The musical kaleidoscope that is Led Zeppelin rolled into London for what was billed as the rock legends’ final, and greatest, ever show. And I was there!
The story goes like this – Ahmet Ertegun founded a ‘rock’ division at the Atlantic record label many moons ago and his first signing was a little group called Led Zeppelin in the late ‘60s. So, when Mr Ertegun passed away in 2006, there wasn’t really any other band you would ask to headline a memorial show for him, than Led Zeppelin.
And for Led Zeppelin, as well as it being an opportunity for them to pay tribute to the man who discovered them, it was also a chance for them to have their one last hurrah – as the front men have confirmed (and I’m sure all those who forked out their £125 each for the show are praying is indeed true) this will be their final ever show and a chance for the veterans of rock to go out on a high note. Previous reunions, such as the one for Live Aid in the early 80s, were not successful the guys say, so this is Led Zeppelin’s swansong.
Organisers devised what they hoped was a tout-proof ticket allocation and delivery system, which included hundreds and thousands of fans entering a ballot to win a pair of the 20,000 tickets available for the show. It was billed as one of the most intricate and sophisticated anti-touting measures yet, but did it work?
10,000 of the people who entered the ballot won the right to a pair of tickets and were then sent a code to purchase their tickets. We – the winners – were told the code was only valid for a few days and was apparently non-transferable, as only the ballot winners could purchase the tickets (purchase details had to match the ballot entry details). Once the tickets were purchased, we were then told that to pick up the tickets we had to attend the venue the day before the gig, with the credit card used to purchase the tickets, as well as photo ID of the purchaser. The two people attending the concert had to be there to be fitted with their wristband and receive their tickets. As we discovered once in line, the ticket purchaser didn’t necessarily need to attend the gig themselves, but just had to show their credit card and ID, with the two attendees in tow to get their wristbands.
So as we stood in line for almost four hours to pick up our tickets, we were hearing and witnessing that the anti-touting measures were not foolproof after all. Touts were conducting their business by phone outside the arena and arranging to meet pairs of people willing to pay £500+ per ticket, and then the three of them were getting in line so the tout could show his credit card and ID and the two multi-hundred-pound purchasers were fitted with the wristbands – pretty simple really.
In fact, we were in line next to a pair of ladies whose male friend had come along to keep them company in the line, and who, by the time we were at the front of the queue, had arranged to join a tout in the line after agreeing to purchase an ‘illegal’ wristband and ticket.
But while there were (and always will be) people looking to make a quick buck at the expense of genuine fans, it was refreshing to hear stories from fellow, genuine, ticket purchasers with whom we endured the queue.
There were the two ladies from Canada who had had tickets to the band’s 1981 US and Canadian tour, which was subsequently cancelled when drummer John Bonham died in 1980. And the German couple whose male half had had tickets to what turned out to be the band’s last European tour, but had to give them away because he was drafted into the army, and then Bonham died. And throughout our wait, there was the ever-present whooping from the front of the queue as people got their hands on their ‘golden ticket’, so to speak.
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December 10th was the night when 20 years of anticipation finally came to a climax at London’s O2 arena as Led Zeppelin – in the finest of form – came together once more and played an intense and heavy set to a virtually drooling crowd.
No offence, but there’s little point talking about the other artists on the bill, because let’s face it – the 20,000 people who had won ballot tickets weren’t there to see Bill Wyman or Pete Townsend or Paulo Nutini, they were there to see Led Zeppelin, and they weren’t disappointed.
About 10 minutes to 9pm an announcement went over the loudspeakers around the venue: “Tonight’s performance – Led Zeppelin – is about to start, please make your way to your seats” – and you should have seen the pace pick up around the bars and toilets as people filed into the arena.
The concert began with old-school footage played on the massive screen at the back of the stage, with a voiceover speaking of the band’s achievements and reputation, before 59-year-old Robert Plant, 61-year-old John Paul Jones and 63-year-old Jimmy Page took to the stage, along with their legendary former drummer, John Bonham’s, son Jason on drums – and oh what a roar they received as they immediately broke into ‘Good Times Bad Times’.
Age certainly has not wearied these vintage rockers, nor can Jason Bonham be accused of not being on par with his father – last night was classic Led Zeppelin – their performance and passion could not be faulted.
Next came ‘Ramble On’, ‘Black Dog’ and ‘In My Time Of Dying’, before Plant announced to the crowd: “This is our first adventure with this song in public,” and broke into ‘Your Life’.
Looking around the stands it certainly was an interesting combination of punters in the house – from 10-year-olds to 70-year-olds, and a smattering of all the other ages in between. And when we saw mums and dads rocking out like the 10-year-olds probably would do at a Foo Fighters gig, we couldn’t snigger like we would if it was your own parents, because we knew that all these people were probably there the first time around, and have rocked longer and harder to this band, and probably done so before we were even born.
From first note to last drum stick thrown into the crowd – the audience toe-tapped, air-punched and sang along to every word.
The big classics came towards the end, with ‘Dazed And Confused’, ‘Stairway To Heaven’, ‘The Song Remains The Same’ coming one after another, followed by my personal favourite, ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ – with Jason on backing vocals – and then ‘Kashmir’, which moved hundreds of members of the audience to hold their… mobile phones… aloft? Where once it was the flame of a cigarette lighter, now it is the screens of phone cameras that fire-light the throng during the special moments.
When Led Zeppelin left the stage after the end of ‘Kashmir’, and a bow, it was one of the very few times in my concert-going history that the audience has really made enough noise to justify an encore – and obligingly, back came the men to play ‘Whole Lotta Love’. They retreated again, but were soon forced back to the stage by the baying of the crowd, where they finally finished the night with ‘Rock And Roll’.
So, was it worth it? The ballot process, the high ticket price, the queuing to pick up tickets in advance, the 20-year wait? You better believe it!
Set list:
‘Good Times Bad Times’
‘Ramble On’
‘Black Dog’
‘In My Time Of Dying
‘Your Life’
‘Trampled Under Foot’
‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’
‘No Quarter’
‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’
‘Dazed and Confused’
‘Stairway to Heaven’
‘The Song Remains the Same’
‘Misty Mountain Hop’
‘Kashmir’
Encore:
‘Whole Lotta Love’
‘Rock and Roll’
Pictures and videos by Amy Freeborn
