How I designed The Starship
After we published our comprehensive history of The Starship, the Boeing 720 plane used by Led Zeppelin in 1973 and 1975 along with artists including The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Deep Purple and Bob Dylan,…
‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ is now called ‘Introducing Led Zeppelin’
“Becoming Led Zeppelin”, the upcoming feature-length documentary about the origins of Led Zeppelin, has been renamed “Introducing Led Zeppelin”. LedZepNews has spotted multiple signs that the film has been renamed following its 2021 premiere under…
The complete history of The Starship, the Boeing 720 plane used by Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Elton John and more
Beginning in 1973, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Peter Frampton, The Allman Brothers, The Moody Blues, Sonny and Cher and Olivia Newton-John used a Boeing 720 plane…
Mystery solved: Investigating which country hired The Starship in February 1979
For around 20 years, a fascinating claim has circulated about The Starship, the plane Led Zeppelin rented for its 1973 and 1975 US tours.It has been reported in books and magazines since at least 2007…
Here’s the original brochure that convinced Led Zeppelin to rent The Starship in 1973
As Led Zeppelin relaxed at home in the UK for a weeks weeks in June 1973, their tour manager Richard Cole was ordered to scour the US looking for a larger plane for the next…
Here are all the US government files on The Starship
The US government still holds almost 200 pages of records on The Starship, the plane Led Zeppelin used to tour the US in 1973 and 1975. As part of our investigation into the plane’s history,…
Confirmed: Helen Grant has signed a deal to sell 10% of Led Zeppelin’s catalogue
LedZepNews has confirmed that a deal has been signed to buy Helen Grant’s 10% stake in royalties from Led Zeppelin’s catalogue, but one possible buyer has publicly ruled out purchasing it.Ian Penman, a lawyer representing…
Here are the most interesting parts of the ‘Stairway To Heaven’ trial court transcripts
In June 2016, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones appeared in court in Los Angeles to give evidence in a copyright trial that alleged Led Zeppelin copied the introduction of “Stairway To Heaven”…
Here are previously unseen photos of Led Zeppelin performing in Seattle in 1975
LedZepNews is today publishing more than 20 previously unseen photos of Led Zeppelin performing at the Seattle Coliseum on March 17, 1975. We jointly purchased a contact sheet of the photographs through eBay with LedZepFilm…
How previously unseen footage of Led Zeppelin performing in Vienna in 1973 was released
Remarkable colour footage of Led Zeppelin performing in Vienna, Austria on March 16, 1973 was published online by LedZepFilm on July 14. The three minutes and 14 seconds of footage is the earliest film to…
The Day on the Green Files: Crew member speaks out over Led Zeppelin’s ‘toxic’ 1977 tour
A crew member who worked on Led Zeppelin’s 1977 US tour and was present at the Day on the Green Festival where violence erupted backstage has spoken about his experience for the first time following…
Previously unseen footage of Led Zeppelin performining in Vienna in 1973 was posted online
Previously unseen footage of Led Zeppelin performining in Vienna, Austria on March 16, 1973 was posted online by LedZepFilm on July 14. The video, shot by Mead Eblan, is the earliest footage to emerge from…
Tapes of a previously unheard interview with Peter Grant are being sold at auction
Casette tapes containing more than three hours of audio of a previously unheard interview with Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant are being offered for sale at auction. The three tapes contain three hours and 19…
Analysing the ‘Stairway To Heaven’ writing tapes using Jimmy Page’s courtroom testimony
In 2016, rare tapes of Led Zeppelin writing “Stairway To Heaven” at Headley Grange in 1970 were played in a Los Angeles courtroom in the presence of Jimmy Page. The recordings remain officially unreleased to…
The Day on the Green Files: A confidentiality agreement is still in place 46 years after the backstage violence
A confidentiality agreement preventing the people involved from discussing the backstage violence that took place at the Day on the Green festival in 1977 is still in place, more than 46 years after the altercations…
The Day on the Green Files: Unseen documents reveal the full impact of Led Zeppelin’s 1977 backstage violence
The letter that arrived in the mail at the Washington DC office of Maryland Senator Paul Sarbanes in late August 1977 made for shocking reading. “When my son phoned and told us through battered lips…
The Day on the Green Files: 4 senators were involved in campaign to ban Led Zeppelin from the US
Four influential US senators contacted the US State Department beginning in September 1977 passing on calls to ban Led Zeppelin from the country, newly released US government records exclusively obtained by LedZepNews reveal. The lobbying…
The Day on the Green Files: Led Zeppelin worked for a Russian ballerina and Dutch radio hosts
On October 11, 1976, the members of Led Zeppelin as well as their manager Peter Grant signed contracts to become salaried employees of an obscure Dutch company set up just five days earlier. The business…
The Day on the Green Files: Led Zeppelin signed a deal to continue working until at least 1991
All four members of Led Zeppelin signed 15-year contracts in 1976 that set up the legal framework for the band to continue performing until at least 1991, LedZepNews can reveal. Employment contracts signed by Jimmy…
The Day on the Green Files: Read the full documents here
LedZepNews has published the Day on the Green Files in full, allowing fans to read more than 300 pages of legal filings about the backstage violence at the 1977 festival as well as a collection…
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss released a cover of ‘When The Levee Breaks’
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss released a cover of “When The Levee Breaks” on June 7, sharing a live recording of them covering the track during a recent tour. It’s unclear when exactly the live…
Exclusive: Here are previously unseen colour photos of Led Zeppelin performing in Salt Lake City in 1973
The first colour photographs to emerge of Led Zeppelin performing in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 26, 1973 are today published online by LedZepNews. The 10 images were taken by photographer Charles Todd and…
John Paul Jones played a surprise show with Thurston Moore
John Paul Jones played a surprise show in London with Thurston Moore on May 10. Jones joined the Sonic Youth musician on stage at London’s Cafe OTO for an unannounced improvisational show, with Jones performing…
Robert Plant has created a new mix of Led Zeppelin songs
Robert Plant has created a new mix of Led Zeppelin songs, remixing the songs “Kashmir” and “Whole Lotta Love” into a new combination of the two songs for Wolverhampton Wanderers football club. LedZepNews broke the…
Exclusive: Photos of Led Zeppelin performing in Salt Lake City in 1973 have emerged after 50 years
The first photographs of Led Zeppelin performing in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 26, 1973 have emerged after more than 50 years. The show had been the most recent performance by Led Zeppelin that…
A rare Robert Plant song has been released on vinyl
A Robert Plant rarity has officially been released on vinyl for the first time. Plant’s song “Nothing Takes The Place Of You”, which he recorded as a duet with Patty Griffin for the soundtrack to…
No deal has closed for Helen Grant’s Led Zeppelin shares
No deal has closed for Helen Grant’s 10% share in Led Zeppelin and Bad Company royalties, LedZepNews can reveal.In July, Helen Grant, the daughter of Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, publicly announced that she wished…
Previously unseen photos of Led Zeppelin performing in Boston in 1971 were published online
Previously unseen photographs of Led Zeppelin performing in Boston on September 7, 1971 were published online for the first time. The images, shot by Joe Maloney, are the first ever images from that show to…
Robert Plant is working on a ‘reimagined version’ of a ‘classic Led Zeppelin song’
Robert Plant is working on a “reimagined version” of a “classic Led Zeppelin song”, according to since-deleted social media posts from people working on the project. Plant recently spent a day at the Magic Garden…