Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones

[SunChild]

Adding to Meg's input, perhaps the first confirmed public appearance of Jimmy and Robert in the United States occured on 9/14/75, when they attended the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato, CA, about 30 miles North of San Francisco.

Jimmy briefly returned to England to attend Melody Maker Poll Awards with Scarlet on 9/24/75...John Bonham also attended…they accepted 7 awards on behalf of the group.

Page and Plant were then joined by Bonham and Jones for three weeks of on and off rehearsal sessions for the new album at Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR) Studios located at 6465 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Led Zeppelin attended Donovan's show in Santa Monica (Sept '75?) and met up with Bad Company's Paul Rodgers & Boz Burrell who came over to lend moral support. Jimmy

also Page checked out Michael Des Barres' band Detective; a deal was soon arranged for them to sign to Swan Song Records.

The sessions at S.I.R. Studio continued through baseball's 1975 World Series (Boston vs. Cincinnati) in October.

Note Robert had grown impatient with the long drive from their rented Malibu Beach colony houses to the studio and checked into a hotel instead (probably one located

on the Sunset Strip).

Led Zeppelin's tax exile status obligated them to depart the USA. Sessions for their

'Presence' album began 11/9/75 in Munich, Germany at Musicland Studios, which was

located in the basement of the Arabella Hotel. Studio sessions were completed the

day before Thanksgiving '75, and consequently "Thanksgiving" was suggested as a possible title for the new album.

Oh, man. Now you tell me.

Those early Faires would never be topped, begun in the 1960s in Southern California, with the fall shows held in the Black Point Forest in Novato, beautiful, black oak studded hills overlooking San Francisco bay (now dotted with high priced condos):

They were put on by people genuinely into the spirit of the Renaissance (lots of hippies), very careful about accuracy. They're some of my fondest memories from being a teenager; my friends and I would wander in velvet dresses through the oaks, running into all sorts of characters, both part of the faire or attendees, freely offering mind expanding drugs, mead, melons, and baudy music making. You could sit and learn crafts of the period, or watch some pretty amazing acting, jousting and juggling. It was a blast. And like everything else from that period, soon became much more commerical and less fun.

I went for a couple of years... of course, utterly missing Page and Plant. (Like I used to go to Winterland fairly frequently - a couple years after Zeppelin played there. Like I went to the summer show at Kezar Staudium - the week before Zeppelin's. Like I had tickets to the Zeppelin show in Oakland - in 1975. Like I didn't go to the last US show because I hated Days on the Green. Don't mind me. I'll just be sitting in the corner crying into my mead, waiting for good news for '09.)

Edited November 24, 2008 by SunChild

[SunChild]

In fact I had a motorhome booked, which was parked in the street outside. I was going to drive my family up to Seattle for a few nights. Suddenly there were sirens wailing and police zooming through the hotel lobby. Me and my family got into the service elevator, went down to the street and jumped into this motorhome, which I had never driven before. I just headed for the freeway. We snuck out the back, so I didn't get arrested!

We were already packed and ready to go when the police arrived. In fact I had no idea what it was all about at that time. I think they sent the Highway Patrol looking out for us. But we were heading up to Oregon. After a couple of days holiday I called in and they told me what happened. It was one of those things. The security guys get bored at these gigs and somebody took offence at something.

I seem to remember that 'Bill Graham never forgave us' but I don't remember Bill Graham ever being a huge, close buddy of Led Zeppelin. I always thought he was weird. He never spoke to me. The first time we turned up at the Fillmore I remember him just screaming and shouting at everybody. He was quite an unpleasant person. I remember saying, 'Oh, who's that?' 'Oh, that's Bill Graham'.

-- John Paul Jones

Jimmy was in Egypt and couldn't get there and Peter was out at Long Island with his kids. John Paul Jones had already arranged a holiday with his wife. When John Paul Jones went on holiday I was the only person he'd give his phone number to, which drove Peter mad. I couldn't reach him because he was traveling in a hired camper van, and so we had no way of reaching him. The instructions were not to disturb him unless it was an emergency. Robert was very hurt about it.

