Elizabeth Grisham Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 My name is Elizabeth Grisham. I am a graduate student majoring in history at George Mason University. I am currently working on my Master's thesis. My topic is the Led Zeppelin concert riot of June 3, 1977. I came to this site to try to connect with people who were at that concert and the riot that ensued. If any members of this site would be willing to share information about that riot with me, I would be most grateful. I would be especially grateful if those of you who were at that concert would be willing to allow me to interview you. You can reach me at: egrisham@masonlive.gmu.edu. Please put "Led Zeppelin riot" in the subject of your message. Thank you for your time. I hope to hear from you and hear your stories. Elizabeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 You need to contact missytootsweet, Elizabeth...she was there at the Tampa show. Do a search of the members and send her a pm. I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to you. Forgive my nosiness, but I am curious as to what kind of Master's Thesis this is that a Led Zeppelin concert riot makes a suitable topic? Why a Zeppelin concert specifically...or, to be even more specific, why the Tampa 77 riot and not, say, the Milan 71 riot? Just wondering, and if you'd rather not give your answers in public, feel free to pm me. All correspondence will be treated with strict confidence. I wish you luck on your Thesis. If you ever decide to do one on any of the LA concerts circa 1972-1977, I'm your guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Super Rock (October 1977) (USA) Scans courtesy Steve A. Jones Archive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Rolling Stone (June 2, 1977) (USA) New York Daily News (June 4, 1977) (New York, NY USA) Dallas Morning News (June 5, 1977) (Dallas, TX USA) Rolling Stone (July 14, 1977) (USA) Scans courtesy Steve A. Jones Archive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 The police move in to quell the rioting at Led Zeppelin's Tampa Stadium concert on June 3, 1977 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin performing at Tampa Stadium on June 3rd 1977 Hey Hey, What Can I Do, They're Gonna Riot When They Tell 'Em We're Through Edited September 18, 2011 by SteveAJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) 20 Arrested at Concert Riot Naples, FL Daily News June 5, 1977 Tampa, Fla. (UPI) A heavy thunderstorm cut short a Led Zeppelin rock concert Friday night, triggering a riot by thousands of fans at Tampa Stadium that left scores of police officers and fans injured. At least 20 persons were arrested. Chanting "We want Zeppelin, we want Zeppelin," the young fans began throwing rocks and bottles at police who had formed a human barrier in front of the stage. The youths then stormed the stage. Some of the fans had stood in line since dawn Friday. "We had what had to be called a small riot. There were between 3,000 and 4,000 people who were unruly and disorderly," Tampa Police spokesman Johnny Barker said. "They did some damage to electronic equipment and we did have some injuries." About 250 officers, all in riot gear, used billy clubs to herd the crowd toward the exits. Barker said no weapons were fired. At least 20 persons were arrested and booked on charges ranging from trespassing to aggravated battery. Six police officers were injured, one requiring hospitalization for a head injury. Dozens of concert-goers suffered fractured limbs and cuts and bruises. Although accurate totals were not available since some persons were still being treated, one police official said he thought the number of injured was about 100. Barker said the band had played for 20 minutes for a crowd of about 70,000 when the storm lashed the stadium and everyone ran for cover. "After the rain subsided 30 to 40 minutes later, a spokesman for Zeppelin decided not to continue and rescheduled the concert for Saturday night," he said. Early Saturday, the concert was cancelled outright. "A joint statement was made after meetings between the concert promoters, the police and the stadium managers not to hold the concert Saturday," Barker said. He said refunds would be issued. Tampa Puts Ban on Led Zeppelin The News Tribune Fort Pierce, FL 6-8-1977 Tampa, Fla. (UPI) - Police will not provide security for any future appearance of the Led Zeppelin here, a move which in effect blocks the British rock group from performing here. Mayor William Poe announced the decision to withdraw police security from any appearance by the group Monday after reviewing conditions that led to a riot Friday night at Tampa Stadium when the group stopped its concert because of heavy rain. Poe met with police olficials and members of the Tampa Sports Authority to analyze the riot and the decision to withdraw police security cast a shadow over future rock concerts by other groups. The $10 tickets had billed the concert as "rain or shine" and when word was announced the show was canceled the crowd surged toward a wooden barricade around the stage and began clashing with police. About a dozen police officers and more than 40 fans were injured. Sixteen persons were arrested on charges of aggravated assault, battery or attacks on police officers, and another 17 were arrested on drug-related charges. "Led Zeppelin will not perform in Tampa again," Poe said Hornby. "There will be no future or re-scheduled concerts by that group. We have to protect the health and welfare of the police officers as well as the citizens of Tampa." Police chief Charles Otero said he intends to review his department's