Promoter Harvey Goldsmith said if Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones go on tour with Jason Bonham and some singer other than Robert Plant, they would likely not call it Led Zeppelin.
The founder of Harvey Goldsmith Presents, who promoted Led Zeppelin concerts in the 1970s and last year's one-off reunion, spoke this morning as a panelist in the keynote session at Musexpo Europe 2008, held at the Cumberland Hotel in London. He was quoted in a BBC News report by Ian Youngs.
Goldsmith's remarks, some given privately to BBC News and others delivered as part of the keynote, are carried in the article:
"I certainly don't think they should do a big tour because I can't see the point of it. ... I doubt it will be called Led Zeppelin. ... I just think it's a lot of talk, I think it's wishful thinking. Whether they all come together and do something in the future, they may. I think some of the band really want to go out and do it and other parts of the band need to understand why they're doing it, and if there's no compelling reason to do it, then they shouldn't do it. I think that there is an opportunity for them to go out and present themselves. I don't think a long rambling tour is the answer as Led Zeppelin. ... It's a question of whether they want to do it, and you've got to want to do it. Otherwise it's done for the wrong reasons, and when things are done for the wrong reasons, they don't work."
Current media speculation is that Led Zeppelin will reunite without Robert Plant. Media insist John Paul Jones said this will happen.
However, remarks Jones made over the weekend never included an assertion that his project with Page, Bonham and any yet-to-be-identified singer (or singers) would be called Led Zeppelin.
Jones has said, notably, that he doesn't want his new project to become a Led Zeppelin tribute act. In an interview broadcast by BBC Radio Devon on Oct. 27, Jones said:
"It's gotta be right, you know. Just trying to recreate -- or just find another Robert, I mean, you could just pick somebody out of a tribute band. I mean, what's the point of that, you know? We don't want to be our own tribute band."
After more than two weeks of being led to believe otherwise, anyone who has purchased a ticket to Led Zeppelin's Nov. 26 reunion concert through Ticketmaster will be allowed to go.
The ticket retailer's U.K. subsidiary has today begun responding to complaints it received earlier this month in light of comments made by concert promoter Harvey Goldsmith.
After winning entrants in the lottery to obtain tickets were notified, some people began listing passcodes for sale on eBay and other online auction sites. This prompted Goldsmith to fire back in a press release on Oct. 2: "Please note that unless the ticket, the code and correct identification match, those tickets will be invalid."
He reiterated his statement several times throughout the month in various media appearances and also put it in writing again on Oct. 4, e-mailing winning entrants: "If you have sold or have given away your passcode whomever you have sold / given it to will be denied entry into the concert."
To the contrary, Ticketmaster is apparently now indicating that tickets purchased through their Web site using passcodes will indeed be honored. Led Zeppelin fans who bought passcodes in eBay auctions now report that Ticketmaster has notified them that the tickets are valid after all.
"The promoter of this event (Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund) has instructed us to inform you of the following, which only applies to tickets purchased using passcodes issued on 1st October 2007," the e-mail from Ticketmaster reads. "Bookings will be validated even if the name on the credit card details used to purchase the tickets does not match the corresponding passcode issued to the ballot winner."
Ticketmaster has apparently determined that the transfer of those passcodes was not against its policies. However, the company distinguishes between the sale of passcodes to obtain tickets and the tickets themselves.
The retailer's e-mail to the eBay passcode purchaser reads, "Ticketmaster would like to remind you that, under our standard terms and conditions, tickets purchased from us for this event are for personal use only and may not be resold or offered for resale, and we reserve the right to invalidate any tickets that are or have been the subject of any resale or attempted resale."
The form letter in which entrants of the ballot were notified on Oct. 1 that they had won states: "The original conditions of sale will be enforced. These tickets are non-transferable and any resale will void the transaction without refund."
As recently as Oct. 16, Goldsmith defended his position in a news segment broadcast by the BBC that the passcodes were not transferable.
"It says the tickets aren't transferable when you get your passcode," he said in the televised interview (see above). "Presumably, to anyone with a brain, that means the passcode's not transferable."
Goldsmith stipulated on Oct. 2 that names and addresses of ticket purchasers must match up with those of the ballot winners. This statement was first made one day after passcodes had been issued to winning entrants in the lottery. By that time, a number of people had bought passcodes offered on eBay and used those passcodes to purchase tickets from Ticketmaster.