--Richard Cole

Ok, without reiterating the finer details of my previous posts on this subject suffice to say I still believe Jimmy stayed in California, and Richard has simply misplaced the four day trip Jimmy took to Egypt in May into the last week of July '77.

Thanks for that, clarifies quite a bit.

[jabe]

Ten Years Gone,a song written by Plant about a love that got away.

Do you know if the subject of the song ever resurfaced and had any contact with Robert?

Or did she fall into obscurity, a mystery to the masses,even though she was the inspiration behind the song?

[Swan_Song]

Ten Years Gone,a song written by Plant about a love that got away.

Do you know if the subject of the song ever resurfaced and had any contact with Robert?

Or did she fall into obscurity, a mystery to the masses,even though she was the inspiration behind the song?

this song, is maybe dedicated to Maureen sister's, her name is Shirley, somebody told about, so i think that the Mauren Sister's can be the inspiration behind.

Robert & Shirley dated late 1980's or 1990 earlys... do you remember Jesse Lee Plant?

[SteveAJones]

The following is found on robertplant.com - click on Strange Sensations on the left and then on Robert Plant under the header More Articles:

"In 1966 Plant left home, left college, left work and turned professional. In 1967 he cut 6 sides for CBS, formed the Band of Joy with John Bonham and created two working partnerships, first with Terry Reid; the two became friends playing on the progressive music circuit of the mid-60's; and secondly as harmonica player and co-vocalist on various Alexis Korner ventures..."

I've seen examples of the 2nd partnership... anything known of the 1st? I.e. anything tangible besides recollections? Did it even exist?

Sorry, please clarify among these ventures the one you consider to be the first?

[SteveAJones]

Alright, I have sat on the sidelines too long to not participate.

Two mystery questions, totally unrelated:

1. 
   

The concert in Iceland: June 22, 1970. Transitional show between Phoenix, Arizona in April that year and Bath six days after Iceland. Between the DVD footage, and the posted 1970 Plant interview in what appears to be his hotel room, as well as the Plant interview when he was there a couple of years ago, for the first time since his 1970 Zeppelin visit, do we have any indication what the 1970 set list was for this show, besides Dazed? The 1970 Interviewer asked Plant if they would perform any new songs, and he said maybe. Then, on the recent Plant trip and interview, he said he wrote the lyrics to Immigrant Song while in Iceland (meaning, the May 1970 Island Sessions didn't produce this number, I guess. Maybe they recorded it after Bath, before/after the German tour). Given that they opened with Groove in Phoenix, then opened with Immigrant at Bath, I wonder if they opened with Immigrant in Iceland, and if the set list leaned more towards the Bath set list than Phoenix set list?

1. 
   

You recently posted a thread about Jimmy throwing Charlotte a birthday party on 9/20/80, and it got me thinking about Bonham's last days. Any documantation of what he did in August and September, after the European Tour and before his untimely departure? Go on Holiday in August somewhere? Did he go to Charlotte's Birthday party on 9/20 (were Plant and Jones invited)? Were there any photos taken at the 9/24 rehearsal? Last Bonham published photos taken? What Zep songs did they rehearse on 9/24 before calling it an early night?

Thanks Steve! Really enjoy this thread and your excellent knowledge and insight!

Terrific to see this thread encouraging lurkers to register and contribute to the forum.

In response to your questions:

Personally, I don't believe 'Immigrant Song' was performed in Iceland on 6/22/70 as Robert himself has said the lyrics were inspired by the experience of having been

there. We do know for certain it was the opening number at their next concert, the

Bath Festival on 6/28/70, and that the band had rehearsed for a few days leading

up to that concert. It's quite possible the song developed during those rehearsals.

I have a commemorative fanzine dedicated to the Iceland concert and I'll dig it out

to see if it confirms any songs performed in Iceland besides 'Dazed And Confused'.

