Scots tape: The story of the only recording of Led Zeppelin’s 1971 Dundee gig

[sam_webmaster]

v

Graham Kennedy smuggled a tape recorder into the Caird Hall after buying the first tickets for Led Zeppelin’s Dundee concert in 1971.

It remains the only recording of the show to surface in 50 years.

by Graeme Strachan | November 12 2021

Graham’s brother, Bruce, took the photos from the front row and the package brings to life a concert Jimmy Page described as “phenomenal” and “fantastic”.

Page even signed Graham’s ticket stub after the concert before taking off with his expensive pen!
The Led Zeppelin concert at the Caird Hall in 1971 was recorded by Graham’s brother, Bruce.

Here was a band at the peak of its powers.

With The Beatles now gone and the Rolling Stones on a break and taking stock, Led Zeppelin were on the cusp of becoming the biggest band in the world.

Dundee was the only Scottish date on the Winter 1971 UK tour to promote fourth album Led Zeppelin IV, which included the eight-minute classic Stairway to Heaven.
 

Graham was among the fans who queued up overnight in the rain a week before the November 13 1971 concert for the £1 tickets, which were first come, first served.

It was so wet and cold that some fans grabbed empty cardboard boxes and started a bonfire.

Graham, 65, who now lives in Suffolk, was fourth in the queue at 5pm on Friday night with his pals, Graham Hendry and Roy Kiddie.

A Courier photographer took a photograph of the queue that appeared in Saturday’s paper below the headline: ‘Waiting in the rain for Zeppelin’s big bang’.

 

 

 

Graham pictured with his umbrella in the queue for Led Zeppelin tickets in Exchange Street in Dundee in 1971.

 

The box office opened at 9am and the boys got tickets with Graham later also managing to get his hands on The Courier photo, which remains a “cherished souvenir”.

Graham said: “A week later we were outside the Caird Hall full of excitement and anticipation at seeing the biggest rock band in the world here in Dundee.

“It was almost a feeling of disbelief that this was about to happen!”

Graham was wearing an RAF greatcoat from his air cadet days but underneath he was also carrying a bag with a borrowed tape recorder inside.

Bouncers at the top of the steps were now checking bags.

Zeppelin manager Peter Grant was known for sometimes taking extraordinary measures to combat the practice of live bootleg recordings at concerts.

Graham said: “I was very nervous and frightened of being refused entry if they found it.

“I was almost past the bouncers when one of them bumped into me.

“He started feeling the bag and I started to apologise to him profusely!”

The bouncer asked Graham: “Is it a transistor?”

He replied: “Yes”.

Graham thought his luck was out but things took a turn.

The bouncer said: “That’s okay, we’re looking for booze – in you go.”

 

Graham said his legs turned to jelly with relief and he walked into the main hall breathing a huge sigh of relief and took his seat in the sixth row.

“Having queued all night in the cold and rain to get a ticket the excitement was electrifying and we knew lots of the fans around about us,” said Graham.

“The mood was building up rapidly before the lights went down at 8.15pm.

“There was no support act.

“A row of bouncers lined up in front of the stage before Led Zeppelin walked on to a massive cheer and a standing ovation from the 2,500 fans.

“I remember standing there being simply amazed.

“Led Zeppelin were rock legends and now here they were in Dundee!”

The show was recorded by another pal, Harry Bennett, who was sitting next to Graham.
Wall of sound

The band kicked off the gig with Immigrant Song.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were churning out face-melting guitar riffs and the fans were blown away by the enormous volume coming from the stage.
Robert Plant on stage during the legendary Dundee 1971 gig.

“It was like a wall of sound hitting you in the chest!” said Graham.

“Oh my God, it was so loud but the audience went crazy.

“Why was Dundee the only Scottish date on the UK tour back in 1971?

 

“Robert Plant spoke to the audience and explained that he had also wanted to play elsewhere in Scotland but all the other halls were fully booked!”

The crowd were hearing songs from the new album for the first time and the bouncers were struggling to contain the excited fans at the front of the stage.