A second round of the ticket ballot is said to be nearing, allowing more winners to be given passcodes to purchase tickets to the Led Zeppelin reunion at the Ertegün tribute concert. It is currently unclear whether or not passcodes issued in the second round will be transferable.
Goldsmith has said he intended for these rules to shut out scalpers from profiting from the concert. "We're not interested in that bunch of gangs of people who are doing this professionally, who are trying to profiteer out of the business," Goldsmith told the BBC.
The concert benefits the Ahmet Ertegün Education Foundation, a U.K. charity set up to "provide students with annual scholarships to universities in the UK, USA and Turkey," according to an official press release. "In addition, a music scholarship open to all will beestablished at Ravensbourne College in the UK."
Goldsmith serves on the board of the charity, along with Mica Ertegün, Ahmet's surviving wife; Bill Curbishley, who manages Robert Plant and Jimmy Page; Phil Carson, who was chief of Atlantic Records in the United Kingdom during the Led Zeppelin days; and film director Taylor Hackford.
In the most plain language available yet, promoter Harvey Goldsmith has just made it clear that anyone who paid for a passcode to the Led Zeppelin reunion concert is out of luck.
An e-mail delivered today to the winners of the first-round ballot process included Goldsmith's bold declaration, "If you have sold or have given away your passcode whomever you have sold / given it to will be denied entry into the concert."
This notification is the first to clarify that ticket orders placed with names that do not match those selected in the pre-registration process will be canceled, making more spaces in the upcoming second round of the ballot drawing.
Some people within the Led Zeppelin fan community have argued that the language used in the original ticket notification three days ago permitted resale of the passcodes. Any such ambiguity is cleared in Goldsmith's stronger pronouncement.
"Unless the original winning registration name and passcode match the ticket booking, the booking will be cancelled and you will be notified," Goldsmith's e-mail reads, in part. "All cancelled bookings will go back into the ballot for reselection."
Shortly following the Oct. 1 notification to ballot winners, more than 100 sellers on eBay claimed to offer passcodes to log in for Led Zeppelin reunion concert ticket purchases. In nearly all cases, the auctions demanded pricetags that exceeded the price of tickets themselves.
Goldsmith first responded to such resale of passcodes in a press release on Oct. 2, stating the following:
"Unfortunately a small number of unscrupulous people have decided to take advantage of the fact that they had been awarded the opportunity to purchase tickets. It is even more unfortunate that eBay and a number of ticket scalping sites have chosen to take advantage of this situation. Please note that unless the ticket, the code and correct identification match, those tickets will be invalid. Anyone who chooses to purchase tickets in this way will lose their money!"
Scott Colothan of Internet site Gigwise yesterday posted an article that summed up the opinions of some fans who thought Goldsmith was, in essence, ripping off fans. From that article:
One wrote: “Why are they making this so hard for everyone? True fans will fork out thousands and travel all over the world for these guys but they are being shafted by this fat git!!” Another disgruntled fan added: “Unfortunately this policy will hurt the fans who bought the codes not the seller who has already been paid.”
Know what? Cry me a river. Who's forking out the thousands? Who paid the seller? And you're blaming Harvey for shafting you?
We've known all along:
It's a charity fundraiser. You should feel ashamed either raking in or shelling out large chunks of money that won't benefit the charity.
A no-resale policy was announced the very first day.
Anyone using the pre-registration site agreed to abide by its terms and conditions.
Therefore:
Anyone selling an authentic, unique code knowing violated not only the terms and conditions but also the specific rules of the confirmation e-mail.
Anyone buying a passcode, or a ticket, sold in this manner was knowingly violating the no-resale policy.
Anyone buying a passcode, or a ticket, sold in this manner was knowingly making a scalper richer when the intention was to prevent that from happening all along -- partly because, what? Say it with me: It's a charity fundraiser.
Bottom line:
If you really want to keep the scalpers from profiting, the last thing you should do is give them money.
On top of that, if you thought you would be somehow rewarded for helping a scalper make money, you were grossly mistaken.
A search on eBay using the terms Led Zeppelin and O2 would at first appear to nullify the efforts by Harvey Goldsmith to prevent "touts," or scalpers, from profiting from the resale of tickets to the biggest reunion concert of the century.
Ultimately, anybody using eBay to get themselves tickets to the Ahmet Ertegün tribute at the O2 arena on Nov. 26 will find out just who is being defrauded: the buyers. And who they have made rich, at least for the time being: the profiteering scalpers.
