Preston Guildhall Jan 1973

[Kashmir and Carry]

Still the greatest gig I've ever been to - even better than Little Feat in Manchester 1975 and that was pretty damned good.

The Preston gig had originally been scheduled for Jan 4th (I think) but Robert Plant contracted a throat problem and the gig was cancelled. I was 15 and mortified. I had actually turned up at the Guildhall along with two friends (what now is a half hour drive from Manchester then seemed a hell of a trip) and clearly our grief was palpable as staff from the venue gave us posters and various memorabilia to ease our pain and told us to come back on the 30th . Turned out that this was now going to be the last gig of the tour (and the band's final ever 'small' gig in the U.K) and they made it one to remember.

God, I remember the adrenaline rush when the lights went down and Bonzo nailed the cymbals that began 'Rock 'n Roll'. Whole lives were defined that evening - it was glorious, wonderful and loud as hell.

Some evening,some band.

[Zeppadee Doo Dah]

I know it is 10 years since the original post but I have only just seen it and thought I would share my memories of that gig as I had very a similar experience as a 15 year old. I was waiting at my house with a school mate for a lift to the gig from my dad when we heard it announced on the tv programme Look North that it was cancelled. I understand your desperate pain. The utter sense of relief when we found out it was to be re-scheduled and the tickets would still be valid was indescribable.

I still remember the gig well. Jimmy's solo with the violin bow, Stairway to Heaven was still fresh. The band played a couple of tracks from their forthcoming album, Houses of the Holy. I remember Robert coming on for the encore trailing an extremely long letter about 10 feet long written by a fan which he cast into the audience. It was like the feeding of the 5,000. I think everyone got a piece. All for the princely sum of £1.

This Wiki link has full details of the tour dates and set list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_United_Kingdom_Tour_1972–1973

[The Only Way To Fly]

That's cool - I think each generation has that experience. For me it was seeing U2 in 1985 during the Unforgettable Fire tour in Chicago. Then Nirvana, followed by Pearl Jam at Soldier's Field.