One of those new songs, of course, was Stairway to Heaven, which was played on Page’s custom-made double-necked 12-string and six-string Gibson guitar.

The band then set up three wooden chairs to perform a welcome acoustic section before getting back to heavy rock including the 20-minute Dazed and Confused.

The sound from the band was like a wall of noise.

After the usual beginning of the song, they hit the guitar break.

Page then brought out his violin bow and proceeded to play his guitar with it.

John Bonham’s marathon drum solo on Moby Dick was one of the high spots of the gig before the audience surged towards the front of the stage for the finale.

The crowd went wild when they heard Whole Lotta Love, which included a medley of classic rock songs including Hello Mary Lou and Honey Bee.

“Then it was all over – or so we thought,” said Graham.

“The house lights went on but the crowd wouldn’t move – we all wanted more.

“The bouncers lined the front of the stage to form a barrier before Zeppelin finally returned for the encore after what seemed like an age.

“Robert Plant waved the bouncers off stage before the band played Communication Breakdown, which was another song I’d been shouting for all night!

“Jimmy Page paid a complement to the Dundee crowd about having ‘a great little world of rock appreciation here’ before the house lights went up.”
The band are pictured performing Stairway to Heaven.

The audience still wanted more and the band returned to perform the Eddie Cochran song Weekend before leaving the stage for the final time at 10.45pm.

Graham waited for the band after the gig. Robert Plant and John Bonham were the first to emerge and were swamped by fans wanting autographs.

While Plant and Bonham were submerged in a mass of bodies, Graham spotted Jimmy Page going to his car and went after him before asking for his autograph.

The guitarist agreed – only if he could get in his car first!

The ticket that was autographed by Jimmy Page after the concert.

“I did and he opened the window about an inch and I passed in my ticket and my expensive Parker pen to him,” said Graham.

“He signed my ticket then kept using my pen to sign others.

“There was now a surge of fans around his car so he drove off to the Angus Hotel.

“He took my pen with him!

“I wrote to the band’s management after the concert, asking for my pen back, and got a letter explaining that Jimmy Page had no recollection of the incident.

“But to compensate my loss they sent me a copy of the limited edition poster for the band’s now-famous five-hour Wembley show on November 20 1971.

“I’ve still got it and they can go up for auction for £1,000.

“You can buy a lot of Parker pens for that money but I’m not selling it!

“I still have my autographed ticket, which is in a frame on the wall of my study.

“The Led Zeppelin concert of 1971 is still the best concert that I have ever attended.”
The poster Graham was sent by the band to replace his pen which went missing after Jimmy Page signed his ticket.

The rock superstars were gone from the Caird Hall.

Graham was in the audience when they returned on January 27 1973 but venues such as the Caird Hall would soon be a thing of the past for Led Zeppelin.

The stadium era now beckoned.  But the city was fortunate to host them twice.

In 2017 Robert Plant performed a concert at Perth. He fondly recalled the concert in Dundee all those years ago.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/past-times/2729202/led-zeppelin-dundee/

 

https://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/november-13-1971

 

 

 

[ADK-Zeppy]

Thanks. ever so much for posting this reminisce of that Zeppelin concert.  The fact that the band became such a hugh world phenomenon, only serves make your story and pictures all that more of an important Rock music document detailing one evening out of the band's 10 year run and and your memory of it.

 

ADK-Zeppy

[SteveZ98]

That was an excellent read. What a night that must have been, seeing Zep in their prime in such a small venue.

[reids]

Thanks for sharing 

😎👍🎶

R😎

[rm2551]

Great read. This really conveys the excitement of being a kid seeing the impossibly good Zep in the era when it was possible to wait after the show and chase an autograph!

Thanks!

[chillumpuffer]

3 hours ago, SteveZ98 said:

That was an excellent read. What a night that must have been, seeing Zep in their prime in such a small venue.

2500 people was about right for nearly all (larger) UK venues in the 60's and 70's. I think only Wembley Empire Pool, Ally Pally and Earls Court could hold more but the sound often suffered in these venues. 

