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Sept 4, 1970 @ Troubadour Club with Fairport Convention


PIPPIN

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According to LEDZEPCONCERTS.COM,

"The band makes an appearance during a live recording by Fairport Convention"

at the Troubadour club Sept 4, 1970

Troubadour.jpg

PARTIAL SETLIST

1. Hey Joe

2. Morning Dew

3. Banks of Sweet Primroses

4. Mystery Train

5. That's Alright Mama

http://www.ledzepcon...?id=lz19700904b

Anyone have any details regarding this?

Did they get recorded live also?

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Ah found something:

"September 4, 1970 - Today, after playing to 20,000 fans at the L.A. Forum, Led Zeppelin appear with Fairport Convention at the Troubadour in L.A. to a crowd of only a few hundred. The bands share instruments. Richard Thompson, guitarist for Fairport Convention plays Page's Les Paul, but FC's drummer, Dave Mattacks is hesitant to let Bonham play his drums because of Bonham's reputation as a very powerful drummer. Bonham sits down at the kit and steps on the bass pedal. Mattack watches in horror as his bass drum flies forward a half a foot. After the jam session which lasted almost three hours, the drum heads need a good changing and the toms need a good tuning. After the jam session, Bonham retires to Barney's Beanery, an after-hours bar, where he engages in a drinking contest with Janis Joplin."

Sounds like much fun was had :)

Wonder if there was any recording of the jam?

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Ah found something:

"September 4, 1970 - Today, after playing to 20,000 fans at the L.A. Forum, Led Zeppelin appear with Fairport Convention at the Troubadour in L.A. to a crowd of only a few hundred. The bands share instruments. Richard Thompson, guitarist for Fairport Convention plays Page's Les Paul, but FC's drummer, Dave Mattacks is hesitant to let Bonham play his drums because of Bonham's reputation as a very powerful drummer. Bonham sits down at the kit and steps on the bass pedal. Mattack watches in horror as his bass drum flies forward a half a foot. After the jam session which lasted almost three hours, the drum heads need a good changing and the toms need a good tuning. After the jam session, Bonham retires to Barney's Beanery, an after-hours bar, where he engages in a drinking contest with Janis Joplin."

Sounds like much fun was had :)

Wonder if there was any recording of the jam?

Yep, Hugh confirmed in his Proximity issue on the 'Holy Grails' that the Troubadour jam with Fairport was recorded on multi track. The whereabouts of the reels is unclear, so don't hold your breath !;)

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softshoe-slim.com

softshoe-slim.com/covers2/f/fairport13.jpg

1. The Lark In The Morning Medley

(incorrectly listed as Toss The Feathers)

2. Matty Groves

3. Bonnie Kate

4. Poor Will And The Jolly Hangman

5. Sloth

6. Banks Of The Sweet Primroses

7. Mason's Apron

8. Yellow Bird

Dave Mattacks

Simon Nicol

Dave Pegg

Dave Swarbrick

Linda Thompson

Richard Thompson

Producer:

Drums

Guitar, Mandolin

Bass, Mandolin, Backing Vocals

Vocals, Fiddle, Mandolin

Vocals (Track 4)

Vocals, Guitar

Joe Boyd

Recorded live at The Troubadour, Los Angeles, California, USA on 4/5/6 September 1970. House Full is a revised version of recordings made on the same dates. Track 4 is an outtake from the Full House sessions with vocals by Richard & Linda Thompson overdubbed in March 1975.

Edited by Silver Rider
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  • 5 years later...
  • 3 years later...

I was just listening to that  Fairport Convention live album the other day.  The liner notes say that "Led Zeppelin stopped by to destroy a few ballads" and that Zeppelin joined Fairport in some "obscene Midlands drinking ritual".  And then I noticed that in "Led Zeppelin Day By Day" (2016) by Marc Roberty it mentions this gig.  He says that all 3 nights of the Fairport gigs were professionally recorded by Wally Heider, although none of the tracks Zeppelin played on were released - well, obviously !  But he also notes that the tapes from all three nights reside in Universal Records' tape archive.  He does not specifically say that he knows the Zeppelin/Fairport songs are on the tape but he does imply it a bit.  I have no way of knowing if Roberty is a reliable source here because he does not cite any source on this entry.

Does anyone else have any information about what may have been recorded or was actually recorded when Zeppelin joined Fairport on the stage?  

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https://www.innerviews.org/inner/boyd.html
 

You’re in possession of the legendary Led Zeppelin/Fairport Convention jam multitracks from the L.A. Troubadour in 1970. Have you ever considered attempting to get them released?