policy of providing security at rock music concerts, and hinted he may halt the practice. Such a ban of Ihe use of police officers would virtually eliminate concerts within the city. At Least 100 Injured At Led Zeppelin Concert The Galveston (TX) Daily News 6-5-1977 City officials, reeling from mini-roit wnich erupted when a thunderstorm washed out a Led Zeppelin concert, canceled a raincheck rerun Saturday, leaving fans from as far as Michigan and New York holding "rain or shine" ticket stubs. "If I were in Buffalo, I'd go home right now," said Donnie Strickland. The 19- year-old youth and three companions had driven 24 hours to get to Florida for the concert. Strickland said they were the first ones in the stadium when the doors opened at 11:30 a.m. Friday for the 8:30 p.m. concert. After spending the day in 90- degree weather on the sunbaked football field, they settled down for the concert. The British band played for 20 minutes before the thunderstorm hit. About 45 minutes later the concert was called off. The cry "We want Zeppelin, We want Zeppelin" came from the 70,000 fans as rocks and bottles began flying onto the stage. "We had what had to be called a small riot. There were between 3,000 and 4,000 people who were unruly and disorderly," Tampa Police spokesman Johnny Barker said. About 250 police officers, all in riot gear and using billy clubs, broke up the rioting and herded the fans out of the stadium. The scene was followed by 26 reported traffic accidents near the grounds. "The cops didn't give any warning," one teen-aged girl said. "They just waded in. I ended up at the bottom of the crowd and a cop kicked me in the head. My brother got a broken leg and broken ribs." The melee left an estimated 100 fans with injuries. Eight were arrested. Shift Commander Lt. Tom Wilson said "in the neighborhood" of a dozen officers were treated for injuries. "One had a concussion, there was one with a broken hand, one with a broken ankle, one with cut lips and some teeth knocked out, one with a dislocated shoulder..." "There were so many people you just couldn't move," a 32year-old man from West Palm Beach said. "I was just trying to get away. The ticket said rain or shine." "Persons holding ticket stubs can get refunds, but we are encouraging them to mail in their refund requests," Barker said. --------------------- Articles courtesy of Cat Edited September 18, 2011 by SteveAJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Tampa '77 eyewitness accounts, managers Peter Grant's recollections and lively debate on the topic: http://forums.ledzeppelin.com/index.php?/topic/10478-tampa-fl-6377/page__p__350168__hl__%2Bstone+%2Bthe+%2Bcrows__fromsearch__1#entry350168 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) "I didn't see them often and one of my mates was so shocked. He said, how many Zeppelin concerts did you actually go to? I went to Tampa Stadium which was then rained out, so I only got to see the first three songs. I went and saw a show in '77 at Madison Square Garden. I saw the show in Earls Court in '75, I saw the show in Knebworth. I don't actually remember seeing the show in '72 in Birmingham ... I've got friends of mine who saw them more times in one tour than that". -- Jason Bonham Edited September 18, 2011 by SteveAJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) No Led Zeppelin content but pertinent to the topic Edited September 18, 2011 by SteveAJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth Grisham Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) This reply is in reference to the message posted by Strider. The thesis class I am taking has the broad theme of "Riots in History." Each of the members of my class has to select a riot to study and write a thesis about that event. I happened to find some information about this June 3, 1977 event and decided to use this as my topic. I agree that it's not a typical topic, but at least it's anything but boring. Regarding your question about why I chose this over the Milan event, I'm majoring in Pre-Doctoral American history, so I had to keep my topic on American shores. Elizabeth Edited September 18, 2011 by Elizabeth Grisham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 This reply is in reference to the message posted by Strider. The thesis class I am taking has the broad theme of "Riots in History." Each of the members of my class has to select a riot to study and write a thesis about that event. I happened to find some information about this June 3, 1977 event and decided to use this as my topic. I agree that it's not a typical topic, but at least it's anything but boring. Regarding your question about why I chose this over the Milan event, I'm majoring in Pre-Doctoral American history, so I had to keep my topic on American shores. Elizabeth I can think of at least a half-dozen riots on American soil since '67 more interesting, more violent, and far more culturally significant than Tampa Stadium '77 but it's your thesis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 A forum member by the name of Type O also went to that show, he may be able to give a first hand take on what he experienced that day as well. