Led Zeppelin United Kingdom Tour 1968

United Kingdom 1968
Poster for Led Zeppelin's concert at the University of Surrey (billed as "The New Yardbirds featuring Jimmy Page"), used to help promote its 1968 U.K. tour
Concert tour by Led Zeppelin
Associated album	Led Zeppelin
Start date	4 October 1968
End date	20 December 1968
Legs	1
Shows	13
Led Zeppelin concert chronology
Scandinavia 1968 United Kingdom 1968 North America 1968/1969

Led Zeppelin's 1968 tour of the United Kingdom was the first concert tour of the United Kingdom by the English rock band. The tour commenced on 4 October and concluded on 20 December 1968.

For some of these early shows, the band were billed as the "New Yardbirds". Press releases eventually announced that they would make their debut under the name 'Led Zeppelin' on October 25 at the University of Surrey (although posters advertising this concert erroneously continued to bill them as the 'New Yardbirds').^[1]

During this tour the band went to Olympic Studios in London to record their debut album, which took a mere 36 studio hours.

There was very little press reaction to this tour.^[2]

The band's debut London concert at the Roundhouse on November 9 doubled as singer Robert Plant's wedding reception.^[3]

Tour set list

Exact set lists during this tour are still sketchy, due partly to the lack of early live Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings. Old Yardbirds' live staples such as "Train Kept A-Rollin'", "Dazed and Confused", "White Summer" and possibly "For Your Love" were performed, in addition to material from the as yet unfinished debut album, such as: "Communication Breakdown", I Can't Quit You Baby, "You Shook Me", "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", and "How Many More Times". The band also likely performed a Garnet Mimms cover, "As Long As I Have You".^[4]

A likely set list for the tour was:

1. "Train Kept A-Rollin'" (Bradshaw, Kay, Mann)
2. "For Your Love" (Gouldman)
3. "I Can't Quit You Baby" (Dixon)
4. "As Long As I Have You" (Mimms)
5. "Dazed and Confused" (Page)
6. "Communication Breakdown" (Bonham, John Paul Jones, Page)
7. "You Shook Me" (Dixon, Lenoir)
8. "White Summer"/"Black Mountain Side" (Page)
9. "Pat's Delight" (Bonham)
10. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (Bredon, Page, Plant)
11. "How Many More Times" (Bonham, Jones, Page)

Tour dates

References

External links

• Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)
• Led Zeppelin concert set-lists

Sources

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