Administrators sam_webmaster Posted October 18, 2012 Administrators Share Posted October 18, 2012 The night Led Zeppelin rocked my teenage world As a schoolboy, John Daly saw the iconic band's only Dublin gig It was, without a doubt, one of the luckiest moments of my life when I landed myself in the front row at that legendary Led Zeppelin concert in Dublin on March 6, 1971. As a callow 17-year-old Leaving Cert student marooned at a Jesuit boarding school in the sticks of Kildare, I added my name to a 'cultural outing' on the college notice board without the slightest notion of where it would eventually take me. The chance to exit the restrictions of this boys-only environment for a single night was my primary motive -- I knew little about the 'greatest rock band on the planet' at the time. On being asked to forward the 16 shillings cost of the ticket, all my Mum asked, bless her, was "Will it help with your exams?" I naturally replied in the affirmative. The fact is I had never been to any kind of concert in my life -- it could have been front row at a Daniel O'Donnell gig for all I knew. Led Zeppelin, who had effectively conquered the world by then, were doing their 'Back To The Clubs' tour, and that gig at the National Stadium would be the only Dublin concert they ever played. The band had just recorded their seminal album, Led Zeppelin IV, and opened the tour at Ulster Hall in Belfast the previous night, before arriving in Dublin to debut 'Stairway to Heaven' -- the song frequently listed top of the best rock anthems ever written. Being in that small boxing arena with 2,999 other fans on that famous night turned out to be one of my life's most enduring memories. The media went into overdrive ahead of the concert with banner newspaper headlines proclaiming: 'Ireland Unites Under Zeppelin'. It was the same year that the Republic switched to decimal currency and the Irish Women's Movement took the 'contraceptive train' to Belfast, but also the time when the Troubles in the North became a powder keg as internment was introduced and the British Army began to destroy many cross-border roads as a security precaution. Dublin got very few concerts in those days, and certainly nothing of the stature of these 'rock gods' who had sold out 50,000-seater stadiums in America. I'd never seen so many speakers in my life before, dozens of them towering over the stage with miles of wire snaking off in all directions. The ancient stadium, more accustomed to boxing matches, crackled and throbbed with excitement long before the band even took the stage. Suddenly they were there, a quartet of whirling dervishes cloaked in clouds of dry ice only six feet from our front row seats, racing into the wraparound ear-shattering volume of 'Immigrant Song'. Lead singer Robert Plant, bare-chested and wailing like a banshee, drenched us in sweat with every twirl of his pelvic-length blond locks. Some reviewers suggested his ability to hit high notes was in direct proportion to the tightness of his jeans. No arguments there. "We had a play-list on a piece of toilet paper," Jimmy Page explained after the intro numbers, "but I think it's been used." Playing his twin-necked Gibson guitar with a violin bow during 'Dazed & Confused', he puffed on a dangling cigarette while prancing across the stage clad in an ankle-length leather coat adorned with an SS badge on the collar. The stadium really went ape as the first chords of their global hit, 'Whole Lotta Love', echoed across the rafters. It was the ultimate heavy rock call to arms that had everyone standing on seats, stomping the floor and bouncing in the aisles. Nobody was sitting at that point, and the befuddled security staff, who had long given up attempting to restore order, melted meekly toward the exits. If this was the teenage rebellion, I wanted more. Artist William Mulhall, who designed the tour poster depicting a zeppelin looming through the clouds over the Harland & Wolff shipyard, was invited to watch the concert from the wings. "They were shy lads, really, and asked me to sit on the stage," he recalled. "All of a sudden I was there, on the high altar." The Dublin concert of March 6, 1971, is famous mainly for the showcasing of 'Stairway To Heaven' -- the song that defines them to this day. For the 3,000 rocking souls who were at the National Stadium on that legendary night -- and especially us pimply teens in the front row -- it was the ultimate baptism into rock's highest order. The Led Zeppelin film, Celebration Day, which documents the band's 2007 reunion concert at London's O2 Arena, will premiere in Irish cinemas today. http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/the-night-led-zeppelin-rocked-my-teenage-world-3262124.html -Irish Independent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledded1 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I don't ever remember Jimmy using the bow on his double neck but nice to read some early times memories. I still remember my first live Zep show in 73, still fresh in my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 "We had a play-list on a piece of toilet paper, but I think it's been used," Jimmy Page explained after the intro numbers. Onstage Jimmy didn't speak much if at all during this tour. This 1971 review reports the statement was made by Robert Plant: http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/march-6-1971 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillumpuffer Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Great review and I think we can excuse him for every tiny detail. I mean it was 41 years ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Wow, first-ever gig, and it's Zep opening with Immigrant Song and debuting STH the same night? It doesn't get much better than that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingzoso Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 If I am not mistaken, "Stairway to Heaven" was introduced live for the first time in Belfast, Ireland (Ulster Hall) on March 5, 1971 and not in Dublin, Ireland the very next day, March 6, 1971 as is mentioned in the above post. I was not there so I cannot confirm or deny this but I researched this a little further and according to Dave Lewis and Simon Pallet's "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File" on pages 129-132 it mentions and reviews both these gigs and states that "Stairway to Heaven" was first introduced live to the World in Belfast, Ireland. Also, according to the book, as the final encore at the Dublin show, it states that "Phil Carson of Atlantic records joined the band on bass to perform Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues". Here is a bootleg recording of that Belfast gig featuring the first ever Live performance of "Stairway to Heaven". Enjoy!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magerogue Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Wasn't Black Dog sone for the first time too at this show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingzoso Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 This is the full bootleg concert of the 1971 Belfast, Ireland gig: Maybe not... If not, Sorry! I was trying to give everyone the whole concert from a decent bootleg via YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Wasn't Black Dog sone for the first time too at this show? All the 4th album songs in the setlist had their debut at the March 5, 1971 Belfast: Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, Rock and Roll. Four Sticks would make it's live debut in May 3 in Copenhagen. Misty Mountain Hop entered the set list late in 1972, When the Levee Breaks in 1975, and Battle of Evermore would have to wait until 1977 to make the setlist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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