31 years ago today, I was just about waking up - in a tent - from one of the greatest concerts I had ever been to !! Led Zeppelin @ Knebworth, August 4th. 1979 !! To celebrate this mad milestone in my life, I'm playing the entire concert recording from start to finish - why ? Well - why not !!
Going back to that day, my ex & yours truly had driven up on the Friday, pitched our tent - my old man's - and settled in........ only to wake up at 1 am the next morning to a heap of noise, as people were getting ready to go to the arena area - hence we got about 3 hours sleep at most !!
To the back of the tent, about 50 yards or so away, was a fire - with this guy sat alone beside it... so I went over & warmed myself & got talking to him. He was a Welsh guy, had a ticket, but was looking for his mates..... he asked if I had seen a red 'post office' van. I mention this as there were 1000's of cars & vans there - I think the official figures (from Zeppelin's manager) were something like 250,000 people - so that will give you some idea. Best we could do, was give him a hot drink & part company......
Then off to the concert - I think we sat in the arena about 4 am & waited - getting a bit of sleep & wandering off to the loos & then trying to find our ways back to our bags.... in the days when you could trust people, you didn't know, to watch things & not walk off with them !!
It was a long day, with various bands playing, until Zeppelin came on stage - I think somewhere around 9.30 pm that night.... it's been a while, so I might have my time a bit wrong. I know they came on stage part ways thru' Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Tuesday's Gone'... the music died, the crowd cheered & then we got our first sight of the big back screen - projecting the bands image across the whole arena.... without which, we would of seen very very little !!
So the set went:
1) The Song Remains The Same
2) Celebration Day
3) Black Dog
4) Nobody's Fault But Mine
5) Over The Hills & Far Away
6) Misty Mountain Hop
7) Since I've Been Loving You
8) No Quarter
9) Ten Years Gone
10) Hot Dog
11) The Rain Song
12) White Summer
13) Kashmir
14) Trampled Underfoot
15) Sick Again
16) Achilles Last Stand
17) Guitar Solo
18) In The Evening
19) Stairway To Heaven
20) Rock & Roll
21) Whole Lotta Love
22) Heartbreaker
By the time the band left stage, my ex & I were heading back to the tent - we stopped, part ways, when the band came back for the final encore..... but, it was brilliant !! It had been a long day, it was something like 2 am when we actually found the tent & sleep followed quite quickly !!
Later that day, the Sunday, we packed up & headed home..... wishing I had taped the show, as so many had - but happy to have seen the band again. The last time had been 4 years earlier at Earls Court, in London.
What nobody knew, at the time, was that in just over a year the group would break-up due to the death of the drummer, John Bonham......... apart from the second show, the following week, at Knebworth, we had seen Zeppelin's last show in England. It got slated in the press, but we were there & it was a brilliant experience - one I will never forget - as you can probably tell !!
As we drove back along the M4, guess what ? There was a red 'post office' van - full of people like us - tired, dirty & (probably) still talking about Zeppelin... we couldn't see if our lonely campfire man was in the van - but, it wold be nice to think, he found his mates !!
Oh well..... as the cd plays 'Ten Years Gone' from all those years ago - I will away........
Bye Bye
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