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth Grisham Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) Thank you, SteveAJones for the information you posted. Thanks also to Walter. I will contact Type O. Edited September 18, 2011 by Elizabeth Grisham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reezon Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I can think of at least a half-dozen riots on American soil since '67 more interesting, more violent, and far more culturally significant than Tampa Stadium '77 but it's your thesis. Me too, The 67 riot in Detroit is one of if not the worst in the U.S. in the last 100 years or more. Some believe as i do that this riot caused the down fall of Detroit proper, and it has never recovered. The U.S. Govt. has given way more aid to just about every other tragedy in the world, and Detroit got Shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Me too, The 67 riot in Detroit is one of if not the worst in the U.S. in the last 100 years or more. Some believe as i do that this riot caused the down fall of Detroit proper, and it has never recovered. The U.S. Govt. has given way more aid to just about every other tragedy in the world, and Detroit got Shit. Not to hijack the thread, but I do find the cause and effects of the Detroit '67 riot to be the most interesting. I wouldn't say it alone caused the downfall of Detroit, but it certainly accelerated the exodus of middle class whites. Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in Chicago (1979) as well as The Who at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnatti (1979) bear some similarities to what happened in Tampa in '77 with regard to unruly crowd behavior. It will be interesting to see how this thesis develops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rover Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 BASEBALL and The World Series has rain delays..... why not a Led Zeppelin concert ? ? ? Nobody thought it out in advance..... What if ??? We get a thunderstorm moving through ? ? ? Now, there's no ticket riots, as it can all be done on line. Bad Luck about the Rain, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 BASEBALL and The World Series has rain delays..... why not a Led Zeppelin concert ? ? ? Nobody thought it out in advance..... What if ??? We get a thunderstorm moving through ? ? ? Now, there's no ticket riots, as it can all be done on line. Bad Luck about the Rain, though. That's arguably comparing apples to oranges as there is minimal risk of electrocution on the baseball diamond. Clearly permitting "rain or shine" to appear on the tickets was a mistake caught too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rover Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 That's arguably comparing apples to oranges as there is minimal risk of electrocution on the baseball diamond. Clearly permitting "rain or shine" to appear on the tickets was a mistake caught too late. I wish the band could have used remote connections onstage, instead of hard wired connections, for that outdoor show. That said, didn't Pink Floyd perform in the rain at Knebworth ? And there was a lot of rain at Woodstock, but that didn't cause the show to be cancelled. Anyway, I'm glad the boys made it out safely, even some of those left behind didn't fare so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TypeO Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I wish the band could have used remote connections onstage, instead of hard wired connections, for that outdoor show. That said, didn't Pink Floyd perform in the rain at Knebworth ? And there was a lot of rain at Woodstock, but that didn't cause the show to be cancelled. Anyway, I'm glad the boys made it out safely, even some of those left behind didn't fare so well. This was a lot more than rain. It was one of those massive Florida thunderstorms that move in fast almost daily. I remember it was a hard line of blackish-gray clouds moving across the sky of the stadium. It was the lightning that was such a risk. But the rain was pretty intense, as well. It was coming down in buckets, as anyone who has lived in Florida can relate to. And it was my first real concert, as well. (You know, besides seeing Boots Randolph playing Yakkety Sax when I was about 11 with my Dad, or KC and the Sunshine Band playing at Disney's Back To School Bash) Very disappointing. But it was 3 more songs than many people ever got to see LZ play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth Grisham Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 I am writing today to thank all who responded to my post requesting information about the June 3, 1977 LZ concert in Tampa. I would be grateful if those of you who wrote that you were at that concert would return your interview answers soon. I am getting to the point in my project where I need to start writing. I would be most grateful to have your input. If you were at the June 3, 1977 concert and would like to get my list of questions so that you can participate, please send me an e-mail or a private message. I will gladly send them to you. Please also feel free to tell others outside of this forum about my project. I will be happy to hear from anyone who was at the concert that night. Also, please note that if some of you are wary of answering some of the questions, you are free to simply answer the ones that you feel comfortable answering. I will absolutely honor requests to keep certain information off-the-record. Thank you so much for your help. I look forward to hearing from you. Elizabeth Grisham egrisham@masonlive.gmu.edu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStairwayRemainsTheSame Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 (edited) Edited October 22, 2011 by TheStairwayRemainsTheSame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStairwayRemainsTheSame Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStairwayRemainsTheSame Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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