These scalpers have seemingly found a loophole through which they can make money regardless. It is one that appears not to be a violation of eBay's policy against the unauthorized sale of event tickets. It's not the tickets they're selling; it's simply a passcode that allows access to purchase on Ticketmaster's U.K. site up to two tickets to the event.
Think about the possibilities: If you have a legitimate passcode, you can go to eBay and sell and resell it, infinitely, as long as people keep buying the same passcode. Will it work for everybody? No, it will not work only for the first person to use the passcode; subsequent attempts to reuse the passcode will result in failure.
Won't the people who paid all that money to obtain your passcode feel cheated? Yes, they will, but smart sellers will have included in the terms of the sale an adequate disclaimer such as "Tickets are NOT included in this auction." The seller in one particular auction was particularly clear on this point, emphasizing:
You are bidding on a PASSWORD to see Led Zeppelin (Ahmet Ertegun Tribute) in London at the O2 Arena on November 26. Password is valid for purchase of 2 tickets.
PLEASE NOTE THAT NO ACTUAL TICKETS ARE INCLUDED WITH PURCHASE, JUST THE PASSWORD THAT ENABLES YOU TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Not that I'm advising anybody to defraud the public. Just the opposite, in fact!
These sellers may be exploiting a loophole in eBay's system. However, does that mean the process is still permissible? Whether this practice is illegal under any territory's laws remains to be seen, but it does seem an awful lot like fraud. Even if illegal, whether it would be prosecuted by any government is a whole separate matter. Investigations would have to transpire quickly in order to find out who is selling the passcodes; these auctions are around for only 24 hours, and the clock is ticking. Some even use the "Buy It Now" feature, allowing the sale to take place immediately, ending the auction. Besides, the 72-hour window under which this first round of tickets must be purchased is also closing.
All legal arguments aside, will the resale of these passcodes result in actual tickets being given to people who purchased them but who did not receive a passcode e-mailed to them by the promoters as part of the pre-registration process? No.
This is an important point that the buyers in such auctions are missing. Let me be clear: You and your guest will not be given tickets you have already purchased when you arrive at the concert venue in London if the name of the purchaser does not match the name of the recipient for that passcode.
The author of this blog has posted today a claim that this is what Harvey Goldsmith's office says it is going to do. Now that same claim is being reported in the press: See New Musical Express.
Those who purchase passcodes are allowing people to profit from illegitimate and unauthorized sales. These purchasers will also end up only hurting themselves by wasting money buying passcodes that will yield them only a mistaken claim to tickets they will never end up possessing. Those who sell, or claim to sell, passcodes associated with the Led Zeppelin reunion concert are anathema.
I can only hope that, from here on out, the words in the e-mail notifications --
The original conditions of sale will be enforced. These tickets are non-transferable and any resale will void the transaction without refund. ...
We are doing our best to keep the tickets for this event out of the hands of secondary ticket sellers and in the hands of the fans so please help us by adhering to the above.
It appears some real advance planning has accompanied the announcement of this upcoming concert performance by the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, scheduled to take place two months into the future.
When I speak of advance planning, certainly I am not referring to the lack of foresight that meant the announcement of a ticket registration process was uprooted by excessive demand within minutes. (After all, who could have predicted so many people would want to go to a little Led Zeppelin show in 2007? What does the proverb say absence does? Hmmmm.)
The advance planning that is becoming clearer has to do with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham. For one thing, they told event promoter Harvey Goldsmith they were going to play for two hours, instead of the 30 minutes he asked for. There is no doubt in my mind that, unlike before the previous handful of reunion shows, they have been extensively talking over set list ideas and rehearsing material. By all accounts, this won't be another trouncing through 20 minutes' worth of songs with minimal prep time; instead, this is going to be something to do justice to the group.
A revelation in the Exeter Express & Echo lets slip that Led Zeppelin has had a "secret rehearsal venue in London." The article also quotes Hugh Manson, longtime manufacturer of electric basses for John Paul Jones and who is building new gear customized for the November reunion. "It is going to be absolutely fantastic," said Manson. "Rehearsals have been hard work but great fun. I have just finished making one new guitar for the concert and am now working on another, which will be a spare. It is a four-string bass which is extra long - at least that is the best way to describe it."
Manson -- who was my interview subject in the April 28, 2003, edition of "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History" -- proceeds to hint that some songs have already been determined, with rehearsals having dictated new keys and, therefore, new instruments. He tells the Express & Echo, "Some of the songs will be in a lower key than usual and, while you can tune a guitar to accommodate almost any note, the best way is to make an instrument to do the job - and that's what this is. In fact, all the basses used by the band in the concert will be ours."