I would never be allowed to release them. The ghost of Led Zeppelin’s manager Peter Grant would come and put a stake through my heart if I ever did anything with them, including putting them up on YouTube. But it was a cool night. There were a lot of memorable things about it. It was Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Bonham. John Paul Jones wasn’t there. I don’t think Bonham played much. It was mainly Plant and Page who got up onstage and joined Fairport. They did things like “Hey Joe,” “That’s Alright Mama,” “Mystery Train,” and other stuff. This was after Sandy Denny had left Fairport, so it was the all-male Fairport lineup.

I have some great memories from that show. Now, one of the problems with live recording on a small stage like the Troubadour is the amps are right behind the vocal mic. So, when you go to mix the thing, you’ve got so much signal from the amps spilling down the vocal mics that it’s difficult to get a good sound on the voice. And when you raise the voice by riding the vocal level, you get more of the guitar or bass, or whatever it is nearest to the vocal mic. But with Plant in this case, it was the opposite. [laughs] Plant is so loud that his voice was spilling down the mics in front of the amps. In those days, you didn’t have direct inputs from the amps. You had to put a mic in front of the amp to record it. You didn’t have split leads going straight into the boards. So, Plant would start singing and I’d have almost as much vocal as guitar on the mic in front of the amp because he’s so fucking loud. There was no danger of the vocal being drowned out by the guitars.

I also remember Fairport doing one of those jigs and reels pieces while Page tried to play it. It was a pretty good attempt and then Richard Thompson took over and played the rest. Page just looked at Richard with this “What planet are you from?” look on his face. [laughs] He just couldn’t imagine how Richard could do what he did, that fast.

My favorite memory though, is Peter Grant. Now, Peter was a thug. Led Zeppelin wanted a thug. They wanted a shark to deal with the sharks. That was the great theory of band management in those days. So, Peter was with them that night. It was late. The band came to the Troubadour after playing the L.A. Forum, a sports arena. Fairport were winding down their last set. The Troubadour was a very relaxed place. Doug Weston, the owner, loved music and was all in favor of spontaneous things happening. But he had to deal with very strict licensing laws. It was a really good evening happening at the Troubadour, but at 2 am, they had to get the booze off the tables, but you could keep playing. So, 10 minutes before 2 am, the waitresses said “Drink up. We have to take your glasses in a few minutes.” At three minutes before 2 am, the waitresses were out there with trays picking up wine, beer and cocktail glasses. Everybody knew this was part of the ritual of the Troubadour. At 2 am, Fairport started playing a ballad called “Banks of Sweet Primroses” with Dave Swarbrick singing. It’s a beautiful song with lots of open space. It just has drums with a little chording from Richard and Simon Nicol, and Dave doing a little riff on the fiddle. It’s very still and silent. And when John Wood and I were listening back to the multitracks, you hear this beautiful first verse, and just at the end of it, you hear this rattle of glasses and the sound of something smashing against wood. Then you hear the voice of Peter Grant yelling “You fucking bitch! Get your hands off my fucking glass!” [laughs] He was sitting right near the front of the stage, so it went right down the vocal mic. He didn’t know the Troubadour routine.

Edited by pluribus
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4 hours ago, pluribus said:

https://www.innerviews.org/inner/boyd.html
 

You’re in possession of the legendary Led Zeppelin/Fairport Convention jam multitracks from the L.A. Troubadour in 1970. Have you ever considered attempting to get them released?

I would never be allowed to release them. The ghost of Led Zeppelin’s manager Peter Grant would come and put a stake through my heart if I ever did anything with them, including putting them up on YouTube. But it was a cool night. There were a lot of memorable things about it. It was Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Bonham. John Paul Jones wasn’t there. I don’t think Bonham played much. It was mainly Plant and Page who got up onstage and joined Fairport. They did things like “Hey Joe,” “That’s Alright Mama,” “Mystery Train,” and other stuff. This was after Sandy Denny had left Fairport, so it was the all-male Fairport lineup.

I have some great memories from that show. Now, one of the problems with live recording on a small stage like the Troubadour is the amps are right behind the vocal mic. So, when you go to mix the thing, you’ve got so much signal from the amps spilling down the vocal mics that it’s difficult to get a good sound on the voice. And when you raise the voice by riding the vocal level, you get more of the guitar or bass, or whatever it is nearest to the vocal mic. But with Plant in this case, it was the opposite. [laughs] Plant is so loud that his voice was spilling down the mics in front of the amps. In those days, you didn’t have direct inputs from the amps. You had to put a mic in front of the amp to record it. You didn’t have split leads going straight into the boards. So, Plant would start singing and I’d have almost as much vocal as guitar on the mic in front of the amp because he’s so fucking loud. There was no danger of the vocal being drowned out by the guitars.

