Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones

[ally]

NY Village Theatre - Nov.3, 1967 used ticket stub

[ click thumbnail to enlarge ]

Thanks Sam

As I indicated in my pm to you, I know people who saw the Yardbirds in Vancouver and some have said they saw them at the Kerrisdale Arena and others have said the Gardens. Your stubb from Nov 10 proves them both right !

My guess is that the July 7/8 , July 31 and Aug 1 dates where all tentatively booked for the summer tour and July 31 was the one that fit their schedule. Neither the Kerridale Arena nor the Gardens had any in house residents at that time of year so booking tentative would not have been an issue.

Seeing as the lists I've been referring to are clearly inaccurate I will turf them ASAP

[bigstickbonzo]

I've been playing Midnight Moonlight the past few days and was curious, when was the last time Page played it? I like how we adds a few licks from White Summer during the middle but I haven't seen any clips or audio of him doing it after 1985.

[swandown]

I've been playing Midnight Moonlight the past few days and was curious, when was the last time Page played it?

It was a staple of the Outrider tour in 1988. John Miles proved that he was more of a Paul Rodgers clone than he ever was a Robert Plant clone.

[SteveAJones]

I've been playing Midnight Moonlight the past few days and was curious, when was the last time Page played it? I like how we adds a few licks from White Summer during the middle but I haven't seen any clips or audio of him doing it after 1985.

It was performed throughout his 1988 solo tour, as swandon posted, and played for the final time at the last gig of the tour, the Apollo in Manchester on November 26, 1988.

Jimmy performed 'Midnight Moonlight' for the last time with The Firm at the Seattle Center Coliseum on May 28, 1986, thier final concert. It had been performed throughout their 1984-85 & 1986 tours.

Edited February 12, 2010 by SteveAJones

[SteveAJones]

Led Zeppelin & Roy Orbison

by Roy Orbison Jr.

I Love Led Zeppelin! I Just Love 'em!

It would be easy to write a whole article on why & how, but I'll keep this limited to parts of their story relating to my father, Roy Orbison.

At first glance, there would seem to be few connections between the music of Led Zeppelin and the music of Roy Orbison. It will be fun for me to point some out.

My Father was one of the "Four Horseman of the Apocalypse" of Rock & Roll. Under the guidance of Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis,Tennessee – Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis set the world on fire with Rock & Roll in the 1950's.

Jimmy Page has said that the reason he wanted to play guitar was the Elvis song "Baby, Let's Play House" and that he learned all the Sun Records stuff note for note. Jimmy is a smart man and an avid fan of music, so it is likely that his first introduction to Roy Orbison was the song "Ooby Dooby". It is a fast song with Roy taking two guitar solos. ( In the Rock & Roll years, Orbison was known more for ferocious guitar picking than his voice and songwriting. Along with Scotty Moore and Carl Perkins, he was noted by Sam Phillips as the best guitar player at Sun. )

Another of Roy's Sun Record singles, the first self-written song he recorded , "Go! Go! Go!" (also known as "Down the Line") , would occasionally turn up in Led Zeppelin's live show as part of the medley in "Whole Lotta Love". ( One recorded example was the 1970 January 9^th show at London's Royal Albert Hall. )

Robert Plant's introduction to Orbison's music is described by him in the Life of Roy Orbison documentary "In Dreams" - " Roy first came into my life when I was twelve years old. Only the Lonely (1960) was his first big, big hit in England. I bought that record . . . I used to do a paper route . . . delivering morning newspapers, and I was already developing a love for black American music. New Orleans , Chicago music. But this one voice, along with Presley, offered me some kind of clue as to what was coming up in my adolescence." -

In a 1972 Led Zeppelin concert in Seattle, Washington, "Only the Lonely" would be used as part of Robert's "improvised" lyrics during the "Whole Lotta Love" medley. A subconscious reference can be heard in Robert's song lyrics -

"Had a friend she once told me,

You got love, you ain't lonely,

Now she's gone left me only,

Looking for what I knew."

The Yardbirds (featuring Jimmy Page on guitar) were the opening act on the Australian leg of a Roy Orbison's 1967 Tour. The new manager for the Yardbirds was Peter Grant. The shows were the first gigs he booked for them. These were the first audiences to see Jimmy's technique of bowing his guitar like a violin. So Roy was one of the first people to see what would become one of Page's trademarks. Jimmy and Roy became good friends on this tour.

