IanTh Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 Hi! New to the forum so apologies if I've posted this in the wrong place! So, this is quite a long story about a record so bear with me as I want to get as much of the detail down as possible to prove to myself as much as you that I’m not making this up. It will hopefully be worth it in the end. Back in 1993 I lived in Aylesbury and was a regular at record fairs. Sometime between April and July 1993 I went to a record fair in Aylesbury - I don’t recall the exact date but I know it was after the 4th of April as I still have the plastic bag I took the record home in and it was leftover from a previous fair (see the pic). I was always sucker for anything that was a promo, white label etc and back then I was mostly looking for Marillion, Rush and Led Zepelin. My memory is a little sketchy as to whether I found this in the record bin or the seller had it put to one side but I recall that I was sceptical of a typed record labelled in Red with ‘BABY, PLEASE COME HOME (YOU’VE BEEN GONE TOO LONG)’ and nothing else. Nothing to indicate the band or origin. One way or another I decided to take a chance on it and bought it, I think I paid GBP$35. I do recall he told me it was something called an “acetate,” so I shouldn’t play it too many times as it would wear out. I took it home played it a couple of times and recorded it to tape. It was quite good, it certainly sounded like Led Zeppelin, a bit. Not a song I recognised which made me worried. I checked all my Zeppelin records, but it wasn’t listed anywhere, so it was a mystery. In the days before the Internet that was likely to be that and I’d probably never know if I’d been suckered in. There was however a lucky twist to the tale. In 1993 Robert Plant released Fate of Nations and was touring. My girlfriend and I had tickets for the NEC on 14th July 1993. I took the record with me on the off chance we met Robert and got there early and hung about at the stage door. (As an aside I’d like to apologise for the number of times we stood outside often freezing cold venues for hours waiting for bands). While I’m apologising, I’ll also do so on behalf of my girlfriend who stole the dust caps of Roberts Beemer. Robert came out before the show and was signing autographs, no selfies back in 1993! When it was our turn I gingerly showed him the record and asked, “Is this you?” “Where did you get that?” was the reply. I nearly fell over backwards. He explained that it was indeed a Led Zeppelin track, he believed that the original tape probably went in the bin, and someone must have dug it out and cut a couple of copies to acetate. He went on to explain that he’d only ever seen one other copy and Jimmy as that. As in Page! And that Jimmy was in the process of remastering it for an upcoming release. This turned out to be Box Set Two that came out a few months later. There’s a faded autograph on the sleeve – it was in biro because I’m an idiot and didn’t have a marker pen. I’m not sure whether it’s Roberts from that night or Jimmy’s from the Alexis Korner memorial concert at Buxton Opera House in April 1994, I can’t remember if I took the record to that too. He asked us “Do me a favour and never sell it.” When Robert Plant asks a favour who am I to go against it. So, thirty years later it’s sitting in a cardboard box in the plastic bag I carried it home in. Seems like a waste , so now I’m debating what to do with it? Finally sell it? What would it be even worth? Donate it to a Led Zeppelin archive if there is such a thing? In the meantime, it sits between my Russian bootleg of Led Zep IV and Japanese Led Zep III. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillumpuffer Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 1 hour ago, IanTh said: Hi! New to the forum so apologies if I've posted this in the wrong place! So, this is quite a long story about a record so bear with me as I want to get as much of the detail down as possible to prove to myself as much as you that I’m not making this up. It will hopefully be worth it in the end. Back in 1993 I lived in Aylesbury and was a regular at record fairs. Sometime between April and July 1993 I went to a record fair in Aylesbury - I don’t recall the exact date but I know it was after the 4th of April as I still have the plastic bag I took the record home in and it was leftover from a previous fair (see the pic). I was always sucker for anything that was a promo, white label etc and back then I was mostly looking for Marillion, Rush and Led Zepelin. My memory is a little sketchy as to whether I found this in the record bin or the seller had it put to one side but I recall that I was sceptical of a typed record labelled in Red with ‘BABY, PLEASE COME HOME (YOU’VE BEEN GONE TOO LONG)’ and nothing else. Nothing to indicate the band or origin. One way or another I decided to take a chance on it and bought it, I think I paid GBP$35. I do recall he told me it was something called an “acetate,” so I shouldn’t play it too many times as it would wear out. I took it home played it a couple of times and recorded it to tape. It was quite good, it certainly sounded like Led Zeppelin, a bit. Not a song I recognised which made me worried. I checked all my Zeppelin records, but it wasn’t listed anywhere, so it was a mystery. In the days before the Internet that was likely to be that and I’d probably never know if I’d been suckered in. There was however a lucky twist to the tale. In 1993 Robert Plant released Fate of Nations and was touring. My girlfriend and I had tickets for the NEC on 14th July 1993. I took the record with me on the off chance we met Robert and got there early and hung about at the stage door. (As an aside I’d like to apologise for the number of times we stood outside often freezing cold venues for hours waiting for bands). While I’m apologising, I’ll also do so on behalf of my girlfriend who stole the dust caps of Roberts Beemer. Robert came out before the show and was signing autographs, no selfies back in 1993! When it was our turn I gingerly showed him the record and asked, “Is this you?” “Where did you get that?” was the reply. I nearly fell over backwards. He explained that it was indeed a Led Zeppelin track, he believed that the original tape probably went in the bin, and someone must have dug it out and cut a couple of copies to acetate. He went on to explain that he’d only ever seen one other copy and Jimmy as that. As in Page! And that Jimmy was in the process of remastering it for an upcoming release. This turned out to be Box Set Two that came out a few months later. There’s a faded autograph on the sleeve – it was in biro because I’m an idiot and didn’t have a marker pen. I’m not sure whether it’s Roberts from that night or Jimmy’s from the Alexis Korner memorial concert at Buxton Opera House in April 1994, I can’t remember if I took the record to that too. He asked us “Do me a