62 pickup
T
he five nights at Earl's Court are among Led Zeppelin's finest concerts
for many reasons. To grasp just one, answer this question: how many
gigs did Led Zeppelin play in the U.K. in the five years between June
1975 and September 1980? Answer: two, at Knebworth. And how
many of those were indoor? None. When Led Zep left the stage after 3 �
hours on 25 May 1975, unbelievably, they had played their last indoor concerts
in the U.K.
Prior to Earls' Court, Zeppelin had not gigged in Britain for over two years.
Ending an exhausting U.S. tour in July 1973 (captured in The Song Remains
The Same movie), Zep took stock of 4 � years of tours and five albums'
of classic rock. A road-weary Jones contemplated leaving the band; Plant
required surgery on ravaged vocal cords but in 1974 the fully rejuvenated band
recorded new tracks for what became their sixth album, Physical Graffiti. With
songs left from earlier projects it turned into a double, and is now one of their
most highly-regarded albums, adding at least two Zep classics to their canon
in `Kashmir' and `Trampled Underfoot', though the less famous `Houses of the
Holy', `Down By The Seaside', and `Ten Years Gone' are also winners.
Physical Graffiti was released in February 1975, and Zeppelin toured the US
from late January to late March. They hatched plans to do something special in
Britain and elected to mount their full American show in London. When tickets
for three shows in May went on sale on 19 April they sold out in two hours.
Two more dates were announced and they sold out too. Special trains were laid
on by British Rail to bring fans to London from all four corners of the country.
The most expensive tickets were �2.50, about the cost of a new album then. In
current prices that's like seeing the biggest band in the world for �14!
By 1975 Earl's Court had only been used a few times for rock gigs. For many
the size of the gig itself was overwhelming: so much bigger than the usual
2,000- seat theatres. In the cold, subdued light of that vast arena, tier upon
tier, tiny people walked around, and Page's 4x12 Marshall cabinets looked
about half the size of a postage stamp. What also made the gig special was
Zeppelin's mystique. Zep were not just another rock band, they were � in rock
journalist Charles Shaar Murray's immortal phrase - the Main Power Battery.
CLASSIC
ROCK
GIGSIn this new feature for Playmusic, music writer Rikky Rooksby
spotlights the great gigs of rock history. This month, the
shadow of a mighty blimp falls across west London.
THE BAND: Led Zeppelin
DATE: May 17, 18, 23, 24 & 25 1975
VENUE: Earl's Court, London
ATTENDANCE: 17,000 over 5 nights
SET-LIST: `Rock and Roll', `Sick Again', `Over The Hills And Far Away',
`In My Time Of Dying', `The Song Remains The Same', `The Rain Song',
`Kashmir', `No Quarter', `Tangerine', `Going To California', `That's The
Way', `Bron-Y-Aur Stomp', `Trampled Underfoot', `Moby Dick', `Dazed And
Confused', `Stairway To Heaven' [encores] `Whole Lotta Love', `Black Dog'

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48Page 49Page 50Page 51Page 52Page 53Page 54Page 55Page 56Page 57Page 58Page 59Page 60Page 61Page 62Page 63Page 64Page 65Page 66Page 67Page 68Page 69Page 70Page 71Page 72Page 73Page 74Page 75Page 76 Produced by PageSuite