This chapter is probably going to be a little, well, boring. A list of basic facts is never normally fun but I included it for anyone who needs it, if you don't really know who Led Zeppelin are or much about them. If you do, you can probably skip this chapter. Or don't. Who knows, you might find something interesting you didn't know before.
***** LED ZEPPELIN FACTS *****
The band was formed in London, 1968 by guitarist Jimmy Page, previously a session musician and member of successful band The Yardbirds.
It was made up of vocalist Robert Plant, lead guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham.
They were originally named The New Yardbirds, but this changed quickly to Led Zeppelin during their first tour.
Their manager was the formidable Peter Grant, an ex nightclub bouncer who knew Jimmy from his time as the manager of The Yardbirds.
During the 12 year run of the band, they created 8 studio albums, along with their most famous song, Stairway To Heaven (from their fourth, untitled, album). Whilst Stairway is considered by many people the greatest rock song of all time, others think it's overrated, overplayed, etc, including Robert Plant himself.
The band's music includes a wide variety of genres under the huge umbrella of rock, including folk, eastern, rock n roll and blues influences. They were constantly changing, never staying with one specific genre.
The band ended on 25th September 1980 after the unexpected death of John Bonham, after he consumed at least 40 shots of vodka the previous night. The remaining members soon released a statement saying that they would not continue as a group without him.
After Bonham's death, the band released a ninth, and last, studio album in 1982, called Coda. It's a collection of unused tracks from various sessions from across their career.
Led Zeppelin never reunited for more than a night. They did several reunion shows, like Live Aid, the 50th anniversary concert for Atlantic Records and their induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, but their last and most successful was their 2007 show in London's O2 arena, with John Bonham's son Jason on drums. All remaining band members were pleased with this show, unlike the other reunions, so it is very unlikely there will be another.
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Picture (left to right): John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, shown in the 1970s by their private jet, The Starship.
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A Book Of Led Zeppelin
Non-FictionLed Zeppelin. Arguably the greatest band of all time. In my opinion, anyway, hence 'arguably'. They hold the record for the highest number of records sold worldwide (200 million) and also the largest crowd at a concert for a single act (over 56,000)...