[1975NQ]

Thanks for posting, this is great. "go on in, we're just looking for booze" .. atta boy! 

[SteveAJones]

Phenomenal feature.

[JohnOsbourne]

Great story.  Funny how Page ripped the dude's pen.

[mickey g]

Good job, man ! 

 

Me & a buddy did an all nighter at Nassau Coliseum for the 1972 shows. Didn't get any of the cool swag you got, but we did score pretty decent seats !

[JohnOsbourne]

Killer version of Immigrant Song, BTW.  Bonham is just a motherfucker on the drums.

[BobDobbs]

3 hours ago, JohnOsbourne said:

Great story.  Funny how Page ripped the dude's pen.

Knowing how tight Page is, probably is still using that pen today.

[hummingbird69]

AWESOME!!!

[zeplz71]

On 11/12/2021 at 7:01 AM, sam_webmaster said:

v

Graham Kennedy smuggled a tape recorder into the Caird Hall after buying the first tickets for Led Zeppelin’s Dundee concert in 1971.

It remains the only recording of the show to surface in 50 years.

by Graeme Strachan | November 12 2021

Graham’s brother, Bruce, took the photos from the front row and the package brings to life a concert Jimmy Page described as “phenomenal” and “fantastic”.

Page even signed Graham’s ticket stub after the concert before taking off with his expensive pen!
The Led Zeppelin concert at the Caird Hall in 1971 was recorded by Graham’s brother, Bruce.

Here was a band at the peak of its powers.

With The Beatles now gone and the Rolling Stones on a break and taking stock, Led Zeppelin were on the cusp of becoming the biggest band in the world.

Dundee was the only Scottish date on the Winter 1971 UK tour to promote fourth album Led Zeppelin IV, which included the eight-minute classic Stairway to Heaven.
 

Graham was among the fans who queued up overnight in the rain a week before the November 13 1971 concert for the £1 tickets, which were first come, first served.

It was so wet and cold that some fans grabbed empty cardboard boxes and started a bonfire.

Graham, 65, who now lives in Suffolk, was fourth in the queue at 5pm on Friday night with his pals, Graham Hendry and Roy Kiddie.

A Courier photographer took a photograph of the queue that appeared in Saturday’s paper below the headline: ‘Waiting in the rain for Zeppelin’s big bang’.

 

 

 

Graham pictured with his umbrella in the queue for Led Zeppelin tickets in Exchange Street in Dundee in 1971.

 

The box office opened at 9am and the boys got tickets with Graham later also managing to get his hands on The Courier photo, which remains a “cherished souvenir”.

Graham said: “A week later we were outside the Caird Hall full of excitement and anticipation at seeing the biggest rock band in the world here in Dundee.

“It was almost a feeling of disbelief that this was about to happen!”

Graham was wearing an RAF greatcoat from his air cadet days but underneath he was also carrying a bag with a borrowed tape recorder inside.

Bouncers at the top of the steps were now checking bags.

Zeppelin manager Peter Grant was known for sometimes taking extraordinary measures to combat the practice of live bootleg recordings at concerts.

Graham said: “I was very nervous and frightened of being refused entry if they found it.

“I was almost past the bouncers when one of them bumped into me.

“He started feeling the bag and I started to apologise to him profusely!”

The bouncer asked Graham: “Is it a transistor?”

He replied: “Yes”.

Graham thought his luck was out but things took a turn.

The bouncer said: “That’s okay, we’re looking for booze – in you go.”

 

Graham said his legs turned to jelly with relief and he walked into the main hall breathing a huge sigh of relief and took his seat in the sixth row.

“Having queued all night in the cold and rain to get a ticket the excitement was electrifying and we knew lots of the fans around about us,” said Graham.

“The mood was building up rapidly before the lights went down at 8.15pm.

“There was no support act.

“A row of bouncers lined up in front of the stage before Led Zeppelin walked on to a massive cheer and a standing ovation from the 2,500 fans.

“I remember standing there being simply amazed.

“Led Zeppelin were rock legends and now here they were in Dundee!”

