Led Zeppelin News

Foo Fighters are to release a DVD of their Wembley Stadium shows from last month, where the band performed with members of Led Zeppelin.

‘Foo Fighters: Live At Wembley Stadium’ features 18 songs from both nights of their residency at the huge London venue - which took place on June 6th and 7th.

August 23 is the release date and fans will be pleased to know the performances of ‘Rock and Roll’ and ‘Ramble On’ (both by Led Zeppelin) that features Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones will be included.

Foo Fighters: Live At Wembley Stadium Tracklisting:

The Pretender
Times Like These
No Way Back
Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)
Learn To Fly
Long Road To Ruin
Breakout
Stacked Actors
Skin And Bones
Marigold
My Hero
Cold Day In The Sun
Everlong
Monkey Wrench
All My Life
Rock And Roll
Ramble On
Best Of You

http://angryape.com/news/2008/07/28/foo-fighters-wembley-stadium-live-dvd-due-next-month

When the chance to work for one of the world’s biggest rock groups came knocking on artist Jon Ellinor’s door, he knew it was going to be a stairway to heaven.

The 25-year-old received a commission impossible to turn down - he was asked to produce a painting for legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.

The deal was that should the painting live up the Page’s high standards, it would be signed by the rock star and added to an exhibition of Led Zeppelin memorabilia celebrating the 40th anniversary of the band.

Jon, who lives in St Ives and grew up in Earith, told The Hunts Post that his work has now been given the Page seal of approval and is among the collection of rare vinyl, old concert tickets, clothing and other items going on display in Hertfordshire. His painting depicts the band in their very early days and was produced from a photograph taken in the 1960s.

“The painting is now part of the Led Zeppelin exhibition at Knebworth House and is being offered worldwide as a competition prize to raise money for charity,” he said.

Tickets to win the signed painting are available through a website - as is another prize signed by Page, a Meridian stereo donated by the Huntingdon-based firm.

Jon was asked to get involved in the project after his work was seen hanging in a furniture shop in St Ives.

Annie Hollinshead, who works for the ABC Trust - a charity set up by Page to help Brazilian orphans - spotted his artwork in Furnish 4 Less earlier this year.

“Annie saw it and contacted me and asked if I wanted to do this. Yes, was the obvious answer.

“I was very pleased with the painting and delighted that Jimmy Page signed it.”

Jon studied photography at college in Cambridge and set up his own studio in February.

His business, AKTIV Portraits, is in the grounds of Huntingdon Garden and Leisure in Wyton where he specialises in portrait and wedding photography as well as painting.

As yet, Jon has not met the Led Zeppelin legend but is hopeful Page will be at Knebworth House when the charity exhibition opens next Friday (August 1).

“He is a difficult man to get to talk to, but I’m told he was impressed with the painting,” he said.

INFORMATION: View Jon’s work at www.aktiv-portraits.co.uk. The Led Zeppelin exhibition runs until Wednesday, September 3 - more details www.memoriesinmusic.com. Tickets for the prize draw cost £2.50.

http://www.huntspost.co.uk/content/hunts/news/story.aspx?brand=HPTOnline&category=News&tBrand=HertsCambsOnline&tCategory=newslatestHPT&itemid=WEED23%20Jul%202008%2009%3A40%3A01%3A040

[Led Zeppelin are] up for event of the year, following their much-hyped reunion gig - which was temporarily delayed by that injured digit.

The comeback show, at London’s O2 Arena, was the band’s first gig in more than 19 years. More than a million people entered a ballot for just 9,000 pairs of tickets.

Also shortlisted in the event category are Sheffield rockers Def Leppard and David Coverdale’s Whitesnake, who receive a joint nominated for their combined tour.

They go up against metal festival Hard Rock Hell, Iron Maiden’s world tour and Kiss’s appearance at the Download festival.

Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Led Zeppelin also appear in the Band of the Year category, competing against facepainted rockers Kiss and Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters.

The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony on 3 November at London’s Park Lane Hotel.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7521738.stm

Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains The Same has been expanded and remastered for a four LP heavyweight (180g) vinyl box set, released today (July 22), and 100 copies have been made as limited edition white vinyl.

The reissue of the soundtrack to their 1976 concert film which documents Led Zep’s three Madison Square Gardens concerts features six additional tracks, not on the original version.

The deluxe four LP reissue also includes liner notes by Cameron Crowe and the remastering was overseen personally by band guitarist Jimmy Page with Kevin Shirley.

The six songs that were not on the original release are:
Black Dog
Over The Hills And Far Away
Misty Mountain Hop
Since I’ve Been Loving You
The Ocean
Heartbreaker

There have only been 200 copies of the limited edition white vinyl version of The Song Remains the Same, with only 100 of these being made available for sale through LedZeppelin.com.

100 fans who order the LP box set will be chosen at random to receive the white viyl edition.

Also, Led Zeppelin are to issue a 4 LP heavyweight edition of their hugely succesful 22-track remastered song collection Mothership. This deluxe set will be available on August 26, 2008.

http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/led_zeppelin/news/11906

Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” is up against 11 other albums including “Raising Sand” by Alison Krauss and former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, in this year’s Nationwide Mercury Prize.

Also on the shortlist for album of the year is “The Age of the Understatement” by The Last Shadow Puppets, featuring Miles Kane of The Rascals and Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys.

Chairman of the judges Simon Frith said: “This turns out to be a remarkably rich year for British music.

“What is most striking is the continued resilience and flexibility of the album as a way of organising music-making. It remains an unrivalled source of musical invention and imagination, a way of linking songs, exploring themes and developing sounds.”