There is still a story Jimmy has tried to tell me about a guitar, but we've never had time for him to finish. Dad's stage guitar was a black Gibson Les Paul Custom. It is still heavily associated with him. Black hair, Black sunglasses, Black Gibson Les Paul Custom. He later switched to a black Gibson ES-335, but during this period and until 1972, (as can be seen in the video "Roy Orbison – Live In Australia" 1972) the Custom was an "Orbison thing". With Led Zeppelin, Jimmy is famous for the Les Paul Standard. (it looks about the same as the L.P. Custom, but sounds different.) During this Yardbirds-Orbison tour his guitar was the same as my father's guitar of choice – a black Gibson L.P. Custom. Jimmy's guitar was lost or stolen on this tour and I think the story he has tried to tell me involves my Dad helping him somehow. (But I'm not sure about this. I think also remember my Dad telling me Jimmy would meet him at the airport like a fan when he flew into London and that Dad would bring him strings and guitar parts. But I haven't confirmed that either.)

7,000 people attended the opening performance of Roy's Australian Tour in Sydney, where in the middle of January it is summer. The temperature soared close to 100 degrees f. The paper says many girls were carted off to the hospitals. ( I assume that was because of the heat, but many girls still fainted romantically at Roy Orbison's shows. )

The show was relayed by radio and reached people a thousand miles away. It was a big event for Australia at that time.

It was opened by a local band. Next up were the Yardbirds. They did their most popular hits, including "Shapes of Things" and "I'm a Man". There was an interval, followed by the Walker Brothers. Then Roy came on and did "Only the Lonely". The kids went wild with screaming, but were quiet during the next song and every other song so that they could hear it all.

The tour dates were as follows:

Saturday, Jan. 21 - Sydney Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Sunday, Jan. 22 – Sydney Television Show ?

Monday, Jan. 23 – Sydney Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Tuesday, Jan. 24 – Adelaide Centennial Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Wednesday, Jan. 25 – Adelaide Centennial Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

(After the Adelaide 8:45 Show, they leave for Melbourne immediately, arriving at close to 1 am.)

Thursday, Jan. 26 – Melbourne Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Friday, Jan. 27 – Melbourne Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45 pm)

Saturday, Jan 28 - Brisbane Festival Hall (6:00 & 8:45)

Monday, Jan 30 - Christchurch , New Zealand Theatre Royal

Tuesday, Jan. 31 – Wellington, New Zealand Town Hall

Wednesday, Feb. 1 - Hamilton , New Zealand Founders Theatre

Thursday, Feb. 2 – Auckland , New Zealand Town Hall

Friday, Feb. 3 – Orbison flies to New York

In those days it was common for acts to do 2 shows a night. Roy Orbison would tour like this 200+ days a year for the rest of his life.

Jimmy Page, in the 1990's, when asked by a guitar magazine interviewer the question - How has the music business changed over the years? – answered with several lines about Roy Orbison. Saying success was easier now then in the old days when " they worked poor Roy Orbison to death."

I haven't read the article in a long time. It made me cry. Still does. But it was amazing to me that he cared enough to lash out at the system in those words. For a Road Warrior like Jimmy Page to single my Dad out as an example of someone who worked themselves to death "on the road" seems quite an honor.

The Orbison set concluded with his latest single "Communication Breakdown" and then everybody's favorite . . . "Oh Pretty Woman"!

Although the songs are quite different, I have wondered about Zeppelins "Communication Breakdown" since I was 12 years old. My Dad wrote hundreds of songs. Of course many of the titles are general enough to have been used by others. So I thought it was just a funny coincidence. Until recently when I realized Jimmy saw this song performed over and over again, twice a night every night, only a year before using it as a title on Led Zeppelin 1. The drummer from the tour confirmed he heard Jimmy ask Dad permission to use the song title. In any case, Mr. Page certainly must have liked the title!

The title for Roy's song held the obvious meaning : a couple having problems communicating. 99 out of a hundred Zep fans hear the title with that meaning. But I believe the title for Zeppelin's song was probably a humorous reference, Breakdown being a play on titles like Flat & Scruggs song "Foggy Mountain Breakdown", where the word breakdown means "song". ( like Lemon Song, Rain Song, and the word Stomp elsewhere )

I have also always wondered about Beck's Bolero. ( which Jimmy played on and came up with) It sounds very little like Ravelle's "Bolero", and very much like Orbison's "Running Scared". I can hear this rhythmic influence in the "triplet" sections of many Zeppelin songs. (How Many More Times & Achilles Last Stand come to mind instantly, but there are more examples) If you can hear the connection I am making, you probably think this is a timeless musical rhythm. It is. But it is my father's variation of the rhythm that popularized it. Listen to "Running Scared" again. You will hear a song Jimmy absorbed thoroughly.

