The Nobs

[One and Only]

I think this is the right forum.. if not, my most humble apologies

anyone know anything about "the nobs?"

i think its a temporary name led zeppelin took..

do they sell Nobs merch?

[NickZepp]

They used that name for one concert in 1970 because the widow of the guy that created the Zeppelin(can't remember her name) disapproved of the first album cover or something like that.

[feather in the wind]

KNOBS

[feather in the wind]

i thought it was spelled with a 'K'?

Edited March 7, 2008 by feather in the wind

[Cactus]

Led Zeppelin played as the Nobs in Copenhagen, after threats of legal action by a Mrs von Zeppelin. She called them a 'bunch of screeching monkeys'. She was upset that they had tarnished her good family name, and even more upset when she saw the cover of the first album

[eagle87]

Led Zeppelin played as the Nobs in Copenhagen, after threats of legal action by a Mrs von Zeppelin. She called them a 'bunch of screeching monkeys'. She was upset that they had tarnished her good family name, and even more upset when she saw the cover of the first album

some people are just shit

[SunChild]

Also, Claude Nob is the gentleman who founded the Montreux Jazz Festival, and when Zep played in Montreux they apparently enjoyed it a lot. So the name is a tip of the hat to Mr. Nob.

[Hots on for nowhere]

They used that name for one concert in 1970 because the widow of the guy that created the Zeppelin(can't remember her name) disapproved of the first album cover or something like that.

it was a girl whos name was (might not be right i cant really remember) Eva Van Zeppelin and what you said about the album cover was right...so that night they played as "the nobs" and the name was some kind of inside joke

[solar]

i thought it was spelled with a 'K'?

No K, it was meant both as a tip of the hat to Claude Nobs and a double-entendre of the colloquial connotation of "Knob".

http://www.montreuxjazz.com/content/content_en.aspx?id=23

Edited March 7, 2008 by solar

[Cactus]

Also, Claude Nob is the gentleman who founded the Montreux Jazz Festival, and when Zep played in Montreux they apparently enjoyed it a lot. So the name is a tip of the hat to Mr. Nob.

"Funky" Claude Nobs was the "Funky Claude" in Smoke on the Water.

He was Atlantic's man in Montreux when the Plants had their car accident in Rhodes. Unable to get Zeppelin's accountants to release the required money for a private jet (without consent from Peter Grant who was on holidays), Richard Cole was able to get the money from Claude Nobs, probably saving Maureen's life.

(The accident happened several years after they played as "The Nobs", however)

[zepyep]

Hi all,

No K, it was meant both as a tip of the hat to Claude Nobs and a double-entendre of the colloquial connotation of "Knob".

http://www.montreuxjazz.com/content/content_en.aspx?id=23

solar! you mean the 4 nobs????

Ask solar,he knoweth,.......

Cactus,very true,part of Zepp lore,....

KB (1 nob)

[SteveAJones]

They weren't that intimidated, it was just a negative pre-concert meeting with her that

rattled them. Their next concert was the following Saturday at the casino in Montreux

for which Claude Nobs was the promoter. He had founded the Montreux Jazz Festival a

few years prior and they enjoy a good relationship with him to this day.

[zepyep]

Hi all,

They weren't that intimidated, it was just a negative pre-concert meeting with her that

rattled them. Their next concert was the following Saturday at the casino in Montreux

for which Claude Nobs was the promoter. He had founded the Montreux Jazz Festival a

few years prior and they enjoy a good relationship with him to this day.

Hi Steve!

Tanks for setting this wanker,....er,....striaght? How are ye mate?

I didn't think,that anyone even Miss Eva could steer them off course.

KB, of course!

[SteveAJones]

Hi Steve!

How are ye mate?

I didn't thinkthat anyone, even Miss Eva, could steer them off course.

I can see where an influential woman going into hysterics over the album cover, as she

did, would have rattled them. I've often wondered if the marquee was simply changed

to read The Nobs. I've yet to read any eyewitness account from a concert-goer to

confirm if that was the case or perhaps they were introduced as such from the stage. It's another one of those "who really cared at the time" moments that in hindsight turned out to be somewhat significant; a trivia question.

[Peep Solero]

The Nobs....no K in it- it is cockney slang for genitalia.