The show was recorded by another pal, Harry Bennett, who was sitting next to Graham.
Wall of sound

The band kicked off the gig with Immigrant Song.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were churning out face-melting guitar riffs and the fans were blown away by the enormous volume coming from the stage.
Robert Plant on stage during the legendary Dundee 1971 gig.

“It was like a wall of sound hitting you in the chest!” said Graham.

“Oh my God, it was so loud but the audience went crazy.

“Why was Dundee the only Scottish date on the UK tour back in 1971?

 

“Robert Plant spoke to the audience and explained that he had also wanted to play elsewhere in Scotland but all the other halls were fully booked!”

The crowd were hearing songs from the new album for the first time and the bouncers were struggling to contain the excited fans at the front of the stage.

One of those new songs, of course, was Stairway to Heaven, which was played on Page’s custom-made double-necked 12-string and six-string Gibson guitar.

The band then set up three wooden chairs to perform a welcome acoustic section before getting back to heavy rock including the 20-minute Dazed and Confused.

The sound from the band was like a wall of noise.

After the usual beginning of the song, they hit the guitar break.

Page then brought out his violin bow and proceeded to play his guitar with it.

John Bonham’s marathon drum solo on Moby Dick was one of the high spots of the gig before the audience surged towards the front of the stage for the finale.

The crowd went wild when they heard Whole Lotta Love, which included a medley of classic rock songs including Hello Mary Lou and Honey Bee.

“Then it was all over – or so we thought,” said Graham.

“The house lights went on but the crowd wouldn’t move – we all wanted more.

“The bouncers lined the front of the stage to form a barrier before Zeppelin finally returned for the encore after what seemed like an age.

“Robert Plant waved the bouncers off stage before the band played Communication Breakdown, which was another song I’d been shouting for all night!

“Jimmy Page paid a complement to the Dundee crowd about having ‘a great little world of rock appreciation here’ before the house lights went up.”
The band are pictured performing Stairway to Heaven.

The audience still wanted more and the band returned to perform the Eddie Cochran song Weekend before leaving the stage for the final time at 10.45pm.

Graham waited for the band after the gig. Robert Plant and John Bonham were the first to emerge and were swamped by fans wanting autographs.

While Plant and Bonham were submerged in a mass of bodies, Graham spotted Jimmy Page going to his car and went after him before asking for his autograph.

The guitarist agreed – only if he could get in his car first!

The ticket that was autographed by Jimmy Page after the concert.

“I did and he opened the window about an inch and I passed in my ticket and my expensive Parker pen to him,” said Graham.

“He signed my ticket then kept using my pen to sign others.

“There was now a surge of fans around his car so he drove off to the Angus Hotel.

“He took my pen with him!

“I wrote to the band’s management after the concert, asking for my pen back, and got a letter explaining that Jimmy Page had no recollection of the incident.

“But to compensate my loss they sent me a copy of the limited edition poster for the band’s now-famous five-hour Wembley show on November 20 1971.

“I’ve still got it and they can go up for auction for £1,000.

“You can buy a lot of Parker pens for that money but I’m not selling it!

“I still have my autographed ticket, which is in a frame on the wall of my study.

“The Led Zeppelin concert of 1971 is still the best concert that I have ever attended.”
The poster Graham was sent by the band to replace his pen which went missing after Jimmy Page signed his ticket.

The rock superstars were gone from the Caird Hall.

Graham was in the audience when they returned on January 27 1973 but venues such as the Caird Hall would soon be a thing of the past for Led Zeppelin.

The stadium era now beckoned.  But the city was fortunate to host them twice.

In 2017 Robert Plant performed a concert at Perth. He fondly recalled the concert in Dundee all those years ago.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/past-times/2729202/led-zeppelin-dundee/

 

https://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/november-13-1971

 

 

 

This is great!

[SuperDave]

That was awesome and an amazing recollection of a historic Zeppelin show in their prime.

[Mikelangelo]

Thanks for this!!! I´m still very fond of everything that Led Zeppelin did in 1971. Not to say that other years didn´t matter, but 1971 was somewhat special!!!