Knebworth Festival 1979

infobox concert tour
concert_tour_name = Knebworth 1979


artist = Led Zeppelin
type = Concert
locations = Knebworth House, England
start_date = August 4, 1979
end_date = August 11, 1979
number_of_legs = 1
number_of_shows = 2
last_tour = North America 1977
this_tour = Knebworth 1979
next_tour = Tour Over Europe 1980
The Knebworth Festival 1979 were two concerts performed by the English rock band Led Zeppelin and other artists at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, England, in August 1979.

History

The grounds of Knebworth House near the village of Knebworth had been a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts since 1974. In 1979, veteran promoter Freddy Bannister booked Led Zeppelin to play that year's concerts, which took place on August 4 [ [http://ledzeppelin.com/show/august-4-1979 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary] ] and August 11 [ [http://ledzeppelin.com/show/august-11-1979 Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary] ] . The band had not performed live for two years since the death of Robert Plant's son during the band's 1977 North American tour, and they had not performed in the United Kingdom for four years.

In late July, two low-key warm-up shows were performed at the Falkoner Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark, in the lead-up to the concerts.

Also performing at the Knebworth concerts in 1979 were The New Barbarians (featuring Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards), Todd Rundgren and Utopia, Southside Johnny, Marshall Tucker, Commander Cody, Chas & Dave and Fairport Convention.

According to the official website of Knebworth House, the 1979 Knebworth Festival involved

These were the final shows Led Zeppelin performed in the United Kingdom until 2007.

Critical reaction

revolution, Led Zeppelin were now considered to be obsolete in some quarters. [ [http://www.led-zeppelin.com/bio.html Led Zeppelin.com bio] ]

These reviews prompted the ire of Robert Plant, who made sarcastic reference to them on-stage during the August 11 show. However, Plant himself later expressed reservations about the concerts:

Audio and video recordings

The concerts were officially recorded and filmed, and live images were beamed directly onto a giant screen behind the stage for the benefit of the audiences. For many years, bootleg copies of this audio and video material circulated amongst fans, but Led Zeppelin never officially released any of the recordings until 2003, when parts of the footage were digitally remastered and included on the "Led Zeppelin DVD".

et list

#"The Song Remains the Same" (Page, Plant)
#"Celebration Day" (Jones, Page, Plant)
#"Black Dog" (Jones, Page, Plant)
#"Nobody's Fault but Mine" (Page, Plant)
#"Over the Hills and Far Away" (Page, Plant)
#"Misty Mountain Hop" (Jones, Page, Plant)
#"Since I've Been Loving You" (Jones, Page, Plant)
#"No Quarter" (Jones, Page, Plant,)
#"Ten Years Gone" (Page, Plant)*
#"Hot Dog" (Page, Plant)
#"The Rain Song" (Page, Plant)
#"White Summer"/"Black Mountain Side" (Page)
#"Kashmir" (Bonham, Page, Plant)
#"Trampled Under Foot" (Jones Page, Plant)
#"Sick Again" (Page, Plant)
#"Achilles Last Stand" (Page, Plant)
#"Page Solo" (Page)
#"In the Evening" (Jones, Page, Plant)
#"Stairway to Heaven" (Page, Plant)
#"Rock and Roll" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant)
#"Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant)
#"Heartbreaker" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant)*
#"Communication Breakdown" (Bonham, Jones, Page)**

* Only performed on August 4.** Only performed on August 11

References

ources

*Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File", London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4.

External links

* [http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/79-Knebworth-festival.html Article about the event, with photos]
* [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://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&start=400&num=200&msa=0&msid=117377988734231201134.000456dd16a110fb42ccf&ll=51.871775,-0.218911&spn=0.020615,0.038624&t=h&z=15 View in Google Earth]