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In May of 1979 it was announced that Led Zeppelin would re-form to play two massive outdoor shows in the natural amphitheater at Knebworth Park. In preparation, late in July, they played two nights of live rehearsals at the Falkonerteatret in Copenhagen, using the Danish audience as litmus test for its English comeback The first Knebworth show was on August 4 - it was their first English show since 1975, and the band was terrified, with Plant claiming later his voice was all "clammed up with nerves". In Through the Out Door was supposed to have been released prior to the shows, but the usual delays prevented this. The concerts received decidedly mixed reviews. The band would even admit to being a bit rusty. The two concerts were professionally recorded; part of the footage would be remastered, and appear as part of the 2003 DVD package.
In April 1980 Led Zeppelin began to rehearse again for a short tour of Europe. The plan was to play fourteen concerts during June in Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland. It would be their first European series since 1973. During this time, Richard Cole fell out of favour with Peter Grant. Grant decided that Cole was too wasted to do his job. He later ended up getting arrested in Italy and jailed for 6 months in Italy.
The first date of the first tour since the death of Plant's son was in Germany, on June 17, 1980. The whole tour was scaled way down, with no video screen or much in the way of visual effects. Page appeared painfully thin and frail in a floppy suit and skinny punk tie, and played with a new, spartan economy. JPJ had short, swept-back hair and was clearly the music director of the band, playing electric clavinet and organ in addition to grand piano and his bass. Bonzo was at his heaviest, fully bearded, and played in top form when he was feeling well. Plant was subdued when compared to the raving swordsman of a now bygone era, but he still danced and moved with his own peculiar graceful gestures.
The shows were highly erratic as the tour moved on through Europe. On some nights, Jimmy looked "weary, unshaven, unsteady and sweaty,". On other nights he jumped in the air, used extravagant wizard moves to finish songs, and actually spoke to the audience. Offstage, the scene was as subdued as some of the shows. Without Richard Cole to goad Led Zeppelin or the rest of the crew, there were few of the usual outrages. Though during one show, Bonham fell off his drum chair and collapsed after the third song of the night.
The (final) tour ended in Berlin on July 7, 1980, after Jimmy cancelled a series of concerts in France - the third consecutive tour that was ended early. A little more than two months later, they reconvened to rehearse for the upcoming American tour. Hopes for the group's complete revival were very high. By then Bonzo had stopped using heroin, but he had been drinking heavily and was taking a drug called Motival, which reduced anxiety and kept his spirits up. A friend later said that Bonzo had seemed very wound up and anxious about going back to America because the last tour there had been such a disaster and lawsuits were still hanging over him in California.
On September 24, 1980. Bonham was on his way to rehearsals in the early morning, and had the band assistant stop for breakfast - downing four quadruple vodka's and a ham role. After continuing to drink heavily during rehearsals, for the first time in his career he was too drunk to play. Rehearsals ended early, and Bonzo continued his binge at a band party at Page's house. He downed two or three large double vodkas an hour before midnight, when he passed out on a sofa. Having been dragged upstairs to bed, when he was late for rehearsals the next morning, he was found dead in his bedroom; having drunk forty measures of vodka during a twelve-hour period, and then choked on his own vomit while asleep, his death was ruled an accidental suicide.
On December 4th, the band released the following:
We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were -- Led Zeppelin
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Topic: The Led Zeppelin Discography Discussion: v. Everything still turns to gold (Read 55949 times)