Going For A Song / Vinyl Rules…

After all the recent stress of form filling, CV’s, Jobseekers etc, it was good to be out and about again last weekend. Main event was of course the W & H Peacock Rock And Pop and Sporting Memorabilia Auction Sale. The auction centre itself has a strong Lewis family connection. Bruv JL has spent months collating and organising the Rock And Pop sale, both my sister in law’s work there and Sam had a Saturday job there so it’s a place we know well.

Setting up the 500 plus lots could only be done after the closure of a Gun auction on Thursday night. By the 9pm Friday viewing opening time it looked excellent with plenty of Zep input including the impressive Remasters disc award, a guitar signed by Jimmy, Robert and JPJ and some very nice signed prints. The Mel Bush commemorative tour mirrors for the likes of Wings, The Jam, Slade, Bad Company etc also looked impressive and there was a fair few Elton John lots including an 18 ct Cartier ring once owned by Elton. Late in the afternoon I met up with Terry Boud and after a scan of the sale we chewed the fat in the Castle and Gordon Arms later meeting with our good ladies Marian and Janet.

There was healthy turn out on Saturday for the sale – it was good to see two of the Bedford Earls Court 6 namely Tom Locke and Phil H. Graeme Hutchinson was also in and unsurprisingly he did not go away empty handed. I had a few odd bits and pieces to sell in the auction as needs must which in the main did well. That allowed me a slight luxury of a couple of bids – I missed out on a very nice Subbuteo table football 1960’s set in the Sporting sale but did secure some splendid Frank Sinatra EP’s and singles. The lot included Frank’s 1971 hit I Will Drink The Wine which has on the B side a jaunty Paul Ryan composition Sunrise In the Morning which is amongst the finest things the man recorded in his latter years. A reminder that it’s Frank’s world…..

Bidding was brisk on the Zep stuff and the Elton ring went for over £3,000. A box of around 80 folk, blues and rock LP’s totted up a hefty £400 price. I’d had a good look through this lot and maybe was not the only one who noticed it had a copy of Dylan’s rare Great White Wonder bootleg in amongst a crop rare Joan Baez original pressings.

The sale went off very slickly and the bruv JL and family deserve a pat on the back for providing a most entertaining day was out. An Anglia TV news film crew came down on the Friday and the Monday edition of the programme included a brief report.

Winding down in the pub afterwards was most welcome as we discussed lots that went for a song, stuff we should have bid on, stuff we did (Tom Locke secured a giant framed Beatles At The BBC poster) and the finer detail of the things that makes our world go round (namely music, books, football, wine, women and er beer!). There was also much comment on Man Utd’s shock 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool.

Amongst other topics was the naming of our favourite second band – Graeme H had no hesitation in listing AC/DC. I always struggle on this – do I plump for The Who definitely the second best live band I’ve seen, or for the overall breadth of catalogue of The Rolling Stones, then again there’s the sheer creative invention of The Beatles. The Stones won it on this occasion though on another day it could change and hey what about Elvis, Nick Drake, Dylan, Paul Weller, The Faces, …Iron Butterfly…

Also in the pub was Sid Sells and old pal from way back who came on the first Wallbanger FC foreign lads holiday to Lloret de Mar a week after the Earls Court gigs. I vividly recall borrowing a pair of high waste flared trousers from Sid to wear to a swanky night club we went to and we had a good laugh about that. Also got talking to a big Who collector who had come down for the auction from Walsall, and of course I couldn’t help but tell him that yes, that’s me leaping up on stage to hug Pete Townshend and nearly knock out Roger Daltrey in the The Kids Are Alright movie.

On Sunday there was inspiration on the soccer field as we travelled to Luton to see Adam’s Brickhill Wanderers triumph against Caddington Youth – a 3-2 win from being 2-1 down at half time. Adam struck a glorious winner that fairly flew in the net. Life was good.

Coming down from all that on Sunday night wasn’t easy as all the familiar recent problems took precedent again.

