into the 1971 Japanese Tour.

Wasn't that an official Montreux Jazz Festival tshirt?

[sam_webmaster]

November 24, 1978

Stourport Civic Hall

Stourport, England

Another jam, with GB Band.

[click to view]

The date is actually: Dec. 17, 1977. (Footage exists of this event as well)

[LZ77]

[click to view]

The date is actually: Dec. 17, 1977. (Footage exists of this event as well)

WOW. Sam, if you hadn't posted the invite I would never believe that was Bonham in 1977. He lost lots of weight after the tour then....

is the footage something that you can post on the official Video page?

[SteveAJones]

I'd never heard of this particular promotion before...this from photographer Whiskey Gone Bad:

Led Zeppelin IROCK FM 5 Plane Sky Writing (1977)

I think IROCK was an FM radio station in the 70s and it was common for very popular groups here in NYC to advertise this way by using five-plane skywriting. I went to see Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden in 1977 at one of their most legendary concerts of all time. Scott Muni handed me a Led Zeppelin button at the entrance while collecting toys and donations wearing a Santa hat. I still have two of the buttons somewhere and I have photos of that concert in B&W and color as well. They let me in with two beer cans in my Minolta/400mm telephoto lens packed camera bag.

This photograph was taken at the intersection of 13th and 57th St in Brooklyn. The Church is St. Frances de Chantal which is still there. Minolta XE-7 50mm Tri-X overexposed horrendously and later water-stain-damaged. I'll fix the dust later. Sorry, no time lately. This lousy negative was by itself and I was just about to throw it away when I took a closer look at it - Zep! Rock on forever!

Photo Link: http://www.flickr.co...sky/1216037368/

Edited August 31, 2010 by SteveAJones

[sam_webmaster]

Not sure if this has been posted before..... Robert & solo band performing in Ibiza, circa 1983/83

[click thumbnail to view]

[Aquamarine]

Well, if it has, I didn't see it--thanks, Sam!

[SteveAJones]

Not sure if this has been posted before..... Robert & solo band performing in Ibiza, circa 1983/83

[click thumbnail to view]

Possibly October 1982 when he participated in two jams at Sgt. Pepper's in San Antonio, Ibiza:

1. Plant, Martinez, Woodroffe, Blunt, and Barlow are joined by Chris Squire of Yes on bass…'Little Sister', 'Knock On Wood', 'Save the Last Dance' & 'C'mon Everybody'

2. Plant, Martinez, Woodroffe, Blunt, and Barlow are joined by Phil Carson on bass the next night

Robert and the band had travelled to Ibiza to write more material. They met a character they dubbed "The Mekon" (and one of the bandmembers did indeed mess with her).

Robert returned to Ibiza in August '84, and performed a set with Jimmy, Phil May and various members of The Pretty Things at Heartbreak Hotel, a club owned by Atlantic

Records' Phil Carson. In '85 Robert returned to Ibiza and the promotional video for 'Sea Of Love' was filmed.

[dazedjeffy]

At http://www.genesis-publications.com/jimmy-page-zoso-limited-edition-book/the-photography.htm this photo is dated as April 19, 1969 at Olympic Studio in Barnes, London, UK.

On the stool there is what appears to be a Gibson Les Paul Standard (presumably to me to be Number One).

The legend goes that Jimmy Page bought Number One from Joe Walsh in the US and debuted it at the Fillmore West shows later that month.

Any idea now as to when he acquired Number One?

[SteveAJones]

At http://www.genesis-p...photography.htm this photo is dated as April 19, 1969 at Olympic Studio in Barnes, London, UK.

On the stool there is what appears to be a Gibson Les Paul Standard (presumably to me to be Number One).

The legend goes that Jimmy Page bought Number One from Joe Walsh in the US and debuted it at the Fillmore West shows later that month.

Any idea now as to when he acquired Number One?

It was acquired In April 1969 in California so perhaps that isn't the same guitar or, if it is, then the date and/or location is incorrect given he performed in New York on Apr 18th and in San Francisco on April 24th. He was photographed with it onstage at the Fillmore West (Apr 24-27th) so the photo may have been taken April 29-May 1st at Mirror Sound or Gold Star Recording Studios in Los Angeles.

“Jimmy was having trouble finding a good Les Paul back then. I had two, so I sold him one of mine. He used that Les Paul on the bulk of his work with Led Zeppelin. Once you get used to a Les Paul it becomes your axe from then on. Les Pauls are like that. Once you find your personal Les Paul, that’s it.”

