Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
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| Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert | ||
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| Concert tour by Led Zeppelin | ||
| Location | The O2 Arena, London | |
| Start date | December 10, 2007 | |
| End date | December 10, 2007 | |
| Legs | 1 | |
| Shows | 1 | |
| Led Zeppelin tour chronology | ||
| Tour Over Europe 1980 |
Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert |
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The Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at The O2 in London on December 10, 2007. The headline act was Led Zeppelin performing its first full-length concert since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980 in a one-off concert. Bonham's son Jason played drums and provided backing vocals on two songs.
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[edit] Background
On September 12, 2007, it was confirmed during a press conference by promoter Harvey Goldsmith that the surviving members of English rock band Led Zeppelin would reunite for the show, with Jason Bonham filling in on drums.[1] The concert was originally scheduled to take place on November 26, 2007. It was to help raise money for the Ahmet Ertegün Education Fund, which pays for university scholarships in the UK, US and Turkey.
Tickets were made available via a lottery system through Ahmettribute.com, costing £125 / $250,[2] with all proceeds going to Ahmet's own charity. The website exceeded its bandwidth allowance and crashed almost immediately following the announcement, with the promoter predicting that the gig would cause the "largest demand for one show in history"[3]. The promoter claimed that one million people registered for fewer than 20,000 available tickets.[4]
On November 1, 2007, it was announced that Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page fractured the little finger on his left hand after a fall in his garden and the reunion show was postponed to December 10, 2007.[5]
[edit] The concert
The band performed sixteen songs, including two encores, featuring a range of songs from across the spectrum of their career. Included in the set list were two songs which were played live in their entirety for the first time ever by Led Zeppelin, namely "Ramble On" and "For Your Life".
[edit] Setlist
- "Good Times Bad Times"
- "Ramble On"
- "Black Dog"
- "In My Time of Dying"/"Honey Bee"
- "For Your Life"
- "Trampled Under Foot"
- "Nobody's Fault but Mine"
- "No Quarter"
- "Since I've Been Loving You"
- "Dazed and Confused"
- "Stairway to Heaven"
- "The Song Remains the Same"
- "Misty Mountain Hop"
- "Kashmir"
First Encore:
Second Encore:
[edit] Supporting Acts
The show also featured Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, Paul Rodgers, Paolo Nutini, Chris Squire, Keith Emerson, Alan White, and Foreigner as supporting acts.[6][7] Pete Townshend was scheduled to perform as a supporting act, but pulled out when he heard Led Zeppelin was performing, saying, "They really don't need me."[8] Other acts considered for the show included a reunited Cream.
The concert was filmed for a possible DVD release.[9] In an interview he gave in March 2008, Page commented
| “ | It was recorded, but we didn't go in with the express purpose of making a DVD to come out at Christmas, or whatever. We haven't seen the images or investigated the multitracks. It's feasible that it might come out at some distant point, but it'll be a massive job to embark on.[10] | ” |
A number of celebrities attended the gig, including Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl who praised Jason Bonham's performance,[11] Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles, Fearne Cotton, Lostprophets drummer Ilan Rubin,[12] Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck, Brian May, [13] Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, Arctic Monkeys, U2's The Edge, Bernard Sumner, Dave Mustaine who received free tickets from Ross Halfin, Peter Gabriel, Mick Jagger, Matt Morgan, Juliette Lewis, Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, The Verve's Richard Ashcroft,[14] Marilyn Manson, model Kate Moss, actor David Boreanaz, actress Erika Sawajiri [15], Neil Finn,[16] [17] and many more.
[edit] Critical response
Music critics in attendance were unanimous in their praise for the band's performance. New Musical Express proclaimed, "What they have done here tonight is proof they can still perform to the level that originally earned them their legendary reputation...We can only hope this isn't the last we see of them."[18]
The New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones, who attended the concert wrote, "The failed gigs of the nineteen-eighties and nineties have been supplanted by a triumph, and the band should be pleased to have done Ertegun proud with such a spirited performance."[19]
[edit] References
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The references in this article would be clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. |
- ^ "Led Zeppelin confirm reunion gig", BBC, 2007-09-12. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
- ^ "Led Zeppelin Takes Flight, For One Night Only", Billboard.com, 2007-09-12. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
- ^ "demand for tickets crashes site", NME, 2007-09-13. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ Nagara, Bunn. "Get your Led out", The Star (Malaysia), December 10, 2007. Accessed January 5, 2008. "Today they play a one-off concert at London’s 02 Arena, in aid of the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun’s education fund. More than a million fans chased nearly 20,000 tickets, and with more than a billion page views the website soon crashed."
- ^ Led Zeppelin Reunion Concert Postponed Due to Fractured Finger
- ^ Led Zep To Record New Material? | News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com
- ^ Rodgers ready to rock Ertegun tribute
- ^ "Pete Townshend pulls out of Ahmet Ertegün concert
- ^ Led Zeppelin Release Reunion DVD - Kerrang.com
- ^ David Cavanagh, "Jimmy Page: ‘Mission accomplished...’", Uncut Magazine, May 2008, pp. 46-50.
- ^ Led Zeppelin reunion: Dave Grohl praises Jason Bonham | News | NME.COM
- ^ buzznetIlan Rubins take on the gig Retrieved December 12 2007
- ^ brianmay.com
- ^ NME
- ^ Erika Sawajiri & Tsuyoshi Takashiro Spotted Together in Led Zeppelin Concert
- ^ Enz on Campbell Live - Topic Powered by eve community
- ^ To Attend Led Zeppelin Gig
- ^ Led Zeppelin reunion: the review | News |NME.COM
- ^ Stairway to Here: Musical Events: The New Yorker