But Monday I picked myself up again and amongst other things, this week signed off most of the TBL 23 text and Gary Davies waded with an excellent 1969 related exclusive interview – the fruits of which will be in the new issue. I also did an interview on the phone tonight with Frank Reddon author of the excellent Zeppelin Sonic Boob book and editor of the www.enzepplopedia.com site.

Not much to report on the jobs front currently. I’m saving some cracking black humour filled stories for my memoirs, though the latest is that I’m not cut out to be a bed retail sales manager (don’t ask!).

I will reveal that the opening interview question I was asked for the job was ‘’So did you see Led Zeppelin at the 02?’’ and the closing shot ‘’Right any other questions? OK well I’ve got one – Do you think Zep will get back together again?’’

I kid you not – said interviewer had obviously clocked the Zep reference on my CV…there’s just no getting way from it. Not sure if I gave the correct answers though as I didn’t get the job!

Sorted out a load of Zep memorabilia for a possible future Zep project and as I waded through the mountain of vinyl under the stairs I picked out a few LP’s to go on the deck amongst them Houses Of The Holy (the perfect spring album) Nick Drake Heaven In A Wild Flower compilation, Family’s 1969 gem Family Entertainment (Roger Chapman, now there was a very fine singer),The Hollies Rarities (which has a great Graham Nash tune called Wings), Joni Mitchell Court And Spark, Stephen Stills Live (the latter’s Just Roll Tapes CD has also been on – thank your Terry B), the Santana Lotus triple album and Bombers a 1970’s Polydor sampler set with stuff from Taste, Stone The Crows, Lifetime etc..

Some of the high prices various vinyl pieces attained in the Peacocks sale is testament to the lasting affection there is for this most wonderful of sound carriers. Everything from the smell of those black grooves down to the memorable art work is just perfection.

In these worrying and uncertain times there was something deeply comforting about being amongst the whole retro feel of the Peacocks Rock and Pop Auction. A throwback to much simpler days….

Grateful Inspirations / Life after Zavvi…

Well March is here and the first two week of life after Zavvi have nearly passed. Predictably two week of ups and downs.

The uppers have been the wealth of encouraging emails that have come in from all corners of the world acknowledging support for my predicament. For all those that took time to do that, let me say that every one of them has been an inspiration. The good lady Janet has been amazing as has Sam and Adam – so too JL, Sally and Martyn. Elsewhere there’s been grateful support (and beers) from Terry and Max and other friends. Andrew Ricci and Larry Bergmann have sent in postal inspiration and Mick Bulow has been fantastic in his practical advice and it was good to hear from Graeme H. and Gary F.

The downers – the paper work and forms to fill to claim redundancy via the government– the fact that due to one of the many changes of ownership the stores went under, I can only claim five years service (not much to show for after 35 years graft)… a rather bizarre initial attempt to get back into employment that I won’t go into detail about but quickly went pear shaped (As Martyn quipped “DL’s the only man who could go to an interview and not get interviewed!”)….it’s not going to be easy out there for sure. I was, and probably still am in shock for most of last weekend but despite some dark moments I have had to force myself to look forward –not back…also been carrying a cold for about two weeks and somehow pulled a muscle in my back that is well sore (might have been the after effects of that final football match!). A visit to the Jobseekers office today was also an eye opener. Then there was the meeting with the bank where in amongst

All the financial stuff, on learning of my age the otherwise pretty helpful lady suggested I might want to take out funeral arrangement cover…laugh?…we nearly died!

But … on the good side I’ve not allowed myself to think too much of what’s been lost. It’s not felt like I haven’t been working because every day has been pretty full – searching job sites, CV’s to write, Jobseekers admin to investigate and kick starting the text for the spring TBL magazine. Had a great meet with Martyn about the next magazine and it’s shaping up well.