I also remember Fairport doing one of those jigs and reels pieces while Page tried to play it. It was a pretty good attempt and then Richard Thompson took over and played the rest. Page just looked at Richard with this “What planet are you from?” look on his face. [laughs] He just couldn’t imagine how Richard could do what he did, that fast.

My favorite memory though, is Peter Grant. Now, Peter was a thug. Led Zeppelin wanted a thug. They wanted a shark to deal with the sharks. That was the great theory of band management in those days. So, Peter was with them that night. It was late. The band came to the Troubadour after playing the L.A. Forum, a sports arena. Fairport were winding down their last set. The Troubadour was a very relaxed place. Doug Weston, the owner, loved music and was all in favor of spontaneous things happening. But he had to deal with very strict licensing laws. It was a really good evening happening at the Troubadour, but at 2 am, they had to get the booze off the tables, but you could keep playing. So, 10 minutes before 2 am, the waitresses said “Drink up. We have to take your glasses in a few minutes.” At three minutes before 2 am, the waitresses were out there with trays picking up wine, beer and cocktail glasses. Everybody knew this was part of the ritual of the Troubadour. At 2 am, Fairport started playing a ballad called “Banks of Sweet Primroses” with Dave Swarbrick singing. It’s a beautiful song with lots of open space. It just has drums with a little chording from Richard and Simon Nicol, and Dave doing a little riff on the fiddle. It’s very still and silent. And when John Wood and I were listening back to the multitracks, you hear this beautiful first verse, and just at the end of it, you hear this rattle of glasses and the sound of something smashing against wood. Then you hear the voice of Peter Grant yelling “You fucking bitch! Get your hands off my fucking glass!” [laughs] He was sitting right near the front of the stage, so it went right down the vocal mic. He didn’t know the Troubadour routine.

thanks for posting this. Great info. All it would take is for Robert and Jimmy to give their blessing to release this.

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38 minutes ago, zeplz71 said:

thanks for posting this. Great info. All it would take is for Robert and Jimmy to give their blessing to release this.

Yeah, great post . 

Hopefully the tapes weren't destroyed in that massive fire at Universal in 2008. 

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On 2/17/2020 at 11:10 PM, pluribus said:

https://www.innerviews.org/inner/boyd.html
 

You’re in possession of the legendary Led Zeppelin/Fairport Convention jam multitracks from the L.A. Troubadour in 1970. Have you ever considered attempting to get them released?

I would never be allowed to release them. The ghost of Led Zeppelin’s manager Peter Grant would come and put a stake through my heart if I ever did anything with them, including putting them up on YouTube. But it was a cool night. There were a lot of memorable things about it. It was Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Bonham. John Paul Jones wasn’t there. I don’t think Bonham played much. It was mainly Plant and Page who got up onstage and joined Fairport. They did things like “Hey Joe,” “That’s Alright Mama,” “Mystery Train,” and other stuff. This was after Sandy Denny had left Fairport, so it was the all-male Fairport lineup.

I have some great memories from that show. Now, one of the problems with live recording on a small stage like the Troubadour is the amps are right behind the vocal mic. So, when you go to mix the thing, you’ve got so much signal from the amps spilling down the vocal mics that it’s difficult to get a good sound on the voice. And when you raise the voice by riding the vocal level, you get more of the guitar or bass, or whatever it is nearest to the vocal mic. But with Plant in this case, it was the opposite. [laughs] Plant is so loud that his voice was spilling down the mics in front of the amps. In those days, you didn’t have direct inputs from the amps. You had to put a mic in front of the amp to record it. You didn’t have split leads going straight into the boards. So, Plant would start singing and I’d have almost as much vocal as guitar on the mic in front of the amp because he’s so fucking loud. There was no danger of the vocal being drowned out by the guitars.

I also remember Fairport doing one of those jigs and reels pieces while Page tried to play it. It was a pretty good attempt and then Richard Thompson took over and played the rest. Page just looked at Richard with this “What planet are you from?” look on his face. [laughs] He just couldn’t imagine how Richard could do what he did, that fast.