It's been a very long time since I read it. Meanwhile, here is the setlist for 6/28/70:

Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Dazed and Confused, Bring It On Home, Since I've Been Loving You, Organ solo / Thank You, That's Way (tentatively titled: The Boy Next Door), What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, How Many More Times (medley incl. Long Distance Call, Honey Bee, Need Your Love Tonight, That's Alright Mama), Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown, Long Tall Sally ~ Say Mama ~ Johnny B. Goode ~ That's Alright Mama.

Moving on to your second question, the band was on holiday break following the 7/7/80

concert in Berlin - they returned to England the next day. I don't know of any confirmed Bonham public appearances during this time. Jimmy met with Benji LeFevre at the Swan Song offices on 9/18/80 and sanctioned a mock up model of a new lighting rig and stage set up for upcoming North American tour. Clearly, John would have known by this time another round of touring was imminent. On what was to be his last day, 9/24/80,

he was driven down from his Old Hyde Farm to Bray Studios in Berkshire for a rehearsal.

The band basically ran through numbers they intended to perform in North America and

the session ended at 8pm. So far as I know, no photographs were taken, although in my archive I do have several from their European tour rehearsals held in May 1980.

I hope my response is of some benefit and prompts further collaboration here.

Edited November 25, 2008 by SteveAJones

[SteveAJones]

Those early Faires would never be topped, begun in the 1960s in Southern California...

Thanks for the informative post, which highlights what would have drawn them to go.

I don't know if they went while on their way to Malibu or if they came all the way up

to the Bay Area for it after having settled in down there.

[Gegenschein]

Sorry, please clarify among these ventures the one you consider to be the first?

Um, I don't consider anything... those weren't my words.

It is stated right there in the text (IDK who wrote that but it's on Roberts's site and therefore I assume carries some validity?)

"created two working partnerships, first with Terry Reid; the two became friends playing on the progressive music circuit of the mid-60's; and secondly as harmonica player and co-vocalist on various Alexis Korner ventures..."

[swandown]

Steve,

I believe the person is asking if there's any evidence that Robert and Terry Reid worked together in the '60s.

[SteveAJones]

Um, I don't consider anything... those weren't my words.

It is stated right there in the text (IDK who wrote that but it's on Roberts's site and therefore I assume carries some validity?)

"created two working partnerships, first with Terry Reid; the two became friends playing on the progressive music circuit of the mid-60's; and secondly as harmonica player and co-vocalist on various Alexis Korner ventures..."

Well, I wouldn't say he had a "working partnership" with Terry Reid, as that incorrectly

infers they'd formed a band or recorded together and they did not. No, the nature of their relationship was strictly social, and here are some highlights:

In 1967 Robert Plant and his Band of Joy, Terry Reid and Tim Rose performed on the same bill…Robert and Terry got on very well socially (and Terry recommended Robert to Jimmy Page a year later).

On 7/13/68 Robert Plant and the Band of Joy were billed below Terry Reid in Buxton

(Terry watched their set and phoned Page the next day).

Soonafter, a penniless Plant was in London trying to get money from his manger when Reid saw him on Oxford street. Robert traveled with Terry up to Cambridge where Reid informed him of the opportunity to work with Page.

Sometime in 1969 Robert joined Terry for over thirty minutes of singing at Mother's in Birmingham.

On 8/20/03 Robert joined Terry for a set of old standards during Terry's gig at The Joint in Beverly Hills.

[Gegenschein]

Well, I wouldn't say he had a "working partnership" with Terry Reid, as that incorrectly

infers they'd formed a band or recorded together and they did not. No, the nature of their relationship was strictly social

Thank you - I guess indeed the author took some liberties with words which gave a wrong impression.

Here's one I'm quite interested in. What kind of involvement did LZ members have in

Rock Aid Armenia?

I know Jimmy was involved indirectly (as the member of Firm at the time)

JPJ is credited as helping (I have both the official release and The Making Of) - do you happen to know in which capacity?