In 1985 Robert Plant and Roy Orbison crossed paths at Elvis' home Graceland. They were doing a photo shoot for LIFE MAGAZINE and spent a couple of days togetehr in Memphis. They got along great, exchanging home telephone 's wanting to stay in touch. Dad reported back to me that Robert was a very nice guy. He even humbled himself to ask for one of the only autographs he ever asked for. He knew how much it would mean to me and gave it to me as a present.

I know Roy really liked Jimmy Page too. He was pretty critical about most music, but always spoke well of Jimmy.

One of my fondest memories is of when I was 13 years old and had just started to love Led Zeppelin. I cranked the volume up really loud in my room. I mean really loud! It was the guitar bow part of one of the songs. I was trying to be rebellious and piss my Dad off.

He walks in and motions for me to turn it down. When I do, instead of being mad at me, he says "Is Jimmy Page in that band?" He had never heard Led Zeppelin before. I could not figure out how he knew that! It took me until last year to fully understand :

You cannot rebel against Roy Orbison with music.

Roy Orbison Jr. and Jimmy Page

Image courtesy of http://www.myspace.com/royorbisonjr

Edited February 12, 2010 by SteveAJones

[swandown]

Although the songs are quite different, I have wondered about Zeppelins "Communication Breakdown" since I was 12 years old. My Dad wrote hundreds of songs. Of course many of the titles are general enough to have been used by others. So I thought it was just a funny coincidence. Until recently when I realized Jimmy saw this song performed over and over again, twice a night every night, only a year before using it as a title on Led Zeppelin 1. The drummer from the tour confirmed he heard Jimmy ask Dad permission to use the song title.

I have heard this claim before and I think it is dubious at best. Permission is not needed to re-use a song title, and there's no precedent for Jimmy (being a savvy copyright expert) ever asking permission for such things before. Plus, Robert was probably the one who came up with the song's title in the first place.

[mstork]

I have heard this claim before and I think it is dubious at best. Permission is not needed to re-use a song title, and there's no precedent for Jimmy (being a savvy copyright expert) ever asking permission for such things before. Plus, Robert was probably the one who came up with the song's title in the first place.

I don't find it that outrageous. I don't think he's inferring that Jimmy asked in order to cover himself legally. If Jimmy really liked and respected Roy, and I'm sure he did, I don't find it hard to believe that he'd offer him a "heads up" on this kind of thing...

[SteveAJones]

I don't find it that outrageous. I don't think he's inferring that Jimmy asked in order to cover himself legally. If Jimmy really liked and respected Roy, and I'm sure he did, I don't find it hard to believe that he'd offer him a "heads up" on this kind of thing...

Well, he liked and respected Jeff Beck yet never told him he was also going to be releasing You Shook Me in 1968. I don't know, the Communication Breakdown anecdote just doesn't add up for me: "Roy, would you mind if I record a

song someday using that same title with a group that doesn't even exist yet"?

It's hardly a remarkable song title in and of itself. If Orbison's drummer overheard anything, I'd imagine it was simply Jimmy remarking that he liked the song. I think it's purely coincidental Led Zeppelin recorded a song by the same title nearly two years later, but that's just my opinion.

[mstork]

Well, he liked and respected Jeff Beck yet never told him he was also going to be releasing You Shook Me in 1968. I don't know, the Communication Breakdown anecdote just doesn't add up for me: "Roy, would you mind if I record a

song someday using that same title with a group that doesn't even exist yet"?

It's hardly a remarkable song title in and of itself. If Orbison's drummer overheard anything, I'd imagine it was simply Jimmy remarking that he liked the song. I think it's purely coincidental Led Zeppelin recorded a song by the same title nearly two years later, but that's just my opinion.

"You Shook Me" wasn't Beck's title or song, it was Willie Dixon's. Plus Beck was Jimmy's buddy and peer, Orbison was one of Jimmy's heroes. Different dynamic, no?

[SteveAJones]

"You Shook Me" wasn't Beck's title or song, it was Willie Dixon's. Plus Beck was Jimmy's buddy and peer, Orbison was one of Jimmy's heroes. Different dynamic, no?

