Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
's 1973 European Tour was a
concert tour of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
by the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band. The tour commenced on 2 March and concluded on 2 April 1973.
This tour began four weeks after Led Zeppelin's previous
tour of the United Kingdom. It is notable for the crowd violence which occurred at some shows, with concerts at
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
and
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
being canceled as a result of riots by fans which had taken place at the band's earlier performances in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
[Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London: Omnibus Press. , p. 88.]
Some critics consider Led Zeppelin to have been at their technical peak during this tour,
[Luis Rey (1997) ''Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes'', Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press, p. 250.] which took place shortly before the release of their fifth album
''Fifth Album'' is the fourth studio album (her 5th overall release) by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1965. It peaked at No. 69 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart''.
The album featured a collecti ...
. Several tracks from this album were performed on the tour, namely " Over the Hills and Far Away", " Dancing Days", " The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song
"The Rain Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released in March 1973 as the second track on their fifth album, ''Houses of the Holy''.
Recording
"The Rain Song" is a ballad of over seven minutes in length. Guitarist J ...
" and " The Ocean".
Tour set list
The fairly typical set list for the tour was:
#"Rock and Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
" ( Page, Plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
, Jones
Jones may refer to:
People
*Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname
*List of people with surname Jones
* Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter
Arts and entertainment
* Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwell ...
, Bonham)
#" Over the Hills and Far Away" (Page, Plant)
#" Out on the Tiles" (intro) (Page, Plant, Bonham) / " Black Dog" (Page, Plant, Jones)
#"Misty Mountain Hop
"Misty Mountain Hop" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1971 by Atlantic Records. The song appears on the band's untitled fourth album, and was released as the B-side to the single " Black Dog" and performed in most of the ...
" (Jones, Page, Plant)
#" Since I've Been Loving You" (Page, Plant, Jones)
#" Dancing Days" (Page, Plant)
#" Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" (Page, Plant, Jones)
#" The Song Remains the Same" (Page, Plant)
#"The Rain Song
"The Rain Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released in March 1973 as the second track on their fifth album, ''Houses of the Holy''.
Recording
"The Rain Song" is a ballad of over seven minutes in length. Guitarist J ...
" (Page, Plant)
#" Dazed and Confused" (Page)
#"Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...
" (Page, Plant)
#"Whole Lotta Love
"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, ''Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was r ...
" (Bonham, Dixon Dixon may refer to:
Places International
* Dixon Entrance, part of the Inside Passage between Alaska and British Columbia
Canada
* Dixon, Ontario
United States
* Dixon, California
* Dixon, Illinois
* Dixon, Greene County, Indiana
* Dixon, Indi ...
, Jones, Page, Plant)
Encores (variations of the following list):
*"Heartbreaker
Heartbreaker(s) or The Heart Breaker(s) may refer to:
Film and television
*''The Heart Breakers'', a 1916 film starring Andrew Arbuckle
*''The Heart Breaker'', a 1925 film directed by Benjamin Stoloff
* ''Heartbreaker'' (1983 film), an American f ...
" (Bonham, Page, Plant)
*" The Ocean" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) (Played on 6 and 21 March)
*"What Is and What Should Never Be
"What Is and What Should Never Be" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and was included as the second track on ''Led Zeppelin II'' (1969).
Composition and recording
"What is and What Should N ...
" (Page, Plant) (on 11 March only)
There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.
Tour dates
External links
Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)
References
{{Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin concert tours
1973 concert tours
1973 in Europe