Thankees in advance

[Nech]

Sorry, please clarify among these ventures the one you consider to be the first?

Boy did I misread that question!

[Nech]

Soonafter, a penniless Plant was in London trying to get money from his manger when Reid saw him on Oxford street. Robert traveled with Terry up to Cambridge where Reid informed him of the opportunity to work with Page.

I have also read that Tony Secunda , former manager of Procol Harum & The Move gives himself credit for pointing Plant in Page's direction. Supposedly he had arranged for Plant to come to London to meet up with Denny Cordell based on Plant's BoJ demo disck. But that didn;t work put as Denny was nooked with Joe Cocker and Tony was ovewhelmed with Procol Harum & Move.

"Then says Tony, I remembered that the Yardies were rumored to be coming unglued. I didn't think much of their prvious vocalist anyways. To me he was weak, he had no stage presence, he had hunched shoulders and was losing his voice. The Yardbirds had lacked vocal balls and I figured they could use Robert, So I pointed him in that direction."

'Plant adds: I knew that the Yardbirds has done a lot of work in America - which to me meant audiences who did want to know what I had to offer. So naturally I was interested."

- The LZ Biography Ritchie Yorke.

fate ...

[SunChild]

Thanks for the informative post, which highlights what would have drawn them to go.

I don't know if they went while on their way to Malibu or if they came all the way up

to the Bay Area for it after having settled in down there.

Thanks Steve.

Good question. They flirted a bit with Marin County, but never really settled in there, did they?

[SteveAJones]

They flirted a bit with Marin County, but never really settled in there, did they?

No, always just passing through. Robert, Jimmy and Lynn Collins spent a day together

near Mill Valley, presumably touring what is known today at the Muir Woods National Monument. This most probably occured in April '69 during their four-day stint in San Francisco.

[SteveAJones]

Here's one I'm quite interested in. What kind of involvement did LZ members have in

Rock Aid Armenia? I know Jimmy was involved indirectly (as the member of Firm at the time) JPJ is credited as helping (I have both the official release and The Making Of) - do you happen to know in which capacity?

Thankees in advance

This was a joint humanitarian effort by an elite group of musicians who gathered at Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London on July 8, 1989 for a project to raise money to help those affected by the Leninakan Earthquake of 1988 that struck Armenia. Bryan Adams, Ritchie Blackmore, Bruce Dickinson, Keith Emerson, Ian Gillan, David Gilmour, John Paul Jones, Tony Iommi, Alex Lifeson, Jon Lord, Brian May, Adrian Smith, Paul Rodgers, Chris Squire and Roger Taylor, fantastic on drums.

JPJ and Jon Lord are credited with "helping" on 'Smoke On The Water' :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSLZGIfPG4I...feature=related

http://www.nme.com/video/id/Odeztf1nK8s/search/chiswick

Jimmy contributed indirectly to this dvd release by allowing the inclusion of one video track from Led Zeppelin and one from The Firm:

Various: "Rock Aid Armenia" (Virgin Vision VVD 636, November 1989) with "Dazed And Confused" from "Supershow," and "Satisfaction Guaranteed" from "Five From The Firm"

[Gegenschein]

JPJ and Jon Lord are credited with "helping" on 'Smoke On The Water'

Thanks - I guess I should have asked more precisely: I was hoping to decipher the mysterious "helping" as in arrangement, actual playing/rehearsals etc... seems like the available information is limited.

"Making Of" is great fun, have you seen it?

[eagle87]

Jimmy, JPJ and Jason do intend to record new material and tour together in 2009. Robert is not participating in it whatsoever, and it will not be called Led Zeppelin.

thanks man!

best regards

[SteveAJones]

Thanks - I guess I should have asked more precisely: I was hoping to decipher the mysterious "helping" as in arrangement, actual playing/rehearsals etc... seems like the available information is limited. "Making Of" is great fun, have you seen it?