If you can buy when Jimmy Page heard this song in 1967 he asked Roy if he could use the title in the future then mister your a better man than I:

[GeorgeC]

Interviewed for an essay in the 1990 LZ box set, Robert Plant talks about the lyrical inspiration for "Kashmir" coming to him while traveling in Morocco. However, most accounts of the band's Moroccan adventures center on Page and Plant's journey to that country in June of 1975, several months after Physical Graffiti was released.

Are there contemporary references (interviews, articles, etc.) to RP's Morocco visit in 1973 or '74 that would corroborate his story of "Driving to Kashmir" while motoring between Tan-Tan and Guelemine? I suspect there might be some sort of quote found in MM, NME, Sounds, or a similar publication, but I haven't been able to dig anything up. Anyone else?

[SteveAJones]

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

..."it's just your nineteenth nervous breakdown..." (1965)

...Jimmy toured with The Rolling Stones in Autumn '66...

..."having a nervous breakdown, drive me insane"... (1968)

I find this as coincidental as the Orbison Communication Breakdown connection.

Edited February 12, 2010 by SteveAJones

[SteveAJones]

Interviewed for an essay in the 1990 LZ box set, Robert Plant talks about the lyrical inspiration for "Kashmir" coming to him while traveling in Morocco. However, most accounts of the band's Moroccan adventures center on Page and Plant's journey to that country in June of 1975, several months after Physical Graffiti was released.

Are there contemporary references (interviews, articles, etc.) to RP's Morocco visit in 1973 or '74 that would corroborate his story of "Driving to Kashmir" while motoring between Tan-Tan and Guelemine? I suspect there might be some sort of quote found in MM, NME, Sounds, or a similar publication, but I haven't been able to dig anything up. Anyone else?

Kashmir was written during Jimmy & Robert's June 1973 visit to Morocco. Robert had invited Jimmy to go with him and they attended the National Festival of Folklore. Soonafter Robert wrote the lyrics for 'Driving to Kashmir' on the road to Tan Tan along the Atlantic coast.

There are at least two contemporary references that come to mind. The first is a video interview during which he is discussing the making of the promo video for Heaven Knows and mentions it's lyrics were written (paraphrased)

"near the Atlas Mountains, not far from where I had written the lyrics to Kashmir". I believe this is within the MTV

program "Robert Plant: Now & Zen" which originally aired in March 1988. The second is a published interview with Nigel Williamson (possibly the May 2005 issue of 'Uncut') during which he says he wrote the lyrics on the road to (or perhaps from) Tan Tan.

[GeorgeC]

Kashmir was written during Jimmy & Robert's June 1973 visit to Morocco. Robert had invited Jimmy to go with him and they attended the National Festival of Folklore. Soonafter Robert wrote the lyrics for 'Driving to Kashmir' on the road to Tan Tan along the Atlantic coast.

There are at least two contemporary references that come to mind. The first is a video interview during which he is discussing the making of the promo video for Heaven Knows and mentions it's lyrics were written (paraphrased)

"near the Atlas Mountains, not far from where I had written the lyrics to Kashmir". I believe this is within the MTV

program "Robert Plant: Now & Zen" which originally aired in March 1988. The second is a published interview with Nigel Williamson (possibly the May 2005 issue of 'Uncut') during which he says he wrote the lyrics on the road to (or perhaps from) Tan Tan.

Right on. You've the map that led me to that place.

[GeorgeC]

Actually, SAJ, now that I think about it, in Page's early 1975 interview with William S. Burroughs, he admits he's never been to that country (yet). Could it be that the 1973 Moroccan trip that yielded "Kashmir" was taken by Plant alone (or at least without Page) during a break on the 1973 US tour?

I remain, sir, your obt. srvt.

[mstork]

If you can buy when Jimmy Page heard this song in 1967 he asked Roy if he could use the title in the future then mister your a better man than I:

I wasn't envisioning Jimmy asking for future use in '67. I figured he may have given Roy a heads up after they wrote it, just a little courtesy. Oh well, still interesting to consider that Jimmy and Roy had a friendship, that was news to me.

I also think it's ridiculous when that "Zeppelin are Rip Off Artists" guy who appears on Howard Stern every now and then claims Communication Breakdown was a direct lift of Eddie Cochran's Nervous Breakdown. Some people hear what they want to hear.

