Led Zeppelin at Earls Court 1975

Back in 1975 I was 16 and an avid Led Zep fan, as I am still now. I was lucky enough to see them play at the last night of the Earls Court series of concerts. In those days it was still cool to worship your heroes and in anticipation of Earls Court it was as if God was coming to play.

I used to live in the North of England so it was a 250 mile journey by bus to London, see a few sites, see the concert and sleep in the railway station before going home the next day. It felt like a pilgrimage.

People were turning up at Earls Court by early afternoon and we were finally let in around 6pm with 2 hours to wait. It was seeing John Bonhams drum kit stood centre stage with its triple linked rings symbol on the bass drum that suddenly made you realise what you were about to see. The time passed as more people arrived. Although the start was scheduled for 8 we all expected the usual delays. At 7.45 a smartly dressed person came upto the microphone ‘Could you be coming in off the corridors as the show will be starting a few minutes earlier!’

It was like a disaster movie in reverse, everyone came in screaming and shouting heading for their seats. The tension and atmosphere of anticipation was amazing.

The lights dim and people scream, cheer and whistle, a figure walks on stage in a single light, it is UK DJ Alan Freeman..

‘We’re hear tonight because we share the same taste!’ …another cheer…

‘Ladies & Gentlemen…..LED ZEPPELIN!’…..the audience erupts.

Then darkness, a drum is hit, a guitar twanged. Then in the darkness John Bonham beats out the opening of ‘Rock & Roll’…the lights go up in a blaze as Led Zeppelin take off. Robert Plant bare chested with his golden mane and Jimmy Page in his shiny black dragon suit gliding and strutting about the stage. John Bonham hits his drums so hard that the reverberation through the stage is picked up thro the mikes. I’ve never heard any band with a drum sound like this. The drum ending of Rock & Roll gives everyone a glimpse of what is to come later and the final notes became the opening to ‘Sick Again’.

‘Good Evening!’ shouts Plant, ‘Good evening!’ roars the crowd.

Plant chats between most of the tracks. He explains how all songs start 'Over the hills and far away'.

Then ‘In my time of Dying’, now thats power! The ending is a showcase for Robert Plant as he wails through ‘Don’t you make my dying!!’, louder and louder.

‘Tangerine’ – Plant explains is a song of first love and the chorus is sung by all four of them.

‘Kashmir’! four mirror balls above the stage bathe the audience in multi coloured lights. Plant stands in classic pose centre stage. A powerful rendition. Without much pause straight into ‘The Song Remains the Same’ and then the ‘Rain Song’.

I sit there thinking this is the ultimate! All those years of listening and waiting (it seemed a long time at that age), and here they are playing one classic after another.

Then comes what Plant calls ‘The human part of the show’, three chairs are arranged on the stage. Jimmy with acoustic guitar and JPJ with mandolin. Plant chats about Welsh mountains, honey and lemon drinks, and how loose John Bonham is! They play  ‘Going to California’, ‘That’s the Way’ and ‘Bron-y-aur Stomp’ with the audience joining in that classic handclap. You can see they are all enjoying this.

Darkness, then dry ice bathed in blue and green light provides the atmospheric setting for ‘No Quarter’ unlike the version on ‘The Song Rem the Same’ this one really is JPJ’s solo spot. He sits at a grand piano and plays classical pieces some with a synth in the background, then just piano that becomes jazzier and funkier till Page and Bonham join, then  returns to classical piano. Most people have no idea JPJ can play like this and are completely blown away.

If they aren’t completely blown away then they certainly are when ‘Trample Underfoot’ starts.

That is followed by…’Yes! John Bonham…Moby Dick!’

The next half hour is probably the most incredible event I’ve ever seen on stage. It’s like watching an automaton, at times you’d think that if this was on film you’d suspect they had speeded parts up. John Bonham is an incredibly visual drummer, he can play fast, complex drum parts but his arms are still raised above his head each time to get full power on the downstrike. The hands only part is equally amazing as he smashes at the cymbals and back elbows the gong. The sounds he gets from the kettle drums reverberate around the hall before the final drums and sticks climax that leaves everybody with mouths wide open.

‘Take a bow John!’ shouts Plant…he stand s and bows and a roar goes up.

‘Take a bow John!’ shouts Plant…he stands again and another roar goes up.

‘Take a bow John!’ shouts Plant…he waves Plant away and downs a pint of beer, another roar goes up!.

The lights go out and the slow unmistakable bass of ‘Dazed and Confused’ starts, Page joins in with a wailing guitar. A purple flare explodes at the back of the stage and Plant roars…’Bin Dazed and Confused for so long its not true!’ This is a track that has grown and grown over the years. A cheer of delight from the audience as Page picks up his violin bow. Purple and Grey smoke begins to rise out of the stage around him. Three green laser beams stream across the hall from the back converging in the smoke on the stage. The guitar begins to shriek loudly! In fact it gets painful its so high pitched and loud! Page stands with bow pointing upwards, the bow crashes down, an iron chord splits the air, the magician points his bow at a corner of the hall from where the chord returns as a single equally loud echo, then over and over he thrashes the guitar. The guitar squeals and moans and the audience sits there mesmerised. 

What can follow that…..’Stairway to Heaven’. Page with his classic double neck, and Plant with his hair bathed in a corona of golden light. Cheers erupt as the first few notes are played, more cheers as …’Theres a lady who sure all that glitters is gold….’

…then as Plant sings  the final line, white lights focus on  huge revolving mirror ball that immerses the audience in a sea of white light.

The show is over but the audience cheer, stamp, scream for a full ten minutes before they come out for the encore…’Whole lotta Love’, …what an exhibition of sonic power. Page takes off his guitar to play the theremin device for the ‘noise’ section and Plant joins in with roars and wails.  Multi coloured flares explode above the stage and they tear into Black Dog for a final blistering finish.

Then they are gone, the house lights come up and nobody moves, more cheers and stamping. Slowly a few people begin to file out, but then have to come running back in as the lights go down again…

‘We never do this!’ shouts Plant, as Page starts Heartbreaker, I can hear shouts of ‘Oh yeaaaaah!!!!‘ and ‘fuuuuuckin’ heeell!!!! in the seats near me as Page goes into a frenzy. They finish that and straight into ‘Communication Breakdown’ and the final finish. Its now 11.45, everyone leaves dazed but not confused.