Maybe that was the lads way flipping off the snobbish miss Eve Von Zeppelin

[solar]

I can see where an influential woman going into hysterics over the album cover, as she

did, would have rattled them. I've often wondered if the marquee was simply changed

to read The Nobs. I've yet to read any eyewitness account from a concert-goer to

confirm if that was the case or perhaps they were introduced as such from the stage. It's another one of those "who really cared at the time" moments that in hindsight turned out to be somewhat significant; a trivia question.

I'm also guessing that ol' Led Wallet recoiled a bit at fear of a lawsuit, with how much lawyers cost and how much he'd have to pay in royalties and whatnot.

[Cactus]

I'm also guessing that ol' Led Wallet recoiled a bit at fear of a lawsuit, with how much lawyers cost and how much he'd have to pay in royalties and whatnot.

Zeppelin had already had a lawyer, Steve Weiss, so they wouldn't have had to hire lawyers specifically for this. Weiss was the person who put the money in the box at the Drake Hotel in 1973.

I would agree with SAJ - they probably thought it wasn't worth the trouble and also thought it would be a bit of a laugh to call themselves the Nobs. Remember that before the name Swan Song was chosen, they had considered Slut Records and Slag Records.

[NastyNole1]

I was always under the impression that 'The Knobs' was a reference to the male appendage....

Amazing, really. I'll bet that old broad didn't have the sense to appreciate that those "screeching monkeys" would go on to sell hundreds of millions of albums and become the greatest act in history, but God forbid that her hallowed Kraut surname be sullied by those "screeching monkeys".

[solar]

Zeppelin had already had a lawyer, Steve Weiss, so they wouldn't have had to hire lawyers specifically for this. Weiss was the person who put the money in the box at the Drake Hotel in 1973.

Um, do you think think just because they had a lawyer on retainer that he would work a court case pro bono had the von Zeppelin family sued? Lawyers get paid by the hour. Having a lawyer around to deal with simple matters and having him working on civil litigation are two completely different things.

Edited March 8, 2008 by solar

[SteveAJones]

God forbid that her hallowed Kraut surname be sullied by those "screeching monkeys".

Wonder what her thoughts were concerning Hitler's merging of President Hindenburg's powers with his own. Wonder what her thoughts were on the use of Zeppelins for Nazi propoganda purposes. Zeppelins prominently displayed the Nazi swastika on their fins and were used to indoctrinate the German people with march music and Nazi speeches from the air. I guess this didn't come up in casual conversation that day or any other.

[SteveAJones]

Um, do you think think just because they had a lawyer on retainer that he would work a court case pro bono had the von Zeppelin family sued? Lawyers get paid by the hour. Having a lawyer around to deal with simple matters and having him working on civil litigation are two completely different things.

I have a great lawyer joke for you but you'll need a mirror to get it.

[Cactus]

Um, do you think think just because they had a lawyer on retainer that he would work a court case pro bono had the von Zeppelin family sued? Lawyers get paid by the hour. Having a lawyer around to deal with simple matters and having him working on civil litigation are two completely different things.

Oh ok I'm so glad you know more about the financial arrangements between Zeppelin and their lawyers than I do. What hourly rate was he charging, by the way?

[SteveAJones]

I would agree with SAJ - they probably thought it wasn't worth the trouble and also thought it would be a bit of a laugh to call themselves the Nobs. Remember that before the name Swan Song was chosen, they had considered Slut Records and Slag Records.

I don't recall ever seeing any substantiation they were billed as The Nobs. Bear in mind the meeting with Baroness von Zeppelin was very shortly before their performance so

perhaps in an exchange of phone calls or private conversations somone there made a suggestion and they went with it. The point I'm making is this was merely a social faux pas, as opposed to a serious legal issue as evidenced by the fact they performed as

Led Zeppelin at their next date in Montreux for Claude Nobs the following Saturday.

[SteveAJones]

Oh ok I'm so glad you know more about the financial arrangements between Zeppelin and their lawyers than I do. What hourly rate was he charging, by the way?

Steven Weiss was Peter Grant's attorney. I do not know what he was paid but I do

know the relationship preceded Led Zeppelin and I believe lasted till Peter's dying day.