[SteveAJones]

Actually, SAJ, now that I think about it, in Page's early 1975 interview with William S. Burroughs, he admits he's never been to that country (yet). Could it be that the 1973 Moroccan trip that yielded "Kashmir" was taken by Plant alone (or at least without Page) during a break on the 1973 US tour?

I remain, sir, your obt. srvt.

It's my understanding Jimmy took Charlotte to Morroco (and Spain) in Autumn '69 during a month-long holiday before the European Tour in Oct '69 so we may need to examine Jimmy's Feb '75 interview with Burroughs very closely. I do

remember the Joujouka were discussed with Burroughs.

Anyway, I cross-checked both my Page and Plant databases and I see Jimmy and Robert attended several nights of the Moroccan Festival of Folklore in Marrakesh in June 1975. If there is an anomally it would be perhaps Jimmy did not go to Morrocco in June '73 with Robert. I don't know if Robert or myself got it wrong but I'll take the high road and accept full blame.

[SteveAJones]

I wasn't envisioning Jimmy asking for future use in '67. I figured he may have given Roy a heads up after they wrote it, just a little courtesy. Oh well, still interesting to consider that Jimmy and Roy had a friendship, that was news to me.

I also think it's ridiculous when that "Zeppelin are Rip Off Artists" guy who appears on Howard Stern every now and then claims Communication Breakdown was a direct lift of Eddie Cochran's Nervous Breakdown. Some people hear what they want to hear.

Oh, I see. Yeah, if their paths crossed (and they did) after Led Zeppelin's 'Communication Breakdown' was released I can see it coming up as a topic of conversation. Orbison Jr's recollection seemed to place that conversation in Jan '67 while they toured Australiasia, which if so I just find hard to believe.

Oh, yeah the Cochran connection.

[mstork]

Oh, I see. Yeah, if their paths crossed (and they did) after Led Zeppelin's 'Communication Breakdown' was released I can see it coming up as a topic of conversation. Orbison Jr's recollection seemed to place that conversation in Jan '67 while they toured Australiasia, which if so I just find hard to believe.

Oh, yeah the Cochran connection.

I hear no connection but some will actually try to claim that Page and Zeppelin "stole" Communication Breakdown from this:

Nervous Breakdown

Edited to add: Wasn't able to post the actual video as Steve has done. Need to learn that trick!

Edited February 12, 2010 by mstork

[SteveAJones]

I hear no connection but some will actually try to claim that Page and Zeppelin "stole" Communication Breakdown from this:

Nervous Breakdown

Edited to add: Wasn't able to post the actual video as Steve has done. Need to learn that trick!

Yeah, there's no connection IMHO.

To post a video just copy the link, click the insert media button (looks like green, red and blue slides) and paste the video link into the url box.

[glicine]

It's my understanding Jimmy took Charlotte to Morroco (and Spain) in Autumn '69 during a month-long holiday before the European Tour in Oct '69 so we may need to examine Jimmy's Feb '75 interview with Burroughs very closely. I do

remember the Joujouka were discussed with Burroughs.

Anyway, I cross-checked both my Page and Plant databases and I see Jimmy and Robert attended several nights of the Moroccan Festival of Folklore in Marrakesh in June 1975. If there is an anomally it would be perhaps Jimmy did not go to Morrocco in June '73 with Robert. I don't know if Robert or myself got it wrong but I'll take the high road and accept full blame.

Didn't Jimmy and Charlotte get to know each other at the backstage of the Royal Albert Hall concert on Jimmy's birthday 1970?

And here is a quote of Plant about their journey to Morroco.

My Top 10: Robert Plant

by Robert Plant

Independent on Sunday, 9 November 2003, 283 words

Film: Pirates of the Caribbean. Flashback to my childhood, visions of the

silver screen, swashbuckler, lusty, busy and Keith Richards on Ice.

Book: A Cure For Serpents by The Duke of Pirajno. A captivating, warm and

humorous book describing an Italian doctor's adventures in the line of duty

in North Africa

Play: The Importance of Being Ernest, by Oscar Wilde - cryptic, overblown

fops. Excellent work, hysterical, just like the real thing.

Musician/composer: Jimmy Page. Just listen.

Song: "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day", by Robert Johnson. Spitting

fire and brimstone, maybe some of it lifted from Kokomo Arnold or Son House.

Who cares?

Artist: My father - his inspired landscapes and beautiful evening skies are

a joy indeed.

Building: Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton. Aesthetics and harmony, strong

features blend with beautiful shades of gold and black to bring an

occasional and overwhelming sense of wellbeing.