JPJ is so versatile that "helping" could be anything from co-production, to arranging or

simply generating interest in the project. When you factor into all of this he resided in

Chiswick and had a 16-track home studio available, it become impossibly ambiguous.

If we cannot resolve this amongst the forum membership I'll ask if he'd be receptive

to responding to a direct inquiry pertaining to the extent of his involvement in this

project.

I have not actually seen the "making of...", just the videoclips I provided. I do not see

JPJ in any of them.

[Gegenschein]

I have not actually seen the "making of...", just the videoclips I provided. I do not see

JPJ in any of them.

He's not there at all. It's fun to watch (though no ex-LZ members at all), interesting rehearsal snippets and interviews - my favorite moment is the statement at about 11:55 (I think by off-screen Gillan) "I've seen this song go wrong before..." which makes everyone laugh and repeat it. One of the most bizarre moments was the appearance of Brian May with a hanging empty sleeve, broken arm in a sling.

If we cannot resolve this amongst the forum membership I'll ask if he'd be receptive

to responding to a direct inquiry pertaining to the extent of his involvement in this

project.

Oh no, it's not worth bothering him for such petty business, just to satisfy my curiosity. I'll get over it, no worries.

[Otto Masson]

The concert in Iceland: June 22, 1970. Transitional show between Phoenix, Arizona in April that year and Bath six days after Iceland. Between the DVD footage, and the posted 1970 Plant interview in what appears to be his hotel room, as well as the Plant interview when he was there a couple of years ago, for the first time since his 1970 Zeppelin visit, do we have any indication what the 1970 set list was for this show, besides Dazed? The 1970 Interviewer asked Plant if they would perform any new songs, and he said maybe. Then, on the recent Plant trip and interview, he said he wrote the lyrics to Immigrant Song while in Iceland (meaning, the May 1970 Island Sessions didn't produce this number, I guess. Maybe they recorded it after Bath, before/after the German tour). Given that they opened with Groove in Phoenix, then opened with Immigrant at Bath, I wonder if they opened with Immigrant in Iceland, and if the set list leaned more towards the Bath set list than Phoenix set list?

Steve is right about Robert writing the lyrics for Immigrant Song while they were here; so it would seem quite unlikely that they played it in Laugardalshöll, even though they did perform it only a week later, at Bath Festival. But the thing is, they probably did perform it here as well.

The setlist was probably a lot like the one at Bath. We know they did Dazed, as you mention, and also Heartbreaker, How Many More Times, Bring It On Home, Thank You, Moby Dick; some unidentified acoustic number was played (probably That's The Way); and the encores were Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown and...."a new song".

Edited November 28, 2008 by Otto Masson

[ally]

Steve is right about Robert writing the lyrics for Immigrant Song while they were here; so it would seem quite unlikely that they played it in Laugardalshöll, even though they did perform it only a week later, at Bath Festival. But the thing is, they probably did perform it here as well.

The setlist was probably a lot like the one at Bath. We know they did Dazed, as you mention, and also Heartbreaker, How Many More Times, Bring It On Home, Thank You, Moby Dick; some unidentified acoustic number was played (probably That's The Way); and the encores were Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown and...."a new song".

He came up with the opening AAHAA as soon as he got off that warm plane Just J/K Otto

[Otto Masson]

He came up with the opening AAHAA as soon as he got off that warm plane Just J/K Otto

Well, it wasn't very cold in fact, but of course it was summer when they came. Jimmy actually remarked on it in one of the interviews, and said that it wasn't as cold here as he had expected.

[ally]

Well, it wasn't very cold in fact, but of course it was summer when they came. Jimmy actually remarked on it in one of the interviews, and said that it wasn't as cold here as he had expected.

Land of the midnight sun.

[RiotHouse]

Not sure whether or not this has been discussed but I was watching TSRTS again recently and noticed that Robert's teeth are quiet 'different' to what we see in 1975 and then on... Apart from vocal surgery in 1974, which we know of, can anyone confirm that Robert had some dental work done also???