Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings

Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings are audio and/or video recordings of musical performances by English rock band Led Zeppelin which were not officially released by the band, or under other legal authority. The recordings consist of both live concert performances and outtakes from studio sessions conducted by the band. Many hundreds of Led Zeppelin bootlegs exist,cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/422948.stm
title = Led Zeppelin rock bootleg chart
accessdate = 2007-12-15
date = 1999-08-17
work = BBC Online Network - Entertainment
publisher = BBC
archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20020811083932/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/422948.stm
archivedate = 2002-08-11
quote = "Led Zep" have overtaken previous chart-toppers The Beatles, in the latest list compiled by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).... The BPI Anti-Piracy Unit identified 384 bootleg titles featuring Led Zeppelin performances. These albums typically contain plundered studio out-takes and amateur recordings made at concerts.] and are widely collected by fans.

Overview

Led Zeppelin were, throughout the decade of the 1970s, one of the world's most frequently bootlegged performers. This phenomenon was due partly to the popularity of the band during this era, which ensured a large and enthusiastic market for unauthorised recordings, and partly to the massive size of the venues they played at, which made the effective policing of the audience for covert recording equipment virtually impossible.

Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant, sometimes took extraordinary measures to combat the practice of live bootleg recordings at Led Zeppelin concerts. He is reported to have personally visited record stores in London which were selling Led Zeppelin bootlegs and demanded all copies be handed over. He also monitored the crowd at Led Zeppelin concerts so as to locate anything which resembled bootleg recording equipment. At one concert at Vancouver in 1971 he saw what he thought was recording equipment on the floor of the venue and personally ensured that the equipment be destroyed, only to find out later that the equipment was a noise pollution unit being operated by city officials to test the volume of the concert. [ [http://www.ledzeppelin.com/sites/ledzeppelin/files/images/van71_grant.jpgNewspaper clipping on ledzeppelin.com (official site)] ]

Earliest bootlegs

During the 1970s, bootleg labels such as Smilin' Ear, Kornyfone, Dragonfly, Trade Mark of Quality, Condor and Toasted released unofficial recordings of several Led Zeppelin shows on vinyl. The following table includes a sample of these recordings. Most of them derived from audience tapes, though a few (such as "The Destroyer") were sourced from soundboard recordings.

The 1980s: the release of the soundboards

In the late 1980s the number of available soundboard recordings of Led Zeppelin shows increased significantly as a result of original soundboard tapes having been stolen from the home of their owner, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, and then copied for underground release. Also stolen were copies of several rare studio out-takes, which were released under titles such as "Jennings Farm Blues" (featuring run-throughs of an electric version of "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" recorded in October 1969) and "Studio Daze" (including different studio mixes of "Since I've Been Loving You", "No Quarter" and "All My Love"). "Midnight Moonlight", a song later recorded by "The Firm", is available through studio bootlegs.

The 1990s: the CD era

The 1990s saw a multitude of Led Zeppelin bootlegs become available on the CD format, with limited-edition and higher quality releases being produced in Japan on labels such as Tarantura and Antrabata. In 1999, the BBC reported that the number of Led Zeppelin bootleg titles in circulation exceeded those of The Beatles.

Some notable Led Zeppelin bootlegs released on CD include:
*"Burn Like A Candle" : The complete show from the Los Angeles Forum on June 25, 1972.
*"Pigeon Blood" : Recorded at Tampa Stadium, Florida on May 5, 1973.
*"Led Zeppelin's Flying Circus" : A soundboard recording of the Madison Square Garden, New York City performance on February 12, 1975.
*"Knebworth" : Both of the band's performances at the Knebworth Festival in August 1979.

2007 court case

In July 2007 Page appeared in a Glasgow courtroom to give testimony and observe evidence on behalf of Led Zeppelin against an alleged bootlegger. Robert Langley was charged with, and denied, twelve counts of producing and selling products without copyright permission. Page was shown hundreds of CDs and DVDs, ranging from his solo material to his time with Led Zeppelin and the Yardbirds, which Langley was allegedly selling in Scotland during 2005. Many contain footage and audio from Page's personal collection, stolen from his home in the early 1980s.cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6917449.stm
title = Star Page witness in bootleg case
accessdate = 2007-12-15
date = 2007-07-26
work = BBC News
publisher = BBC
archiveurl =
archivedate =
quote = ] cite web
url = http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=77618
title = Jimmy Page Testifies In Bootlegging Trial
accessdate = 2007-12-15
date = 2007-07-26
work = blabbermouth.net
publisher = Roadrunner Records
archiveurl =
archivedate =
quote = The star told the ongoing court case that the discs had never been authorized for manufacture, distribution or sale. ]

The goods were found on sale as far away as New York, where shop-owners thought they were official. Page later said "If you have something like this that appears legitimate then it is just not right".

References

ources

*Dave Lewis and Simon Pallett (1997) "Led Zeppelin: The Concert File", London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4.
*Luis Rey (1997) "Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes", Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press. ISBN 0-9698080-7-0.

External links

* [http://bootlegs.led-zeppelin.us/ Led Zeppelin Sessions Bootleg Database]
* [http://www.stryder.de/ Led Zeppelin Live]
* [http://yearofledzeppelin.blogspot.com/ The Year of Led Zeppelin: A Quest to Listen to Every Led Zeppelin Concert in a Year]