The shortlist of 12 albums of the year was chosen by an independent panel from more than 240 entries by UK artists.

Previous winners of the award include the Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, Antony and the Johnsons and Franz Ferdinand.

This year’s Nationwide Mercury Prize winners announcement will be broadcast live on BBC2 on September 9.

The full shortlist for album of the year is as follows:
- Elbow (”The Seldom Seen Kid”)
- Radiohead (”In Rainbows”)
- British Sea Power (”Do You Like Rock Music?”)
- Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (”Raising Sand”)
- Burial (”Untrue”)
- Estelle (”Shine”)
- Adele (”19″)
- Laura Marling (”Alas I Cannot Swim”)
- Rachel Unthank & The Winterset (”The Bairns”)
- Neon Neon (”Stainless Style”)
- Portico Quartet (”Knee-Deep In The North Sea”)
- The Last Shadow Puppets (”The Age Of The Understatement”)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKL2289343120080722?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10171&sp=true

Warner Music (JDS) is releasing the Led Zeppelin 40th Anniversary SHM-CD Mini-LPs on Sept. 10, 2008.

Price is approx. $248 US, plus tax and shipping.

Cardboard sleeve reissue box set from Led Zeppelin featuring all ten albums of the “Led Zeppelin 40th Anniversary SHM-CD Cardboard Sleeve Reissue Series” in the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (fully compatible with standard CD players), advanced cardboard sleeve replicas of the original UK E-style album jackets, plus six bonus cardboard sleeves including five alternate jackets for “In Through The Out Door” and one alternate jacket for “Led Zepplin I” utilizing the original ink.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=WPCR-13142

Parts of John Bonham’s black and white swirled Vistalite Ludwig kit is going up for auction on Sept. 4, 2008.

The Fame Bureau had acquired some of the 18 pieces originally given in John Bonham from Ludwig, via Chris Welch. After a night of drinking with John Bonham, Chris Welch’s car was stuffed full of drum pieces by John Bonham himself.

Since in Chris Welch’s possession, the drumkit has been played on a handful of times, most recently by Robbie Williams.

The Fame Bureau verified its authenticity by contacting the Bonham estate and giving them the dimensions of the drums in the Fame Bureau’s possession.

For the starting bid, contact the Fame Bureau at info@famebureau.com.

Hopefully, Ludwig will put in the winning bid, a’la Acoustic and John Paul Jones’ bass stack.

http://store.famebureau.com/jobodrkit.html

A music student from Haslemere has beaten thousands of others to win a guitar signed by rock legend Jimmy Page.

Thomas McCluskey, 17, who studies at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) in Guildford, won the instrument in a competition at GuilFest 2008.

He was presented with a Gibson Les Paul guitar at the University of Surrey after being picked ahead of 1,400 other entrants.

Thomas said he was delighted to have won the coveted prize.

“As I am studying music and guitar at the ACM, it is an awesome prize and I will treasure it forever,” he said.

“It’s my 18th [birthday] at the end of the month so it feels like I will have the best birthday ever.”

Led Zeppelin guitarist Page was recently awarded an honorary doctorate by the university for his services to the music industry.

It also marked the fact Led Zeppelin first played under that name at a performance at the university’s student union in October 1968.

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2032117_music_student_wins_jimmy_page_guitar

Plant was speaking to journalists abut his current project with singer Allison Krauss when the subject of his former band was raised.

“Zzzzzzzzzzz,” Plant said at a press conference in Toronto, before pretending to fall asleep.

Calls for Led Zeppelin to announce further shows have been constant since the band played a one-off reunion show at the O2 Arena in London last December.

The possibility of another show this year now looks unlikely, however, after Plant and Krauss announced that their tour would continue into October.

The Led Zeppelin singer also hinted at a further extension, telling the Canadian Press that he would like to “extend it as far as we can, if you know what I mean.”

As previously reported, according to data from Billboard’s Boxscore, the tour which has currently completed 17 dates has taken more than $5m and played to in excess of 77,000 fans.

“I’m surprised at the varying of the performances show to show,” Krauss said last month. “Because of the personalities within the band, it has changed the show night to night, not only the show overall but each tune takes on a different character. Everything has its own identity from night to that. That’s very exciting for all of us.”

http://www.gigwise.com/news/44607/robert-plant-falls-asleep-when-asked-about-led-zeppelin-reunion

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have extended their smash hit “Raising Sand” tour through early October. The next round of dates begins Sept. 23 in Kansas City, Mo., and will wrap Oct. 5 in Saratoga, Calif.

The duo’s “Raising Sand” album, released last October via Rounder, has sold 1.03 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

According to data from 17 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore, nine of which are sellouts, the tour has grossed more than $5.2 million and drawn more than 77,000 fans.

“I’m surprised at the varying of the performances show to show,” Krauss said last month. “Because of the personalities within the band, it has changed the show night to night, not only the show overall but each tune takes on a different character. Everything has its own identity from night to that. That’s very exciting for all of us.”

Here are Robert Plant/Alison Krauss’ tour dates:
Sept. 23: Kansas City, Mo. (Starlight Theatre)
Sept. 24: St. Louis (Fox Theatre)
Sept. 26: Houston (Mitchell Pavilion)
Sept. 27: Austin, Texas (Austin City Limits)
Sept. 30: Portland, Ore. (Theatre of the Clouds)
Oct. 1: Seattle (WaMu Theatre)
Oct. 3: San Francisco (Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival)
Oct. 4: Kelseyville, Calif. (Konocti Harbor)
Oct. 5: Saratoga, Calif. (Mountain Winery)

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003827265