Tour Over Europe 1980

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Tour Over Europe 1980
Concert tour by Led Zeppelin
Locations Europe
Start date June 17, 1980
End date July 7, 1980
Legs 1
Shows 14
Led Zeppelin tour chronology
Knebworth 1979
 Tour Over Europe 1980
 Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert

Tour Over Europe 1980 was the last concert tour by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. The tour commenced on June 17 and concluded on July 7, 1980. All of the shows of the tour took place in cities throughout Germany, with the exceptions of one show each at Brussels, Rotterdam, Vienna and Zürich.

Contents

[edit] History

This was the first series of concerts performed by the band since their shows at Knebworth almost a year before. Singer Robert Plant was not keen to tour the United States, and the band wanted to avoid some of the negative press attention which had dogged them in the United Kingdom, so as a compromise Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant decided to schedule a short European tour. He hoped that being on the road again would rejuvenate Plant's enthusiasm for touring, which would eventually lead to the band's return to the U.S.[1]

The band performed rehearsals for the tour at the Rainbow Theatre and Victoria Theatre in London, and then at Shepperton Studios, Middlesex.[1]

During this tour the band played small venues with a scaled down PA and a modest stage and lighting setup. As such, it possessed a much more low-key feel than had been generated on recent tours. The set list was also shorter at approximately two hours in duration, with some of the band's lengthier songs such as "No Quarter" and "Moby Dick" being discarded. A limited amount of material from the band's most recent album In Through the Out Door, was also performed. The set for these concerts opened with "Train Kept A-Rollin'" which had not been a regular feature of their live sets since 1969. Press coverage of this concert tour was minimal.[1]

Generally speaking, there was playful and generous spirit about the tour, with Page even handling some of the stage introductions himself for the first time in the band's twelve year career.[2] However, some on-stage problems were also experienced. The June 26th show at Vienna was interrupted during "White Summer", as Jimmy Page was hit in the face by a firecracker. The organizer stepped up and talked to the audience, and asked the person responsible to come to the stage to have a word with him. After a quick intermission, the band returned to play "Kashmir". The June 27th show at Nuremberg came to an abrupt end in the middle of the third song when John Bonham collapsed on stage and was rushed to a hospital. Press speculation arose that Bonham's problem was caused by an excess of alcohol and drugs, but the band claimed that he had simply overeaten.[3]

The poster of the tour announced a second concert at Berlin, on July 8th, but this show was never performed. The final full-length concert Led Zeppelin played until 2007 was on July 7th, with "Whole Lotta Love" being the final song performed at this gig.

[edit] Recordings

[edit] Audio bootlegs

All the shows of the tour were released by the bootleg label Tarantura on a 26-disc box set, and as separate releases during 1996 and 1997. Most of the shows are complete and are sourced from soundboard recordings; just the Rotterdam show is missing the first four songs and the Vienna and Munich shows are sourced from audience recordings. There is, however, a complete audience recording of the Rotterdam show in existence.

[edit] Video

On Led Zeppelin's website, there are 8mm films featuring parts of the Rotterdam, Zürich and Munich shows.

[edit] Tour set list

  1. "Train Kept A-Rollin'" (Bradshaw, Kay, Mann)
  2. "Nobody's Fault but Mine (Page, Plant)
  3. "Black Dog" (Jones, Page, Plant)
  4. "In the Evening" (Jones, Page, Plant)
  5. "The Rain Song" (Page, Plant)
  6. "Hot Dog" (Page, Plant)
  7. "All My Love" (Jones, Plant)
  8. "Trampled Under Foot" (Jones, Page, Plant)
  9. "Since I've Been Loving You" (Jones, Page, Plant)
  10. "Achilles Last Stand" (Page, Plant) (not performed on July 7th)
  11. "White Summer"/"Black Mountain Side" (Page)
  12. "Kashmir" (Bonham, Page, Plant)
  13. "Stairway to Heaven" (Page, Plant)

Encores:

  • "Rock and Roll" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant)
  • "Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant)
    • Performed on June 17th, 20th, 26th & 30th; and July 2nd, 5th (with Simon Kirke on second drum set) & 7th.
  • "Heartbreaker" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant)
    • Performed on June 17th, 21st & 29th.
  • "Communication Breakdown" (Bonham, Jones, Page)
    • Performed on June 18th, 23rd & 24th; and July 3rd.
  • "Money" (Hooker)
    • Performed on June 30th. (with Philip Carson on bass guitar)

[edit] Tour dates

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, p. 134.
  2. ^ Liner notes by Cameron Crowe for The Complete Studio Recordings.
  3. ^ Stephen Davis (1995). Hammer of the Gods (LPC) ISBN 033043859-X.

[edit] Sources

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