-- Joe Walsh

1959 Les Paul Standard

Serial number 91703. Head modified to look like a '58 model head. A pair of spring loaded buttons have been attached beneath the lower edge of the scratchplate. One for choosing between pickups in series or parallel, the other allow the choice of ordinary or phased sounds. Regular potentiometers replaced scrapped in favor of two pairs of push/pulls allowing coil-tapping on either pickup and the option of employing all four coils in parallel. Modifications made by Jimmy's recording studio maintenance tech, Steve Hoyland.

[dazedjeffy]

It was acquired In April 1969 in California so perhaps that isn't the same guitar or, if it is, then the date and/or location is incorrect given he performed in New York on Apr 18th and in San Francisco on April 24th. He was photographed with it onstage at the Fillmore West (Apr 24-27th) so the photo may have been taken April 29-May 1st at Mirror Sound or Gold Star Recording Studios in Los Angeles.

“Jimmy was having trouble finding a good Les Paul back then. I had two, so I sold him one of mine. He used that Les Paul on the bulk of his work with Led Zeppelin. Once you get used to a Les Paul it becomes your axe from then on. Les Pauls are like that. Once you find your personal Les Paul, that’s it.”

-- Joe Walsh

1959 Les Paul Standard

Serial number 91703. Head modified to look like a '58 model head. A pair of spring loaded buttons have been attached beneath the lower edge of the scratchplate. One for choosing between pickups in series or parallel, the other allow the choice of ordinary or phased sounds. Regular potentiometers replaced scrapped in favor of two pairs of push/pulls allowing coil-tapping on either pickup and the option of employing all four coils in parallel. Modifications made by Jimmy's recording studio maintenance tech, Steve Hoyland.

The photographer is Dominique Tarlé, who has been known to misdate photographs. He is, for the most part, based out of England/France, so I think that the studio pic description is accurate.

Joe Walsh was in James Gang and although having released Yer' Album a month earlier, they were still performing only in Detroit, MI in April-May as an opening band. What would he be doing in San Francisco on April 26, 1969 if he had a gig at the Hideout #3 (now a Knights of Columbus Hall) in Clawson, MI on the next Friday and the Village Pub in downtown Detroit the day after that?

[SteveAJones]

Joe Walsh was in James Gang and although having released Yer' Album a month earlier, they were still performing only in Detroit, MI in April-May as an opening band. What would he be doing in San Francisco on April 26, 1969 if he had a gig at the Hideout #3 (now a Knights of Columbus Hall) in Clawson, MI on the next Friday and the Village Pub in downtown Detroit the day after that?

Well, Jeff, I didn't specifically say April 26, 1969. I said April '69 in California. Jimmy recalls having "gone on tour with it" (the guitar from Walsh), and the three Fillmore West gigs coincide with that, more or less, as does the five day break prior to those gigs. There is a photograph in the timeline of Page performing with the guitar in Pasadena on May 2nd 1969. Insofar as why Walsh was in San Francisco that week it's a fair question I cannot answer. Certainly many musicians flocked to San Francisco in the sixties for various reasons.

[SteveAJones]

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:

Edited September 5, 2010 by SteveAJones

[dazedjeffy]

Well, Jeff, I didn't specifically say April 26, 1969. I said April '69 in California. Jimmy recalls having "gone on tour with it" (the guitar from Walsh), and the three Fillmore West gigs coincide with that, more or less, as does the five day break prior to those gigs. There is a photograph in the timeline of Page performing with the guitar in Pasadena on May 2nd 1969. Insofar as why Walsh was in San Francisco that week it's a fair question I cannot answer. Certainly many musicians flocked to San Francisco in the sixties for various reasons.

I know, I know, however I am just trying to see if Page's memory was failing him when he first said in an interview that he got it in California from Joe Walsh in April 1969. Perhaps Joe Walsh attended Led Zeppelin's Grande Ballroom gigs in January 1969 and offered him the Les Paul up on the next time their were on tour in the US. Or as you said, bands flocked to the West Coast in the late 1960s. The music scene was hotter on the West Coast than anywhere else in the US at that time. It just seems like a regional cover band guitarist would fly out to sell a guitar, but stranger things have happened.

Do you have any info on the timeline of Led Zeppelin in April 1969? Did they fly in from London and go straight to San Francisco? Perhaps Page made a stop in Detroit.

[SteveAJones]

I know, I know, however I am just trying to see if Page's memory was failing him when he first said in an interview that he got it in California from Joe Walsh in April 1969. Perhaps Joe Walsh attended Led Zeppelin's Grande Ballroom gigs in January 1969 and offered him the Les Paul up on the next time their were on tour in the US. Or as you said, bands flocked to the West Coast in the late 1960s. The music scene was hotter on the West Coast than anywhere else in the US at that time. It just seems like a regional cover band guitarist would fly out to sell a guitar, but stranger things have happened.