favour and never sell it.” When Robert Plant asks a favour who am I to go against it. So, thirty years later it’s sitting in a cardboard box in the plastic bag I carried it home in. Seems like a waste , so now I’m debating what to do with it? Finally sell it? What would it be even worth? Donate it to a Led Zeppelin archive if there is such a thing? In the meantime, it sits between my Russian bootleg of Led Zep IV and Japanese Led Zep III. What a story Ian. Outstanding memories. Someone more in the know than me will come back to you I'm sure. I was also at The NEC that night though my memories of it being not very good, except for Richie Heywood's drumming, and was also at Buxton as it's (nearly) my home town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeplz71 Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 1 hour ago, IanTh said: Hi! New to the forum so apologies if I've posted this in the wrong place! So, this is quite a long story about a record so bear with me as I want to get as much of the detail down as possible to prove to myself as much as you that I’m not making this up. It will hopefully be worth it in the end. Back in 1993 I lived in Aylesbury and was a regular at record fairs. Sometime between April and July 1993 I went to a record fair in Aylesbury - I don’t recall the exact date but I know it was after the 4th of April as I still have the plastic bag I took the record home in and it was leftover from a previous fair (see the pic). I was always sucker for anything that was a promo, white label etc and back then I was mostly looking for Marillion, Rush and Led Zepelin. My memory is a little sketchy as to whether I found this in the record bin or the seller had it put to one side but I recall that I was sceptical of a typed record labelled in Red with ‘BABY, PLEASE COME HOME (YOU’VE BEEN GONE TOO LONG)’ and nothing else. Nothing to indicate the band or origin. One way or another I decided to take a chance on it and bought it, I think I paid GBP$35. I do recall he told me it was something called an “acetate,” so I shouldn’t play it too many times as it would wear out. I took it home played it a couple of times and recorded it to tape. It was quite good, it certainly sounded like Led Zeppelin, a bit. Not a song I recognised which made me worried. I checked all my Zeppelin records, but it wasn’t listed anywhere, so it was a mystery. In the days before the Internet that was likely to be that and I’d probably never know if I’d been suckered in. There was however a lucky twist to the tale. In 1993 Robert Plant released Fate of Nations and was touring. My girlfriend and I had tickets for the NEC on 14th July 1993. I took the record with me on the off chance we met Robert and got there early and hung about at the stage door. (As an aside I’d like to apologise for the number of times we stood outside often freezing cold venues for hours waiting for bands). While I’m apologising, I’ll also do so on behalf of my girlfriend who stole the dust caps of Roberts Beemer. Robert came out before the show and was signing autographs, no selfies back in 1993! When it was our turn I gingerly showed him the record and asked, “Is this you?” “Where did you get that?” was the reply. I nearly fell over backwards. He explained that it was indeed a Led Zeppelin track, he believed that the original tape probably went in the bin, and someone must have dug it out and cut a couple of copies to acetate. He went on to explain that he’d only ever seen one other copy and Jimmy as that. As in Page! And that Jimmy was in the process of remastering it for an upcoming release. This turned out to be Box Set Two that came out a few months later. There’s a faded autograph on the sleeve – it was in biro because I’m an idiot and didn’t have a marker pen. I’m not sure whether it’s Roberts from that night or Jimmy’s from the Alexis Korner memorial concert at Buxton Opera House in April 1994, I can’t remember if I took the record to that too. He asked us “Do me a favour and never sell it.” When Robert Plant asks a favour who am I to go against it. So, thirty years later it’s sitting in a cardboard box in the plastic bag I carried it home in. Seems like a waste , so now I’m debating what to do with it? Finally sell it? What would it be even worth? Donate it to a Led Zeppelin archive if there is such a thing? In the meantime, it sits between my Russian bootleg of Led Zep IV and Japanese Led Zep III. Wow, what a find! Looks to me that it's a later acetate, from when this original reel was re-discovered around 1990/1991? If you want to donate it as mentioned, contact @sam_webmaster here who works for the band and he can help you get it to them. If you're selling, should be easy finding someone who's interested to buy on ebay. Hard to say exact value but I'd imagine ₤500 +. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Smith Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 Way cool. Nice share Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klape Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 I suppose the idea of publishing the audio online for everyone is not a possibility ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMH Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Klape said: I suppose the idea of publishing the audio online for everyone is not a possibility ? He explained that it was indeed a Led Zeppelin track, he believed that the original tape probably went in the bin, and someone must have dug it out and cut a couple of copies to acetate. He went on to explain that he’d only ever seen one other copy and Jimmy as that. As in Page! And that Jimmy was in the process of remastering it for an upcoming release. This turned out to be Box Set Two that came out a few months later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klape Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 30 minutes ago, JMH said: He explained that it was indeed a Led Zeppelin track, he believed that the original tape probably went in the bin, and someone must have dug it out and cut a couple of copies to acetate. He went on to explain that he’d only ever seen one other copy and Jimmy as that. As in Page! And that Jimmy was in the process of remastering it for an upcoming release. This turned out to be Box Set Two that came out a few months later. My bad, I completely missed this part for some reason, sorry .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMH Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 Cheers! No problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDave Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 What a find you have and an amazing story to go along with it. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muybein Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 So cool (and nice socks). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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