Led Zeppelin European Tour 1970

Led Zeppelin's 1970 European Tour was a concert tour of Europe by the English rock band. The tour commenced on 23 February and concluded on 12 March 1970.

Europe 1970
Tour by Led Zeppelin
Poster for Led Zeppelin's concert at Stockholm, Sweden, used to help promote its 1970 European tour
Associated albumLed Zeppelin II
Start date23 February 1970
End date12 March 1970
Legs1
No. of shows16
Led Zeppelin concert chronology

Overview

During this tour, the cover for the band's debut album met with controversy. At a 28 February 1970 performance in Copenhagen, the band was billed as "The Nobs" as the result of a threat of legal action from aristocrat Frau Eva von Zeppelin, descendant of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin creator of the Zeppelin aircraft, over use of the 'Zeppelin' name.[1] Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page commented to the music newspaper Melody Maker that Frau Eva von Zeppelin initially took issue during an early Led Zeppelin concert performance in Copenhagen in October 1969, when she tried (unsuccessfully) to stop a television appearance. The aristocrat angrily described the group as "shrieking monkeys".[2]

As a gesture of good will, the band invited her to meet with them at a television studio. The meeting was apparently a cordial one.[2] However, upon leaving the studio, her anger reignited when she saw the cover of the group's first album – the exploding Hindenburg aircraft. As Page recalled:

When she saw the cover she just exploded! I had to run and hide. She just blew her top.[2]

Frau von Zeppelin felt the band's use of Zeppelin was insulting and dishonoured her family name. As a result, hostility toward the rock group continued on their next tour of the country in early 1970 by threat of a lawsuit, unless they agreed to change their name while working there. While Peter Grant (the band's manager) was not normally passive when faced with a confrontation, it was decided to appease the aristocrat by temporarily changing the group's name.

One name speculated in the national press was "Ned Zeppelin", which Jimmy Page found humorous. After some discussion, Grant and Page settled on the tongue-in-cheek name The Nobs, a playful pun on the name of their European promoter, Claude Nobs.[3]

The controversy in Copenhagen was considered advantageous to Led Zeppelin early in their career, as the incident gained them worldwide publicity. The band's choice of names was widely seen as an expression of the band's likability and wit.

One concert from this tour, at Frankfurt on 10 March, was cancelled at a week's notice as a result of riots having previously occurred at the venue following a concert by Jethro Tull.[3] It was replaced by a gig at Hamburg.

Tour set list

The fairly typical set list for the tour was:

  1. "We're Gonna Groove" (Ben E. King)
  2. "I Can't Quit You Baby" (Dixon)
  3. "Dazed and Confused" (Page)
  4. "Heartbreaker" (Bonham, Page, Plant)
  5. "White Summer"/"Black Mountain Side" (Page)
  6. "Since I've Been Loving You" (Page, Plant, Jones)
  7. "Thank You" (Page, Plant)
  8. "What Is and What Should Never Be" (Page, Plant) (On 7 March, 10 March, and 11 March)
  9. "Moby Dick" (Bonham)
  10. "How Many More Times" (Bonham, Jones, Page)

Encores (variations of the following list):

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.

Tour dates
Date City Country Venue
23 February 1970HelsinkiFinlandKulttuuritalo
25 February 1970GothenburgSwedenKonserthuset
26 February 1970StockholmKonserthuset
27 February 1970AmsterdamNetherlandsConcertgebouw
28 February 1970CopenhagenDenmarkK.B. Hallen
2 March 1970BrusselsBelgium
3 March 1970CologneWest Germany
4 March 1970Hanover
5 March 1970Frankfurt
6 March 1970Nuremberg
7 March 1970MontreuxSwitzerlandMontreux Casino
8 March 1970MunichGermanyCircus Krone Building
9 March 1970ViennaAustriaWiener Konzerthaus
10 March 1970FrankfurtWest GermanyMusikhalle (Cancelled)
10 March 1970 Hamburg Musikhalle
11 March 1970
12 March 1970DüsseldorfRheinhalle

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

References
  1. Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary
  2. Chris Welch (1994) Led Zeppelin, London: Orion Books. ISBN 1-85797-930-3, p. 42.
  3. Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, p. 43-44.
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