Led Zeppelin European Tour 1971
Encyclopedia
Led Zeppelin
's 1971 European Tour was a concert tour of Europe
by the English
rock
band
. The tour commenced on May 3 and concluded on July 5, 1971. It included one concert at Liverpool, England, which was a rescheduled date from their preceding tour of the United Kingdom
. It is possible that other unverified dates in Europe were also performed during this period.
Though being very short in duration, this concert tour was well known, primarily because of the extremely violent crowd disturbance which took place at the band's concert at the Vigorelli Velodrome
in Milan
on July 5. This festival appearance in front of an audience of 15,000 people was abandoned when hundreds of tear-gas wielding riot police charged into the crowd. The group were forced to leave the stage and many fans were injured. Some of the group's equipment was also damaged in the chaos. The band's singer Robert Plant
later recalled:
The concert has been described as one of the low points of Led Zeppelin's career, and the band never again returned to Italy
.
for the tour was:
There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. On May 3 Led Zeppelin played "Four Sticks
" (Page, Plant). This is the only known time it was performed by the original band. Also played was "Gallows Pole," one of only two complete known live performances, the other played later that year on November 16, 1971 at St Matthew's Baths Hall, Ipswich
, UK.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's 1971 European Tour was a concert tour of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
by the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
. The tour commenced on May 3 and concluded on July 5, 1971. It included one concert at Liverpool, England, which was a rescheduled date from their preceding tour of the United Kingdom
Led Zeppelin United Kingdom Tour Spring 1971
Led Zeppelin's Spring 1971 United Kingdom & Ireland Tour was a concert tour of the United Kingdom & Ireland by the English rock band...
. It is possible that other unverified dates in Europe were also performed during this period.
Though being very short in duration, this concert tour was well known, primarily because of the extremely violent crowd disturbance which took place at the band's concert at the Vigorelli Velodrome
Velodromo Vigorelli
Velodromo Vigorelli is a velodrome in Milan, Italy. It is currently used mostlyfor American football events. The stadium holds 9,000 people and was built in 1935 by 'Vigorelli Cycles'....
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
on July 5. This festival appearance in front of an audience of 15,000 people was abandoned when hundreds of tear-gas wielding riot police charged into the crowd. The group were forced to leave the stage and many fans were injured. Some of the group's equipment was also damaged in the chaos. The band's singer Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
later recalled:
The concert has been described as one of the low points of Led Zeppelin's career, and the band never again returned to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Tour set list
The fairly typical set listSet list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
for the tour was:
- "Immigrant SongImmigrant Song"Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released as a single from their third album, Led Zeppelin III, in 1970.-Overview:...
" (PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
, PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
) - "HeartbreakerHeartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)"Heartbreaker" is a song from English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II. It was credited to all four members of the band, having been recorded at A&R Studios, New York, during the band's second concert tour of the United States, and was engineered by Eddie Kramer."Heartbreaker"...
" (BonhamJohn BonhamJohn Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
, Page, Plant) - "Since I've Been Loving YouSince I've Been Loving You"Since I've Been Loving You" is a blues-rock song in C minor by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on the 1970 album Led Zeppelin III.-Overview:...
" (Page, Plant, JonesJohn Paul Jones (musician)John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
) - "Dazed and Confused" (Page)
- "Out on the TilesOut on the Tiles"Out on the Tiles" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, from the 1970 album Led Zeppelin III. The title of the song is derived from the British phrase for going out for a night on the town. Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham would talk about going "out on the tiles," meaning to go to bars,...
" (intro) (Page, Plant, Bonham) / "Black DogBlack Dog (song)"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, the lead off track of their fourth album, released in 1971. It was also released as a single in the United States and Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" on the B-side, and reached #15 on Billboard and #11 in Australia.In 2010, the song was...
" (Page, Plant, Jones) - "Stairway to HeavenStairway to Heaven"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...
" (Page, Plant) - "Going to CaliforniaGoing to California"Going to California" is a song performed by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their fourth album, released in 1971.-Overview:The song's wistful folk-style sound, with Robert Plant on lead vocals, acoustic guitar by Jimmy Page and mandolin by John Paul Jones, contrasts with the heavy...
" (Page, Plant) - "That's the Way" (Page, Plant)
- "What Is and What Should Never BeWhat Is and What Should Never Be"What Is and What Should Never Be" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin on their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant....
" (Page, Plant) - "Four SticksFour SticksNot to be confused with Four Kicks."Four Sticks" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their fourth album, released in 1971. The title came from the fact that drummer John Bonham played with two sets of two drumsticks, totalling four...
" (Page, Plant) (on 3 May only) - "Gallows Pole" (Page, Plant) (on 3 May only)
- "Moby Dick" (Page, Jones, Bonham)
- "Whole Lotta LoveWhole Lotta Love"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is featured as the opening track on the band's second album, Led Zeppelin II, and was released in the United States and Japan as a single. The US release became their first hit single, it was certified Gold on 13 April 1970, when it...
" (Bonham, DixonWillie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
, Jones, Page, Plant) - "Communication BreakdownCommunication Breakdown"Communication Breakdown" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin.- Structure :The pounding guitar riff was played by Page through a small, miked Supro amplifier throughout; and ran his Fender Telecaster through a fully closed Vox wah pedal to...
" (Bonham, Jones, Page) - "Misty Mountain HopMisty Mountain Hop"Misty Mountain Hop" is a song from English rock band Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album, released in 1971. In the United States and Australia it was the B-side of the "Black Dog" single, but still received considerable FM radio airplay...
" (Page, Plant, Jones) (on 3 May only) - "Rock and RollRock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)"Rock and Roll" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was first released as the second track from the band's fourth album in 1971, with a guest appearance by The Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart.-Overview:...
" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham)
There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. On May 3 Led Zeppelin played "Four Sticks
Four Sticks
Not to be confused with Four Kicks."Four Sticks" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their fourth album, released in 1971. The title came from the fact that drummer John Bonham played with two sets of two drumsticks, totalling four...
" (Page, Plant). This is the only known time it was performed by the original band. Also played was "Gallows Pole," one of only two complete known live performances, the other played later that year on November 16, 1971 at St Matthew's Baths Hall, Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, UK.
Tour dates
- 03/05/1971 K.B. HallenK.B. HallenK.B. Hallen was a multi-purpose venue in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was opened in 1938, but burned to the ground on 28 September 2011.It was named after Københavns Boldklub, Copenhagen's first ball-playing club, which was established in 1876....
- CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... - 04/05/1971 Fyns Forum - OdenseOdenseThe city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
, Denmark - 10/05/1971 Liverpool University - LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... - 05/07/1971 Velodromo VigorelliVelodromo VigorelliVelodromo Vigorelli is a velodrome in Milan, Italy. It is currently used mostlyfor American football events. The stadium holds 9,000 people and was built in 1935 by 'Vigorelli Cycles'....
- MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
External links
- Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)
- Led Zeppelin concert setlists
- 1971 interview with Robert Plant about the Milan riot
Sources
- Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4.