Other inspirations: More fantastic Zep 1969 research work from Mike Tremaglio to pour over, and having the luxury to listen to Physical Graffiti all the way through from the first riff of Custard Pie through to the last zip of the Gibson on Sick Again 34 days to the day it came out – that’s been my one concession, there’s been no watching day time TV treats such as the Jeremy Kyle show (Christ I might be on it soon!), Bargain Hunt or Loose Women honest!. The best TV of the last few days (aside from the excellent Gavin & Stacey second series now being shown on BBC2) has been the BBC2 documentary on last year’s Olympics closing ceremony with plenty of footage of Jimmy rehearsing and at the actual ceremony –an event which I still stand by as being bizarrely amazing.

So life goes on albeit in uncertain and changed circumstances. Although something’s don’t change and Spurs valiant attempt to thwart the might of Man Utd ended as usual in vein..,,,but penalties….come on don’t kick a man when he’s down…

On the player – an iPod playlist of the very fine Graham Nash, the English one of the celebrated C,S N and Y. I’d love to get hold of his new three CD box set Reflections but that won’t be feasible given current financial circumstances so it’s been good to search out the stuff I have by him such as the underrated Wild Tales album. Physical G as mentioned has also been blasted out and a clutch of CD’s sent over by Larry B including the hard to find Jimi Hendrix Concerts album. Looking forward to the Rock and Pop Auction due to be staged in Bedford on Saturday March 14 which the bruv JL has been heavily involved in – some very nice Zep bits on offer including a multi disc gold award and signed guitar (see www.peacockauction.co.uk to view the catalogue on line). Not of course that I’ll be investing.

The time for extravagance certainly ain’t now and I’m sure the takings at The Fox And Hounds pub round the corner are suffering a little bit too – now I’m not in my regular corner any more.

Still I guess that won’t do my health any harm, although the way my back feels right now that’s yet to be proved…

END OF AN ERA / PLAY LED ZEPPELIN

Well the doors have finally shut on Zavvi Milton Keynes signifying the end of an era. In the end it was a slow death – eight weeks of rumour,counter rumour and many ups and downs. Even on the morning of the announcement last Wednesday, I felt there might be a last reprieve. A few stores were snapped up by HMV and word has it a deal was nearly inked for the Milton Keynes store to be part of the new Head Entertainment chain set up by the former Zavvi MD. Both would have been eleventh hour lifelines, but it was not to be and so I find myself redundant and out of a job after 35 years. Initial emotions? The expected ones really: bitterness, frustration, fear of the unknown, deep uncertainty, relief I guess that finally our fete has been decided. And aside from the obvious financial worries it all brings I will dearly miss the camaraderie of the fantastic people I’ve worked with these past few years. I’d like to use this platform to personally thank Ken Drewery, Gareth Riley, Andy Carter, Dave Smith, Simon Beckett, Ingrid Kenyon, Paul Barlow, SJ, Jon, Dave Lyon, Adam, Emma, Ralph, Michelle, Richard, Ali, Sarah G, Jamie T, Windows, Stew, Emily, Matt, Rach, Graham, Thom, Christian, Dan, Sarah M, Lauren, Kay,Re, Lewis, Julie, Rob Brown, Vicky ,Abs, Scott, Ian, Dave and all the Zavvi MK team for making 8 Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes such a great place to be. It’s been more than just a job – it’s been a way of life for me: working with such great people with passion for the products we love and sharing that enthusiasm. Plus there’s been all the laughter, sweat, toil, trials and tribulations working in a massively busy retail unit has entailed. You have to be a little bit crazy to work in retail and I’ve put in some mad hours over the years (often balancing all the TBL/Zep stuff on a tightrope), but the sense of fulfillment has been immense. It’s a tragedy that all that has been taken away. Not just personally, as the Zavvi collapse represents yet another loss to the UK high street. The store stopped trading on Tuesday and we spent the next three days undertaking the massive and somewhat heartbreaking task of dismantling the store and packing up all the stock to go to one of the saved stores. Yesterday (Friday) that process was completed and the end of an era dawned. It was a quite extraordinary day full of high emotion – one highlight was having cleared the sales floor of racks, we were able to stage a full scale football match with the staff –a chance to show why in the Wallbanger FC days I was once described as ‘’Only a wee lad but a great keeper’’ – It was quite a physical encounter and I have the bruises to prove it. (Thank you Gareth!) We finally closed the doors for the last time at 3.45 and yes I had a big lump in my throat. Walking down to the pub past the windows it was still incredible to think it was all over. Many beers were drunk and more than a few tears shed as we bonded together for the last time. Still can’t work out how I managed to get the last bus, and I would have ended up in Cambridge had it been going there as I crashed out completely…as it was I awoke at 12.15 am still on the bus in the Bedford Bus Depot (I completely missed Bedford Bus station) as the cleaner guy was getting on. A two mile walk home followed. Today a hangover from hell and too much time really to reflect on the enormity of the last week. Having Sam back for a few days has been a tonic and we are having a Chinese takeaway tonight. Sam goes back to Norwich tomorrow and next week I’ll need to take a deep sigh and get down to the task of trying to get a new job. I’m sure sometime over the next few days, the symbolic strains of track one side three of the album Physical Graffiti will offer suitable musical solace –It’ll be 34 years to the day that the rightly acclaimed double album was released this coming Wednesday. ‘’Everybody needs the light’’ as the singer put it…..no more so than in these difficult times. Before all this drama, there was a night out for the TBL crew and to paraphrase Cameron Crowe. ‘’To any band who ever needed a surefire cover song, or any musician looking for clues on how to mix textures, cross musical boundaries or just plain rock, there’s no substitute – play Led Zeppelin’’ In the confines of the hallowed Corn Exchange Bedford, that’s what tribute band Whole Lotta Led did pretty convincingly to a good turn out. The TBL crew of bruv JL, Sally and Martyn plus the visiting Mr Foy were on hand and an excellent night was had. It was good to talk to Geoff and Nick from WLL plus Jez and Mick from MK and a fair few others. Also chatted to a local chap who told me he had all the early TBL’s including the rare first issue. Turns out he used to work with my late Dad and I do remember my Dad requesting copies for a lad back then. Nice to know he still holds them in high esteem. Gary and I went on for the traditional curry which led as expected to a whole lotta headache the next morning. All worth it of course.