TV: "The Romans", on the History Channel.

Comedian: Frank Carson - buy a tape (yes, cassette) in a motorway service

station and bow to the master.

Wild card: What has been your most disappointing journey and why?

After two months in southern Morocco with Jimmy Page in 1973 we awoke one morning in Goulimine, a small desert town near the Atlantic coast, with a compulsion for Europe and cold beer. Three days later after agitating northward hour after hour, we found ourselves under flashing lights on a disco dance floor in Torremolinos clutching pints of Watney's Red Barrel. Sad really isn't

it - but this is what the desert can do.

Edited February 12, 2010 by glicine

[mstork]

Yeah, there's no connection IMHO.

To post a video just copy the link, click the insert media button (looks like green, red and blue slides) and paste the video link into the url box.

Thanks! Here goes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn984u4hos

[SteveAJones]

Didn't Jimmy and Charlotte get to know each other at the backstage of the Royal Albert Hall concert on Jimmy's birthday 1970?

And here is a quote of Plant about their journey to Morroco.

Well, that's what's commonly believed to be true, which just goes to show how difficult discerning the truth can be. In this case, my notes show the reference to the Oct '69 trip to Morroco and Spain with Charlotte appears in Ritchie Yorkie's 'Led Zeppelin Defnitive Biography'. Is Yorkie's book incorrect? Did Page mispeak when he told him? Am I to blame?

The Plant quote is yet another example of the truth being difficult to discern. He says it was a two month trip to Morocco with Jimmy in '73. Well, it couldn't have been June-July because the tour break was less than two months. Was it after

the tour ended (Autumn), in which case it would have been a second visit for them both? How do we square any of it

with what Jimmy allegedly told Burroughs in Feb '75?

...and lest we ever forget Jimmy commenting fairly recently on the Earls Court concerts in "1976" (!)

Edited February 12, 2010 by SteveAJones

[GeorgeC]

Well, that's what's commonly believed to be true, which just goes to show how difficult discerning the truth can be. In this case, my notes show the reference to the Oct '69 trip to Morroco and Spain with Charlotte appears in Ritchie Yorkie's 'Led Zeppelin Defnitive Biography'. Is Yorkie's book incorrect? Did Page mispeak when he told him? Am I to blame?

The Plant quote is yet another example of the truth being difficult to discern. He says it was a two month trip to Morocco with Jimmy in '73. Well, it couldn't have been June-July because the tour break was less than two months. Was it after

the tour ended (Autumn), in which case it would have been a second visit for them both? How do we square any of it

with what Jimmy allegedly told Burroughs in Feb '75?

...and lest we ever forget Jimmy commenting fairly recently on the Earls Court concerts in "1976" (!)

Exactly. I return again to George Harrison's comment after reading Beatle-freak Geoffrey Guiliano's book: "This guy knows more about me than I do!"

I'm going with Plant making a Moroccan visit sans Page in late 1973, after the US tour, being inspired to write "Driving to Kashmir" during or after that trip, and then returning avec Page in '75 after Earl's Court as the LZ tax exile commenced.

Do either Page or Plant remember the sequence of events accurately? Who knows? Does it matter? In a world wracked by war, famine, injustice and disease, why am I struggling to confirm the whereabouts of two (likely stoned) rock stars thirty-five years ago? I challenge anyone to clear up that Zeppelin mystery!

[Aquamarine]

Exactly. I return again to George Harrison's comment after reading Beatle-freak Geoffrey Guiliano's book: "This guy knows more about me than I do!"

I'm going with Plant making a Moroccan visit sans Page in late 1973, after the US tour, being inspired to write "Driving to Kashmir" during or after that trip, and then returning avec Page in '75 after Earl's Court as the LZ tax exile commenced.

Do either Page or Plant remember the sequence of events accurately? Who knows? Does it matter? In a world wracked by war, famine, injustice and disease, why am I struggling to confirm the whereabouts of two (likely stoned) rock stars thirty-five years ago? I challenge anyone to clear up that Zeppelin mystery!

I was just thinking this morning that I was having great difficulty figuring out the details of an event that happened to me at around that time (and I wasn't stoned at the time), so I don't see why their memories should be any better than everyone else's! And they've lived more action-packed lives than most of us. Therefore I would imagine that a fair amount of what they say about the Zeppelin days is somewhat inaccurate, not deliberately but just because it's damn hard to remember details that far back!