By 8pm, it was estimated that a quarter of a million people – roughly the population of the city of Leeds – were champing at the bit awaiting Led Zeppelin. Half-an-hour to set up – then the members of THE definitive ‘heavy’ band strode on stage – Robert Plant, looking more like Norse warrior than ever, Jimmy Page looking like Mad Dan Eccles in an ankle length overcoat and yokel’s hat over his ears, John Bonham in purple vest crouched behind his green drums and John Paul Jones in “straight” trendy gear clutched his bass guitar.
They kicked off with a new riff from their next album called “Immigrant Song”. They actually took some time to warm up the crowd, but this may have been intentional as they built up to a fantastic climax with an act lasting over three hours.
Jimmy produced his violin bow to attack the guitar strings, and John Paul was featured on Hammond organ on Since I’ve Been Loving You.
It was after John Bonham’s phenomenal drum solo – violent, aggressive and furiously fast – had brought the crowd permanently to their feet, that the real fun began!
They had contrasted their rock style with the beautiful “The First Time” (aka That’s the Way) featuring John Paul on mandolin and Jim on six-string acoustic with Robert singing in the most attractive restrained style. Now it was time for the other extreme.
A wild rock medley - How Many More Times. The crowd wouldn’t let them go. Tambourines thrown to the fans. As dusk fell and the lights flickered on the band roared into Communication Breakdown.
ANOTHER ENCORE – at 10:50pm Zeppelin had won. They had made all the hang-ups worthwhile and given the crowd a night to remember – whatever else happened. In their final minutes, they paid tribute to the masters of Rock and Roll with the songs of Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. |