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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 17, 2021 22:25:57 GMT 10
February 27th, 1972: Sydney Showground, Sydney
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 17, 2021 22:29:42 GMT 10
February 27th, 1972: Sydney Showground, Sydney
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 17, 2021 22:31:10 GMT 10
February 27th, 1972: Sydney Showground, Sydney
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 17, 2021 22:34:46 GMT 10
February 29th, 1972: Brisbane Festival Hall, Brisbane
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 17, 2021 22:37:38 GMT 10
Setlist (from 143 & 106 minute audience recordings):
Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker (incl. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)), Out on the Tiles (Intro)/ Black Dog, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Celebration Day, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, That’s the Way, Tangerine, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Dazed and Confused, What is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Rock and Roll, Whole Lotta Love Medley (incl. Sing a Simple Song, Just a Little Bit, Boogie Chillun’, Cocaine Blues, Bottle Up and Go, The Wanderer, Hello Mary Lou, Let’s Have a Party, Going Down Slow)
Zeppelin performed their last ever gig in Australia, and for the first time on the tour they played a non-stadium, indoor show. The audience was quite rowdy as Plant continually tried to quell the crowd, telling them before Dazed and Confused: “You must realize that the people you meet in the street tomorrow are the people who have been shouting and making this a bit of a nauseating time.”
During the Whole Lotta Love medley the band surprised the audience with their rendition of Dion and the Belmonts’ The Wanderer – the one and only time they ever performed the song.
Despite the rough start to the tour beginning with the futile drug raid the morning after their first show in Perth, the Australian tour was a resounding success. Once again, the band had conquered new territories, playing to thousands of people in sold out stadiums across the continent. One only needs to view the Australian segment of the band’s 2003 official DVD release to get a feel for the magnitude of the shows and audience response. The live tapes of the tour captured the band consistently turning in high level performances before wild, rock-starved fans. Fortunately, between the illicit recordings, pro-shot video, press coverage, interviews, and countless photographs of the concerts, the 1972 Led Zeppelin Australian tour is still being enjoyed 40 years later. It remains one of the most memorable tours ever undertaken in Australia by a visiting rock band.
February 29th, 1972: Brisbane Festival Hall, Brisbane
Written and Compiled by Mike Tremaglio – first published in TBL issue 32.
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 17, 2021 22:43:07 GMT 10
Setlist (from 130 & 45 minute audience recordings):
Out on the Tiles (Intro)/ Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, That’s the Way, Tangerine, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Dazed and Confused, What is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Rock and Roll, Whole Lotta Love Medley (incl. Sing a Simple Song, Boogie Chillun’, Hello Mary Lou, The Rover (Instrumental), Let’s Have a Party, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Going Down Slow), Communication Breakdown (incl. It’s Your Thing), Organ Solo, Thank You
Sydney Morning Herald journalist David D. McNicholl in his December 19th, 1971 column titled “It’s a Happening World – Glitter Scene questioned whether Zeppelin would be coming soon to Sydney in late Februrary or early March since that was the “strongest rumour in the music business.” In the following week’s column, McNicholl was more than happy to announce that his “prediction” was right with a headline that read: “I Told You So: Zeppelin Will Soon Be Here.” The article went on to say that Zeppelin’s tour would start on February 16 and play in Sydney on the 27th.
Go-Set magazine (March 11th, 1972) covered the Sydney concert in an article by Stephen Maclean titled “Thanks for the Fantasy, Zeppelin.” Maclean was very impressed with the band’s showmanship and offered up the following:
“At Sydney’s showgrounds, halfway during Led Zeppelin’s final (ed. note: second to last) Australian concert, Robert Plant looked across the massive audience and announced ‘There are twenty-six thousand of us now. Wow… twenty six thousand of us.’ The ‘us’ implied that Zeppelin were at one with the audience, but the satisfying truth is that they were not. They were completely apart from the earth-bound crowd, living out their rock and roll dreams to a point where they, the creators, actually became their image. Imagery and talent permit Robert Plant to become whatever the music makes him. He didn’t perform his songs at Sydney showground – he lived them. When he said there were ‘twenty-six thousand of us’ he was completely wrong. Robert Plant was completely different from anyone in that audience, which is why we at last had a concert genuinely worth the four bucks admission.”
“Led Zeppelin move in an aura that Creedence Clearwater, visitors of some weeks back, just couldn’t hope to touch upon. Whereas Creedence are famous musicians, Zeppelin are real live rock stars. They kept bobbing up all over Sydney during their stay, leaving a trail of excitement and show-biz type gossip in their path.”
One of the surprises of the band’s performance was the inclusion of an instrumental 50-second version of The Rover – this was subsequently recorded in the spring of 1972 but would not be released until it appeared on Physical Graffiti three years later (and other than being used as a short intro to Sick Again in 1977, it was never performed live again).
Thank You was performed as a final encore – the one and only time it was performed on this tour.