Let It Snow / BBC Zep in ’79 / TV on the radio…

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow …as Francis Albert Sinatra once said and boy has it done so this week. And as I write it’s still falling heavily. I’ve had a few days out so have not had to face the journey to MK this week…and let’s get this one out of the way early: with another 17 store closures yesterday, Zavvi are down to 31 stores and the deep uncertainty continues of how much longer I’ll be making that journey in the future. Coupled with a few other considerable worries here, can’t say January was very inspiring but we got through it and February is here and with it the aforementioned snow. As one of the style mags recently put it. ‘’January is a 31 day hangover but February brings lambs, daffodils and the air fills with a magical quickening that tells you spring is on the way’’. Looking out of the window now that looks a long way off! The style mag blurb did get this right though:’’February is short so whatever you’re trying to stretch, whether it’s your salary, your calorie intake or your booze units, February’s unique compactness helps you spread it just that little bit thicker. A good enough reason to raise a glass’’. I’ll go along with that one. Back to the snow: As Robert stated in his opening spiel at the Feb 12 ’75 Madison Square gig: ‘’We came four blocks in the snow to get here, and isn’t it good when it snows, doesn’t it change the whole vibe of the city – we’ll dedicate this to the keeper of the seasons, the man who gives us snow when we need it’’ Yes it does change the whole vibe of things and for all the hardship it brings, it does make for some rather magical scenery. With school out yesterday and today, even the good lady and I found ourselves out snowballing for a while with Adam. A listen last night to the Zep BBC Sessions from 1969 (didn’t take long to mention that year this week either!) prompted memories of another snowy winter. All of thirty years ago in 1979. Back in the early weeks of that year, I vividly remember trudging through the snow carrying a box of freshly photocopied TBL’s from town. That February also provided a massive Zep tonic in the form of rare Radio One exposure. News within the Zep camp was still scant to say the least, other than they had completed work on a new album. Gig wise there was nothing on the horizon as yet. However the band’s profile was upped considerably by the re-broadcast on the February 2nd edition of Radio One’s Tommy Vance’s Friday Rock Show of the March and June 1969 BBC Session tracks. The first time they had been heard for a decade and in excellent FM quality. Hearing those early versions of Dazed And Confused, Communication Breakdown and Whole Lotta Love etc was an absolute revelation. The reaction to this broadcast was considerable. In the weeks after the broadcast I had many letters from fans proclaiming how great they sounded. Stuart Whitehead a massive fan from Derby, even began a petition via the TBL magazine to get the 1969 One Night Stand BBC In Concert show rebroadcast – his efforts paying off when it was duly aired on the Tommy Vance show at the end of the year. Led Zeppelin had been out of the public eye for too long…this vintage radio airing was a reminder of what had gone before and gave hope of what might (and did) emerge again. It was reason enough for me to pen a lengthy overview of the Tommy Vance broadcast for TBL 2 (an edited version of which was in my first book The Final Acclaim). I had a look at it today and it’s evident that my enthusiasm for those tapes was one of pure wonderment. In the piece I transcribed the late great Tommy’s epic introductions. One of them following the first broadcast segment went like this: ‘’Magic! Way back in 1969 produced by Bernie Andrews, that was the first ever Radio One Session. Heard that Jimmy Page got back from Sweden last Sunday. He’d been over in Sweden doing some final mixing on their new album which is due out I believe in March. And Mr. Plant if your listening, and I hope you are, let me say Logan (then just born) will have a lot to be proud of when he grows up – Stay tuned more Zep to come!’’ He indeed does have a lot to be proud of…and maybe a little more after the Grammy’s on Sunday. Just watched an excellent BBC 4 documentary on the BBC 1970’s news magazine programme Nationwide – which had plenty of input from Bob Wellings the man who interviewed Robert and Bonzo on the show after the Melody Maker Awards on September 16 1970. Couldn’t resist searching out the clip on You Tube (under John Bonham and Robert Plant Interview) – it’s a classic time piece. On the playlist as the year1969 frequently comes under the TBL spotlight, yup the aforementioned BBC Sessions, and I’ve just caught up with the Feb 14 Nassau 1975 soundboard (thank you TS!)– and what a performance that is! Love the moment after Kashmir, when a fan shouts out Train Kept A Rollin and Jimmy plays a bar of the intro to which Robert adds ‘’We’re going through our whole live history here!’’….for a moment you hope they wipe the set list, throw Ian Knight’s light show out of the window and power on with the ’68 set opener…alas it’s back to the running order and dry ice and an immaculate No Quarter…as for Trampled Underfoot, that solo is pure Jimmy Page mayhem and quintessential ’75 live Zep step. Christ they were on form that night. Elsewhere The Best Of Mick Jagger a little £3 Fopp treat from last Fridays not uneventful Islington Wallbanger day out has been on notably Memo From Turner from the Performance soundtrack (quick aside: that film features the notorious one time Zep security insider John Bindon who is subject to a Channel 4 documentary The Princess And The Gangster aired next Monday about his liaison with Princess Margaret) ….also on the player – an obscure mid 70’s Cat Stevens tune Two Fine People which I’ve been looking for ages and came quite unexpectedly via a CDR from my good friend and fellow Wallbanger Phil Harris…A couple of Dave Mason albums on CD via bruv JL all laid back and funky in a 1970’s Little Feat/Doobies kinda way,and very nice too, Sinatra In The Wee Small Hours LP (always a good one for a maudlin moment and there’s been one or two of those recently), Joni Mitchell Court And Spark LP, Dylan At Budokan double LP (which has a brilliantly emotive delivery of I Want You) Next Friday a date down the road at the Bedford Corn Exchange with the Whole Lotta Led boys beckons in the company of the visiting Mr Foy and the TBL crew. Weather permitting of course, but surely the snow has to ease up by then. What do you think Frank?
‘’Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow’’

Spurs at Wembley / Zep 1 / Get back To Islington

So there we were me and Adam crouched around the radio listening to the second leg of the Carling Cup semi final between Burnley and Spurs.

