Music Banter - View Single Post - The Complete Discography Thread Led Zeppelin

Son of JayJamJah · 06-01-2009, 06:25 PM

"They don't (normally) cheer too madly there, you know? We were really scared, because we only had about fifteen hours to practice together. It was sort of an experimental concert to see if we were any good. I guess."

John Paul Jones

(From the Biography of John Paul Jones)
7 September 1968 - as on every Saturday during the season - there was a Teen Club ball at the Egegård School in Gladsaxe (a suburb in the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark) This evening's top orchestra was "The New Yardbirds". Ahead of the event some disappointment could be noted among the Gladsaxe Teen Club members. Only one of the members of the "old" Yardbirds - Jimmy Page - was part of the new version of the group. Was the new quartet really something compared to the well known and very popular Yardbirds?
Today, what those lucky few (probably around 1,200 - 1,400 youngsters) were to witness in the small school aula in Gladsaxe has become part of rock history. Shortly afterwards "The New Yardbirds" changed their name and became "Led Zeppelin". And the gig at Egegård School was the first time that now legendary Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant played together before an audience. Actually the group had only been formed very short time before this - their first Scandinavian tour.
As president of the Gladsaxe Teen Club it was Lars Abel who had the pleasure to enter the stage and introduce the group. His old speaking note from that evening - with some of the names of the new group handwritten into the manuscript only minutes before he made the presentation (a small mistake was made Plant became Plat!) - tells of how the group had been rehearsing all afternoon at the school to the great delight of the voluntary Teen Club work staff who were preparing that evening's ball. Lars Abel could therefore also state that the audience would get something that was even better than the old Yardbirds!

On their first tour the future “Led Zeppelin” played a number of different traditional songs and early versions of Yardbird turned Zeppelin numbers.
Exact set lists during the first tours are still sketchy. Old Yardbirds' live staples such as “Train Kept a Rollin'”, “Dazed and Confused”, “White Summer” and “Likely For Your Love” were performed.
Material from the yet unfinished debut album was also included, such as: “Communication Breakdown”, “I Can't Quit You Baby”, “You Shook Me”, “Babe I'm Gonna Leave You”, “How Many More Times” and a Garnett Mimms cover, “As Long As I Have You.”

THE REVIEWS ARE IN…

Press Review: "Jimmy Page has put a new band together. The music is the same, only better than ever... Robert Plant should face some small criticism and a lot of praise for an excellent performance. There is no doubt that he is a good singer, but he doesn't have to twist his body like he's having a ruptured appendix, does he? Musically, the band is super-great. Their hard disciplined beat is amazing. Of course, it was foremost Jimmy Page that was responsible for this but the drummer should also be mentioned; a drum solo so wild and good is hard to find. It was so good that one almost wished that John Bonham wouldn't stop."

In Teen Club Nyt (Gladsaxe Teen Club's monthly members' magazine) in October 1968 Bent Larsen (who was the magazine's normal reviewer) gave this rave review of the new Yardbirds first concert:
"The English group YARDBIRDS had been rehearsing their new set most of the afternoon. So when they entered the scene they were really hot to get started and give it all. Their performance and their music were absolutely flawless, and the music continued to ring nicely in the ears for some time after the curtains were drawn after their show. Let me in particular give my praise to JIMMY PAGE who has made a great job with the 3 new men. They really succeeded and in particular the guitar solo by Jimmy Page created huge applause. We can therefore conclude that the new YARDBIRDS are at least as good as the old ones were."

“We realized we were working under false pretences, the thing had gone quickly beyond where The Yardbirds had left off. We all agreed there was no point in retaining the New Yardbirds tag so when we got back from Scandinavia we decided to change the name [of the band]. It was a fresh beginning for us all.”

Jimmy Page