Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings
The Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings are a collection of audio and video recordings of musical performances by the English rock band Led Zeppelin which were never 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, 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, and to this day remain one of the most bootlegged artists in the history of rock music. In August 1999, the band topped the list of Britain's most bootlegged musicians with 384 bootleg titles, compiled by the Anti-Piracy Unit of British Phonographic Industry. This phenomenon was due partly to the popularity of the band, which has ensured a large and enthusiastic market for unauthorised recordings, and partly to the large size of the audiences who attended their performances, which made the effective detection of covert recording equipment at these concerts 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. Similarly, at the Bath Festival in 1970, he personally threw a bucket of water over unauthorised recording equipment.
These efforts were not enough to prevent the release of a flood of Led Zeppelin bootlegs from the 1970s onwards. As is explained by Led Zeppelin archivist Dave Lewis:
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 were sourced from soundboard recordings.| Title | Recording details | Notes |
| Gonzaga | The Gymnasium, Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington, December 30, 1968 | Audience recording. |
| ' | Fillmore West, San Francisco, April 24, 1969 | Erroneously credited as being on January 9, 1969. The original LP was released in a magnificent red, green and blue color. |
| Killing Floor | Boston Tea Party, Boston, January 26, 1969. | Audience recording. |
| Don't Mess With Texas | Texas International Pop Festival, Dallas, August 31, 1969 | Soundboard recording. |
| We're Gonna Groove/Feel All Right | Montreux Casino, Montreux, Switzerland, March 7, 1970 | The Feel All Right version was released in 1984 by Audio Recording Corporation under the incorrect title of Live in Montreux 1971. |
| Mudslide | Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada on March 21, 1970 | The first ever Led Zeppelin bootleg to be released. FM broadcast. Mudslide is a remake of the original first LP 'PB'. |
| Ottawa Sunshine | Tracks 1-3 are FM recordings from London on March 19, 1969. All other tracks were recorded live in Ottawa, Ontario on April 14, 1970. | Soundboard/audience recording. |
| Live on Blueberry Hill | Los Angeles Forum, Los Angeles, September 4, 1970. | Audience recording. One of the first Led Zeppelin bootleg LPs to be released. |
| BBC Zep | The Paris Theatre, London, April 1, 1971. | Soundboard recording. Another early release on LP, later included on the official BBC Sessions album. |
| Going to California | Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, September 14, 1971 | Audience recording. |
| Japan Tour '71 | Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, September 23, 1971 | Audience recording, distributed by BUG Recording Corp. |
| ' | Bombay, India, April, 1972 | Soundboard recording. |
| Custard Pie | Offenburg, West Germany, March 24, 1973 | Audience recording. |
| Tympani for the Butter Queen | Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, May 19, 1973 | Soundboard recording. |
| Bonzo's Birthday Party | Los Angeles Forum, California, May 31, 1973 | Audience recording. "A favourite of mine because of the artwork by an artist named William Stout…" remarked photographer Ross Halfin. "I like the picture of a pig coming out of a birthday cake. William Stout also did artwork for the Rolling Stones bootleg In Exotic Honolulu and The Who's Who's Zoo." |
| Persistence | Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, June 2, 1973 | Audience recording. |
| V-1⁄2 | Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, July 17, 1973 | Audience recording. |
| Duckwalks and Lasers | Madison Square Garden, New York City, July 28, 1973 and Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, May 22, 1977 | Soundboard recording and audience recording. |
| 214 | Seattle Center Coliseum, March 21, 1975. | Audience recording. |
| 207.19 | Seattle Center Coliseum, March 21, 1975. | Audience recording. |
| Earls Court | Earls Court Arena, May 24, 1975. | Soundboard recording. |
| Destroyer | Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio, April 27, 1977 | Soundboard recording. |
| Listen to This Eddie | Los Angeles Forum, Los Angeles, June 21, 1977 | Audience recording. |
| For Badgeholders Only | Los Angeles Forum, Los Angeles, June 23, 1977 | Audience recording. Keith Moon joined in on drum set for "Moby Dick" and the encores. |
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 being stolen during a burglary at the home of Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and later copied for underground release. Also stolen were copies of several rare studio out-takes, which were released under titles such as Jennings Farm Blues and Studio Daze. "Midnight Moonlight", a song later recorded by "The Firm", is also 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. The most significant 90s label TDOLZ has covered most of the circulating concerts for that period releasing over 100 titles. 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:
- "Don't Mess with Texas" : Recorded at the Texas international Pop Festival in Dallas on August 31, 1969.
- 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.
- Knebworth : Both of the band's performances at the Knebworth Festival in August 1979.