 Three minutes to go Spurs are 3-0 down and going out…..I’m giving Adam the old Homer Simpson to Bart oratory: ”Son we’d have only lost in the final’’ followed by the less than hopeful ”But remember son it only takes a second to score a goal” (copyright Bill Shankly)… then fuck me we did through Pavlyuchenko and then another from Defoe!

6-4 on aggregate

We’re on our way to Wembley!

Lifes good again!

Ahh football bloody hell….but no doubt we’ll be back to earth with a bang on Saturday with the FA Cup fourth round visit to Man United also alas the team we play in the Carling Final on March 1

 Last week it was good to see Kerrang magazine hot off the mark with their Zep first album tribute which warranted a front cover feature.

Have to admit I’ve been something of a musical snob when it comes to Heavy Metal in the past (boy did I hate Zeppelin being associated with that unruly noise  back in the 1980’s), but I’ve always enjoyed Kerrang for it’s unrelenting enthusiasm. These days it caters for the new new wave of heavy metal (Leathermouth,Grave Digger, Devian anyone?)…but hey if a few of their younger readers went out and  brought Led Zep 1 (imagine the treat in store hearing that for the first time) then the job would have been done. Hopefully said new fans might even get to check out Tight But Loose.

 We are of course piecing together our own testament to the celebrated year of  rock that was 1969 and already there’s some fine stuff emerging all guaranteed to take you back to that period with renewed vigour. (Thanks so far to Lorraine ,Luis and Gerard for your input)

Playing the Paris 69 CD this week (thanks Tim!) the sheer ferocity of their performances back then was and is quite staggering They were just flying so high, musically often on the edge and nigh on out of control. There’s much to chronicle about that remarkable first 12 months in the band’s history and the next three magazines are planned to do just that.     

 Elsewhere survived another round of Zavvi closure roulette last week, but 19 more closed and 14 were sold to HMV. Milton Keynes trades on and with a substantial amount of stock from the closed stores and further price reductions we might last a few more weeks –though a lifeline looks thin now and the end is in sight. It’s the not knowing and uncertainty of it all that’s the worry, but we are trying to remain stoic and get on with it.

 On the player and pod during these extraordinary times…some old faves providing a measure of stability: Bob Dylan’s Desire (always an early month fave reminding me of another difficult Jan/Feb period in 1976 when my love life at the time was going a bit pear),The Who By Numbers, David Crosby If I Could Only Remember My Name, and Zep wise revisited some early 1975 gigs namely It’s Time To Travel Again the Brussels January 12 warm up and Detroit Just About Back.

Experimental and spirited performances in the face of adversity and a hint at the glory to come…also had on the John Lennon compilation that came free with the Mail On Sunday last week – proof if it was needed of what a great singer he was. The 1980 track Nobody Told Me with its chorus ‘’Nobody told me they’d be days like these, strange days indeed, most peculiar mama’ sounds most appropriate right now.   

 Next Friday (January 30) there’s a welcome respite when myself and esteemed ex Wallbanger FC players Max, Phil and Dec (the latter pair are also fully paid up members of the Bedford Earls Court 6 club) reunite for our annual day in Islington’s finest hostelries (pubs that is). There we’ll talk of wine, women and song from our glory years. No doubt topics such as how I once took a goal kick that travelled all of three yards as I fell arse over tit in the Wallbanger goal, and just how I let slip a shot by bruv JL in our 3-2 defeat of his team Stanley Arms in 1979 will be dissected.

 While we are on this nostalgic kick, we might even pop around to no 3 Saville Row London at lunchtime and gaze up to the rooftop of the former Apple Records HQ where 40 years ago to the very day The Beatles performed together in public for the final time as a part of their Get Back/Let it Be filming (and yes John you passed the audition)

 There’s just no getting away from 1969 right now…