My favorite memory though, is Peter Grant. Now, Peter was a thug. Led Zeppelin wanted a thug. They wanted a shark to deal with the sharks. That was the great theory of band management in those days. So, Peter was with them that night. It was late. The band came to the Troubadour after playing the L.A. Forum, a sports arena. Fairport were winding down their last set. The Troubadour was a very relaxed place. Doug Weston, the owner, loved music and was all in favor of spontaneous things happening. But he had to deal with very strict licensing laws. It was a really good evening happening at the Troubadour, but at 2 am, they had to get the booze off the tables, but you could keep playing. So, 10 minutes before 2 am, the waitresses said “Drink up. We have to take your glasses in a few minutes.” At three minutes before 2 am, the waitresses were out there with trays picking up wine, beer and cocktail glasses. Everybody knew this was part of the ritual of the Troubadour. At 2 am, Fairport started playing a ballad called “Banks of Sweet Primroses” with Dave Swarbrick singing. It’s a beautiful song with lots of open space. It just has drums with a little chording from Richard and Simon Nicol, and Dave doing a little riff on the fiddle. It’s very still and silent. And when John Wood and I were listening back to the multitracks, you hear this beautiful first verse, and just at the end of it, you hear this rattle of glasses and the sound of something smashing against wood. Then you hear the voice of Peter Grant yelling “You fucking bitch! Get your hands off my fucking glass!” [laughs] He was sitting right near the front of the stage, so it went right down the vocal mic. He didn’t know the Troubadour routine.

Thanks for sharing such a great interview.  So much detail.  

For those of you who may not have heard how amazing the resulting Fairport House Full live album is, check out these clips.  I am partial to the instrumentals on this album because the guys in Fairport could not really sing, especially compared to Sandy Denny who was with them only a few years.  But my goodness could they all play and this recording is fantastic.

 

 

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The Blueberry Hill show has been my absolute favorite since I first bought the bootleg around 1985. As you all know it's an amazing performance. That being said I could not imagine (after playing that show) going to ANOTHER gig and playing/performing again the same night. I just looked at the tour itinerary and it looks like they had the day off on the 5th (surely needed) before playing a show in Honolulu on the 6th and then playing in Boston three days later on the 9th. 

One thing for sure - Led Zeppelin worked their asses off to give us some of the most amazing concerts in rock and roll history! 

Rock on good people!  

 

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3 hours ago, The Only Way To Fly said:

The Blueberry Hill show has been my absolute favorite since I first bought the bootleg around 1985. As you all know it's an amazing performance. That being said I could not imagine (after playing that show) going to ANOTHER gig and playing/performing again the same night. I just looked at the tour itinerary and it looks like they had the day off on the 5th (surely needed) before playing a show in Honolulu on the 6th and then playing in Boston three days later on the 9th. 

One thing for sure - Led Zeppelin worked their asses off to give us some of the most amazing concerts in rock and roll history! 

Rock on good people!  

 

Don't think Bonzo had much of a rest. According to Dave Pegg, they partied so hard after the Troubadour gig Bonzo missed his first flight to Hawaii.

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Hah, I had to respond,  stopped by looking for some Zep info!

I was the FC roadie/sound guy on that tour, he did miss the flight and 'lost' most of his possessions too as i recall.

Peggy definitely won the drinking contest.

Never forget the phone ringing in wee hours and some guy yelling 'what the fuck have you done with our drummer'.

A pissed off Peter Grant, needless to say we got Bonzo on a plane. :)

 

 

Edited by MightyGlydd
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8 minutes ago, MightyGlydd said:

Hah, I had to respond,  stopped by looking for some Zep info!

I was the FC roadie/sound guy on that tour, he did miss the flight and 'lost' most of his possessions too as i recall.

Peggy definitely won the drinking contest.

Never forget the phone ringing in wee hours and some guy yelling 'what the fuck have you done with our drummer'.

A pissed off Peter Grant, needless to say we got Bonzo on a plane. :)

Welcome. Thanks for sharing. Can't image how cool it was to be there. Do you recall any other songs being played beside the ones listed below, which are from the initial post in this thread?

PARTIAL SETLIST

1. Hey Joe

2. Morning Dew

3. Banks of Sweet Primroses

4. Mystery Train

5. That's Alright Mama

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On 2/18/2020 at 11:49 PM, John M said:

Thanks for sharing such a great interview.  So much detail.  

For those of you who may not have heard how amazing the resulting Fairport House Full live album is, check out these clips.  I am partial to the instrumentals on this album because the guys in Fairport could not really sing, especially compared to Sandy Denny who was with them only a few years.  But my goodness could they all play and this recording is fantastic.

 

 

Tracks are ABSOLUTELY TIMELESS AND BRILLIANT...thanks for posting...

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Full House lovers might want to check out this   https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2015/01/06/fairport-convention-philadelphia-folk-festival-august-29-1970/

The download still scans clean. At the time we had no idea someone recorded it.

It  was a big gig for the lads and they delivered, the interplay between Swarb and  Richard is awesome...

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