The 2000s and present: Empress Valley soundboard breakthrough
| Year | Title | Recording details |
| 2002 | ' | Earl's Court, London, UK on 25 May 1975; professionally shot live video from that concert was released subsequently on DVD, audio material was reissued two times as A Young Person's Guide to Led Zeppelin and When We Were Kings |
| 2002 | Flying Circus | Madison Square Garden, New York City, US on 12 February 1975 |
| 2003 | Florida Sunshine | Orlando Sports Stadium, Orlando, US on 31 August 1971 |
| 2003 | Bringing the House Down | Capital Centre, Landover, US on 26 May 1977 |
| 2003 | Chasing the Dragon | Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, US on 4 March 1975; an incomplete soundboard recording of this concert had previously circulated. Also included in Statistical Analyzing Shot box set as A Conspiracy in Dallas |
| 2004 | Conspiracy Theory | Sports Arena, San Diego, US on 14 March 1975. An unknown concert date before this bootleg's release. |
| 2004 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, US on 16 February 1975 |
| 2005 | ' | The Summit, Houston, US on 21 May 1977 |
| 2006 | Snow Jobs | Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada on 19 March 1975 |
| 2007 | Days Confused | Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, US on 5 March 1975; also included in Statistical Analyzing Shot box set as The Ultimate Punishment |
| 2007 | Working Tapes | The Old Refectory, Southampton University, UK on 22 January 1973 |
| 2007 | The Powhatan Confederacy | Capital Centre, Landover, US on 28 May 1977 |
| 2008 | St. Valentine's Day Massacre | Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, US on 14 February 1975 |
| 2009 | Long Beach Californication | Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, US on 11 March 1975 |
| 2009 | Rampaging Cajun | LSU Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, US on 28 February 1975 |
| 2010 | Magical Sound Boogie | Madison Square Garden, New York City, US on 7 June 1977 |
| 2011 | Haven't We Met Somewhere Before? | Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, US on 17 March 1975 |
| 2012 | Snowblind | Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada on 20 March 1975; package also includes the previous 19 March Vancouver show soundboard that was released in 2006 as Snow Jobs |
| 2012 | Double Shot | Capital Centre, Landover, US on 25 May 1977 and 30 May 1977; two separate shows in one release; also Maryland Moonshine a box set containing all four Capital Centre shows |
| 2013 | Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, US on 13 February 1975. Jamming with a Woody is a 3 CD release of only the 13 February soundboard recording. Simultaneously released The King's of the Stone Age is a 9-CD box set containing the same 13 February soundboard, along with a duplicate of EVSD's 2008-released St. Valentine's Day Massacre soundboard from 14 February, and a duplicate of EVSD's 2002-released Fighting Back At the Coliseum audience tape recording of the 13 February concert; The King's of the Stone Age title also was issued as a 6 CD version with only the two soundboards from 13 and 14 February. | |
| 2014 | Texas Hurricane | Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, US on 22 May 1977 |
| 2015 | Rock Super Stars | Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, US on 3 March 1975; also included in Statistical Analyzing Shot box set as Sparking J.H.B. |
| 2016 | Ultra Violent Killer Droog | Capital Centre, Landover, US on 10 February 1975 |
| 2017 | Deus Ex Machina | Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, US on 21 March 1975 |
| 2018 | How The East Was Won | Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan on 29 September 1971 |
| 2019 | The Night Stalker | The Forum, Los Angeles, US on 24 March 1975 |
Since Empress Valley is the only supplier of new soundboard material for the moment, its issues are being cloned after initial release by numerous minor labels, sometimes with alternative titles. As noted above, however, Empress Valley has done its own share of repackaging already existent tapes.
Bootleg trading on the Web
In the 80s and 90s before broadband Internet access became widely available, bootlegs circulated mostly via the mail. Today, all of the unauthorised Led Zeppelin material is available on the Internet, mostly on BitTorrent resources in lossless media formats. Decoding and redistributing audio in lossy formats is strongly frowned upon among the trading community as it diminishes the quality of the audio and can make it difficult for recipients to know if they are receiving the best available copy. During the 2000s, previously uncirculated audience recordings surfaced mostly on the BitTorrent resources.Notable previously unheard audience recordings that surfaced on the Web from 2000's:
- Olympia Stadium, Detroit, US on August 28, 1970.
- Madison Square Garden, New York City, US on September 19, 1970.
- The Casino, Montreux, Switzerland on August 7, 1971.
- The Spectrum, Philadelphia, US on June 13, 1972.
- Chicago Stadium, Chicago, US on January 22, 1975.
- Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, US on April 20, 1977.
- Freedom Hall, Louisville, US on April 25, 1977.
- École Centrale, Paris, France on December 6, 1969.
2007 court case
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. The goods were found on sale as far away as New York City, 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".
Following Page's testimony, Langley changed his plea and admitted guilt to three trademark and two copyright infringements. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison which, at the time, was believed to be the highest sentence handed out to a bootlegger in Scotland.