Winter 1971 United Kingdom Tour was a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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 ...

. The tour ran from 11 November to 21 December 1971, and "confirmed their supremacy in the UK rock marketplace".Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London:

Omnibus Press Omnibus Press is a publisher of music-related books. It publishes around 30 new titles a year to add to a backlist of over 250 titles currently in print. History Omnibus Press was launched in 1972 as a general non-fiction publisher to complem ...

. , p. 72. Taking place immediately after the release of the band's fourth album, ''

Led Zeppelin IV The untitled fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV'', was released on 8 November 1971 by Atlantic Records. It was produced by guitarist Jimmy Page and recorded between December 1970 and Fe ...

'', all tickets sold out despite going on sale less than a week before the commencement of the tour. Second shows at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

and at

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

were added after fans queued for up to eighteen hours in order to secure a ticket. This tour is particularly notable for the two concerts performed by the band at the

Wembley Empire Pool Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broade ...

, dubbed the "Electric Magic" shows. These five hour shows included bizarre

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

acts with plate spinners, trapeze artists and performing pigs which were dressed in policeman's uniforms. The concerts also incorporated supporting acts such as

Stone the Crows Stone the Crows were a Scottish blues rock band formed in Glasgow in late 1969. They are remembered for the onstage electrocution of guitarist and founding member Les Harvey. History The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to L ...

, which was a rare event for Led Zeppelin at this point in their career. A colour poster was sold to fans at the concerts for 30p, which is now a rare and highly sought-after collectible. An altered version of the poster was created for a two coloured silk-screen

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

print in 2010 for an official Led Zeppelin T-shirt.Mr Cloud's T-shirt Emporium: Led Zeppelin t-shirt showing the altered version of the Electric Magic poster.
/ref> This was the first concert tour on which the band visually projected the "four symbols" which adorned (and is a variant title for) their fourth album onto their stage equipment.

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

's "Zoso" symbol was put onto one of his

Marshall amplifiers Marshall is a British company that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, speaker cabinets, brands personal headphones and earphones, drums and bongos. The company also owns a record label called Marshall Records. It was founded in Lond ...

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...

's three interlinked circles adorned the outer face of his

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

had his symbol stenciled onto material which was draped across his

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

's feather symbol was painted onto a side speaker PA cabinet. Plant's feather symbol was the only one not used in subsequent

Led Zeppelin concert tours A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

, and Jones' symbol was removed after the Japanese Tour in 1972.

Tour set list

All track written by

and

, except where noted. The fairly typical

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

for the tour was: #"

Immigrant Song "Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is built upon a repeating riff and features lyrical references to Norse mythology, with singer Robert Plant's howling vocals mentioning war-making and Valhalla. The song was i ...

" #"

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) #"

Out on the Tiles ''Led Zeppelin III'' is the third studio album by the English rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970. It was recorded in three locations. Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling St ...

" (intro) (Page, Plant, Bonham) / " Black Dog" (Page, Plant,

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 ...

) #"

Since I've Been Loving You "Since I've Been Loving You" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1970 on the album ''Led Zeppelin III''. Overview "Since I've Been Loving You" was one of the first songs prepared for the ''Led Zeppelin III'' album. The s ...

" (Page, Plant, Jones) #"

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, Jones, Bonham) #"

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'') ...

" #" Going to California" #" That's the Way" #"

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

" (Page) #" Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" (Page, Plant, Jones) #" Dazed and Confused" (Page) #"

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 ...

" #"

Celebration Day "Celebration Day" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, and the third track from their 1970 album ''Led Zeppelin III''. The band's last concert film and album, released on 19 November 2012, took their name from this song. Composition and ...

" (Jones, Page, Plant) #"

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whit ...

" (Bonham) (on November 13, 20, 21, and 23 only) #"

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, Jones, Page, Plant) Encores (variations of the following list): *"

Communication Breakdown "Communication Breakdown" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1969 self-titled debut album. It was also used as the B-side of the group's first single in the US, " Good Times Bad Times". A promotional video was released ...

" (Bonham, Jones, Page) *"

Thank You "''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...

" (On 24 November) *" Gallows Pole" (on 16 November only) *" Weekend" (Post) (on 13 and 16 November and 2 December only) *"It'll Be Me" (on 29 November and 2 December only) There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.

Tour dates

References

External links

Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)

Sources

*Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London: Omnibus Press. . {{Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin concert tours 1971 concert tours 1971 in the United Kingdom Concert tours of the United Kingdom