Jorgen Angel/RedfernsFifty years ago today, September 7, 1968, the four members of the band that would become Led Zeppelin — guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham — played their first concert ever together, at Gladsaxe Teen Clubs in Gladsaxe, Denmark.
At the show, the band performed under the moniker The New Yardbirds, because Page had decided to use his newly formed group to fulfill a series of Scandinavian gigs that his old band The Yardbirds had committed to shortly before they broke up.
In a December 1968 interview, according to LedZeppelin.com, Page said of that first gig, “We were really scared, because we only had about fifteen hours to practice together. It was sort of an experimental concert to see if we were any good.”
The band reportedly played a set that mixed some classic Yardbirds tunes with future Led Zep classics like “Communication Breakdown,” “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” and “How Many More Times.” All three would end up on Led Zeppelin’s 1969 self-titled debut album, which the band recorded in London in October 1968, shortly after the Scandinavian trek.
Late Who drummer Keith Moon is often credited with coming up with the name Led Zeppelin. Prior to the band’s formation, Page had tried to put together a supergroup featuring Moon and ex-Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. While discussing the project, Moon supposedly joked that it would go down — not like a lead balloon — but like a “lead zeppelin.”
To coincide with the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s first concert, the band is releasing a remastered edition of the soundtrack to its 1976 concert film, The Song Remains the Same, today. The album features highlights from Led Zeppelin’s July 27-29, 1973, stand at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.