Led Zeppelin European Tour 1971

infobox concert tour
concert_tour_name = Europe 1971

Poster for Led Zeppelin's infamous concert at Milan, Italy, used to help promote its 1971 European tour
artist = Led Zeppelin
type = Concert
locations = Europe
start_date = May 3, 1971
end_date = July 5, 1971
number_of_legs = 2
number_of_shows = 5
last_tour = United Kingdom Spring 1971
this_tour = Europe 1971
next_tour = North America 1971

Led Zeppelin's 1971 European Tour was a concert tour of Europe by the English rock band. The tour commenced on March 2 and concluded on April 2, 1971. It included one concert at Liverpool, England, which was a rescheduled date from their preceding tour of the United Kingdom. [ [http://ledzeppelin.com/show/may-10-1971 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary] ] It is possible that other unverified dates in Europe were also performed during this period. [Dave Lewis and Simon Pallett, (1997) "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File", London: Omnibus Press, p. 63.]

Though being very short in duration, this concert tour was well known, primarily because of the extremely violent crowd disturbance which took place at the band's concert at the Vigorelli Velodrome in Milan on July 5. [ [http://www.rickmcgrath.com/ledzep.html Led Zeppelin Interview 1971 ] ] [ [http://ledzeppelin.com/show/july-5-1971 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary] ] This festival appearance in front of an audience of 15,000 people was abandoned when hundreds of tear-gas wielding riot police charged into the crowd. The group were forced to leave the stage and many fans were injured. Some of the group's equipment was also damaged in the chaos. The concert has been described as one of the low points of Led Zeppelin's career, and the band never returned to Italy again.Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File", London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, p. 63.]

Tour set list

The fairly typical set list for the tour was:

#"Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant)
#"Heartbreaker" (Bonham, Page, Plant)
#"Since I've Been Loving You" (Page, Plant, Jones)
#"Dazed and Confused" (Page)
#"Black Dog" (Page, Plant, Jones)
#"Stairway to Heaven" (Page, Plant)
#"Going to California" (Page, Plant)
#"That's the Way" (Page, Plant)
#"What Is and What Should Never Be" (Page, Plant)
#"Moby Dick" (Page, Jones, Bonham)
#"Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant)
#"Communication Breakdown" (Bonham, Jones, Page)
#"Rock and Roll" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham)

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. On May 3rd Led Zeppelin played "Four Sticks" (Page, Plant). This is the only known time it was performed by the original band.Dave Lewis (1994), "The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin", Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.] Also played was "Gallows Pole," one of only two complete known live performances, the other played later that year on 1971-11-16.

Tour dates

*03/05/1971 flagicon|Denmark K.B. Hallen - Copenhagen, Denmark
*04/05/1971 flagicon|Denmark Fyns Forum - Odense, Denmark
*10/05/1971 flagicon|England Liverpool University - Liverpool, England
*05/07/1971 flagicon|Italy Velodromo Vigorelli - Milan, Italy

External links

* [http://www.ledzeppelin.com/timelinebrowse Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)]
* [http://www.bootledz.com/setlists.htm Led Zeppelin concert setlists]
* [http://www.rickmcgrath.com/ledzep.html 1971 interview with Robert Plant about the Milan riot]

References