Do you have any info on the timeline of Led Zeppelin in April 1969? Did they fly in from London and go straight to San Francisco? Perhaps Page made a stop in Detroit.

Unfortunately details of the five day break prior to the Fillmore West gigs continue to elude me but even so I'm inclined to believe Jimmy did acquire the guitar in April '69 as he recalls, and probably sometime between the New York and San Francisco gigs. It's entirely plausible Walsh & Page may have met for the first time in Detroit in January 1969 (and begun their friendship that continues to this day). It's highly unlikely Led Zeppelin would have transited Detroit in April '69; they most likely spent their five day break in NY and/or CA. They played New York University on April 18th then the Fillmore West on April 24, 25, 26, & 27.

Edited September 5, 2010 by SteveAJones

[sam_webmaster]

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.

The date of that photo is possibly mislabeled. (I didn't see that text labeled as April until now).

Here's another pic from that session, from one of Howard Mylett's books. I'd say it's more like June 1969, or whenever they were back at Olympic after April.

[click to view]

------------------------

Steve - That photo of Jimmy was attributed to March 1980 on a couple of photo agency sites. However, it seems to me that it could be December 1981, from the Golden Lion charity raffle. We have a few pics of it here: http://www.ledzeppel...in/pre-post-zep

[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.

The date of that photo is possibly mislabeled. (I didn't see that text labeled as April until now).

Here's another pic from that session, from one of Howard Mylett's books. I'd say it's more like June 1969, or whenever they were back at Olympic after April.

[click to view]

Steve - That photo of Jimmy was attributed to March 1980 on a couple of photo agency sites. However, it seems to me that it could be December 1981, from the Golden Lion charity raffle. We have a few pics of it here: http://www.ledzeppel...in/pre-post-zep

Sam, I've just double-checked and found nothing in my files concerning 4/18/69 New York University - 3rd Annual Jazz Festival (billed with Dave Brubek and Errol Garner). No press coverage, no photos, nothing. It appears in the official timeline but I guess it's got to be considered unconfirmed at this point. I do have this article which suggests the tour was set to open in April 1969 at the Fillmore West, yet the same article incorrectly states Jimmy made his U.S. debut at the Fillmore West in January 1969:

Oakland (CA) Tribune April 9, 1969

"Led Zeppelin - A Concept Expressed"

by Peggy King

Tribune Staff Writer

(excerpt 1)

Page's formal U.S. debut was earlier this year at the " Fillmore West, where the response was a standing ovation, even from members of the usually silent majority who sat pock-marked in the dim-lit hippie audience. When a group makes it at the Fillmore, it is made.

(excerpt 2)

Led Zeppelin has completed its first U.S. tour and will open again at the Fillmore West on April 24. Anyone who has any interest in hearing a musical concept which perhaps best expresses the universal human condition of our times may hear it beginning at 8 p.m.

If the Olympic Studios photograph was mislabeled as April '69 I show their next activity there was in November 1969...tentative recording sessions for the third album…they worked on the track 'Jennings Farm Blues'...

Insofar as the more recent Jimmy Page photograph I have nothing on file to suggest he entered the United States at any time in 1980. I doubt a promotional poster for Silver Dream Racer ever hung in the Golden Lion pub, let alone in December 1981 however it does seem it could be the same jacket. Perhaps the photograph was taken at a UK event in March 1980 or perhaps a film premier in 1982...? The search continues.

Edited September 5, 2010 by SteveAJones

[sam_webmaster]

Here's one agency who carries that pic, labeled as "March 26, 1980".

http://www.topfoto.c...08BDF999CE570EF

[SteveAJones]

Here's one agency who carries that pic, labeled as "March 26, 1980".

http://www.topfoto.c...08BDF999CE570EF

That's very interesting, Sam. March 26, 1980. I will look into it further. Thank you very much.

[dazedjeffy]

If the Olympic Studios photograph was mislabeled as April '69 I show their next activity there was in November 1969...tentative recording sessions for the third album…they worked on the track 'Jennings Farm Blues'...

There was no acoustic guitar or Hammond C3 organ in Jennings Farm Blues.

They were back at Olympic Studios in June 1969, dialing up the center section of Whole Lotta Love and recording What Is And What Should Never Be.

By November 1969, however, Page's hair was pretty long, much longer than what is was in the mislabeled.

Also, in June 1969, they were in Morgan Sound Studios, Willesden, London, UK, recording Sugar Mama, Thank You and Living Loving Maid, all of which has Hammond C3 and Thank You, which has acoustic guitar as a backing track.

Unless there are any objections, I call this one closed.