On the band’s 2003 official DVD release, disc two starts off with a powerful cine colour film of the band performing in Sydney (synched to the audio of Immigrant Song from Long Beach Arena, June 27th, 1972). This cine film was shot from the side of the stage by members of the Zep road crew. Cine footage from the same source also exists of the empty arena and the fans arriving.
The 2003 DVD release also includes black & white clips of the band performing Rock and Roll in full and a few short interviews. This pro-shot footage had originally been broadcast in 1972 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Sunday Night programme, Get To Know. The very ending of Whole Lotta Love, Let’s Have a Party, and additional interviews were also included as part of the original broadcast but were edited out of the official DVD.
The interviews were filmed at a press reception held in Sydney by the local record company. The complete unedited footage shows a young Germaine Greer mingling with Plant and Jones. Plant talks in a very broad black country accent about the Perth police raid. JPJ discusses George Harrison’s recent Bangla Desh benefit shows and asked if they would consider making a film themselves, he tellingly replies ”Undoubtedly we will get around to it”. John Bonham comes over as very articulate when seen commenting on the changes on their music.
February 27th, 1972: Sydney Showground, Sydney
TBL News
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 17, 2021 22:47:22 GMT 10
February 20th, 1972: Kooyong Stadium, Melbourne
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 17, 2021 22:49:52 GMT 10
Setlist (from 93, 66, 57, & 51 minute audience recordings):
Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker (incl. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)), Out on the Tiles (Intro)/ Black Dog, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, That’s the Way, Tangerine, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Dazed and Confused, Rock and Roll, Whole Lotta Love Medley (incl. Sing a Simple Song, Boogie Chillun’, Let’s Have a Party)
The Sunday afternoon Melbourne show at Kooyong Stadium was covered fairly extensively by the press. Once again, the familiar theme amongst the reviewers was the overwhelming decibels of the band’s sound system. The concert was performed before 12,000-plus fans at the stadium usually reserved for tennis tournaments. The cover of the first edition of “The Concert File” by TBL’s own Dave Lewis with Simon Pallett has an incredible behind-the-stage panoramic shot of the group on the Melbourne stage (the photo had originally been published in Go-Set magazine – March 4th).
The show was reviewed in The Sun (Feb. 21st) in an article titled “The sounds of a Zeppelin.” The reviewer mentioned that the group had “gotten off to a disappointing start,” but said they improved as the concert progressed and by the end of the show “the audience was clapping and screaming for more.”
Sally Aurisch of Go-Set magazine (March 4th) concurred with The Sun’s reviewer in her piece titled “Melbourne A Slow Start But a Wild Finish.” She wrote that initially “the acoustics of the stadium were against them,” but “towards the end of their acoustic set Zeppelin had the sound licked, and from then there was nothing but build-up.”
Aurisch’s review also included the following highlights:
“Page’s guitar work became faultless, as he strutted and walked around the stage, and for some reason, reminded me of Chuck Berry, when he used to goose walk across the stage, with his guitar slung low.”
“John Bonham and John Paul Jones must also rate mentions as far as the music goes, because they were an integral part of the sound. Page and Plant, however, dominate the visual thing, so it’s these two you remember when you leave.”
“By halfway through the two hours the group played, the audience was hooked, and by the end of the concert when you looked around all you saw was a moving sea of bodies, and bodies jumping up and down against the sky.”
“The last two numbers after the (ten-minute rain) break were probably the best of the day, with the wind coming up adding another aspect to Zeppelin’s driving music, and to Plant’s antics in his skin-tight jeans. A great concert that ended with the crowd going wild.”
February 20th, 1972: Kooyong Stadium, Melbourne
TBL News
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 17, 2021 22:52:06 GMT 10
February 20th, 1972: Kooyong Stadium, Melbourne
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 29, 2023 19:42:42 GMT 10
February 16th, 1972: Subiaco Oval, Perth Led Zeppelin made their Australian live debut when they kicked off a six-date tour at the Subiaco Oval, Perth. Police battled with over 500 fans who rammed locked gates trying to get into the concert. Over 4,000 fans stood outside the venue without tickets.
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Apr 5, 2023 21:16:29 GMT 10
February 27th, 1972: Sydney Showground, Sydney
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Apr 5, 2023 21:18:53 GMT 10
February 16th, 1972: Subiaco Oval, Perth
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Jun 13, 2023 22:15:17 GMT 10
June 11th, 1972: Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore June 11, 1972: LED ZEPPELIN appeared live at the Civic Center (Baltimore), Baltimore, MD USA. Setlist: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Black Dog, Since I've Been Loving You, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, That's the Way, Tangerine, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Dazed and Confused, What Is and What Should Never Be , Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I Need Your Love Tonight, Hello Mary Lou, Heartbreak Hotel, I'm Going Down, Going Down Slow), Rock and Roll, Communication Breakdown.
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Post by Monsters of Rock on Jun 29, 2023 21:09:23 GMT 10
June 18th, 1972: Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle Setlist: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Black Dog, Since I've Been Loving You, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, That's the Way, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Dazed and Confused, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley).
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