Some fans have interpreted this quote to mean that Jones will not be the only member on bass. Specifically, they think Jimmy Page might play bass for a song like "When the Levee Breaks," allowing Jones to play the lead on his lap steel guitar as he has done in solo outings and other live ventures throughout this decade.
One as-yet unconfirmed rumor suggests that Page has been readying himself since April to play a live version of "Dazed and Confused," complete with a violin bow solo. He sped through a violin bow solo during a live performance of the song on Feb. 9, 2002 – one of only two times he attempted "Dazed" in the past 10 years. The alleged reading of the song this November might be more like the old days when Page thoughtfully prepared for his moment in the spotlight, center-stage.
In fact, prior to Led Zeppelin's shows at Knebworth in 1979 where Page played a violin bow solo to introduce "Achilles Last Stand," the guitarist jotted down stage notes on how he wanted the laser lights and smoke behind him to function during that moment. Those visual and musical cues for effects to be triggered by crew and by fiberoptic cable attached to his violin bow demonstrate how interested and involved Page has been in defining his own image.
Certainly, he has been the primary gatekeeper when it comes to controlling the group's image, given his direct involvement in the behind-the-scenes work of preserving Led Zeppelin. He has coordinated posthumous releases from 1982's Coda on through this November's reissue of The Song Remains the Same, with remastered CDs and box sets as well as live discs and BBC performances. During the band's existence, he labored at length to have great input in the Led Zeppelin film and several studio albums.
This leads me to another point: the documentation of this seemingly well-planned reunion concert. As of now, no plans have been announced to film this sole representation of live Led Zeppelin in the 21st century. If it comes off as well as is hoped, and indeed especially if this one-off show is all that is being considered, then it would be a horrible shame if the unique spectacle can be viewed only by the 18,000 ticketholders and special guests and is not captured on video.
Think of the possibilities: It could result in a massive television extravaganza. Proceeds from sales of a commercial release could be earmarked to benefit the Ahmet Ertegün Education Fund, the charity sowing the benefits of the concert ticket themselves. All this is achievable just by allowing the event to be shared with the millions of fans all around the world.
This is the subject of an online petition now circulating. If you feel the same way, you are urged to sign the letter. The wonderful and historically unique occasion of Led Zeppelin's November 2007 reunion must somehow make it to the masses, and fans must not sit back quietly while such an oversight takes place. Led Zeppelin is a band for the ages, and this should be a reunion for the ages -- not just for two hours on Nov. 26.
That all being said, it is possible that recording the show could be accomplished even as an afterthought. Those who learn from history know that this is how the last three nights of Led Zeppelin's North American tour of 1973 was filmed and came to be included in both The Song Remains the Same and the 2003 DVD. It's also how the last two nights of a 1999 mini-tour of Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes ended up being recorded and subsequently released via computer downloads and on a live album.
The latter circumstance is detailed on the Web site of Kevin Shirley's Cameman Productions; Shirley was the sound engineer for Led Zeppelin's DVD, and he produced, engineered and mixed Live at the Greek for Page and the Black Crowes. Page, who said their performance at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles was "one of those nights where everything just gelled beautifully -- one of those magical nights, so it was just tremendous," was reminded backstage after the show that Shirley had recorded it. "Yeah, that's right, we did record it," Page is quoted as saying. "Thank goodness."
The three surviving members of Led Zeppelin will reunite this November for a single show in London, according to an official announcement made today.
As promoter Harvey Goldsmith stated at a London press conference in their absence, the group's performance Nov. 26 at the city's O2 arena will be at a concert that will also include Pete Townshend of the Who and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones.
There was no mention of whether Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones would consider playing another gig together after the tribute concert to Ahmet Ertegün, the Atlantic Records cofounder and close personal friend to Led Zeppelin.
"During the Zeppelin years, Ahmet Ertegün was a major foundation of solidarity and accord," Plant said in a press release. "For us, he was Atlantic Records and remained a close friend and conspirator. this performance stands aloneas our tribute to the work and the life of our long standing friend."
The reunited Led Zeppelin will also include drummer Jason Bonham sitting in to fill the seat left by his father, John Bonham, whose death on Sept. 25, 1980, caused the band to announce its retirement later that year.
The younger Bonham has been drumming in recent months for classic rock group Foreigner, which has also been booked to perform at the Nov. 26 concert.
Concert proceeds are to benefit the Ahmet Ertegün Education Fund, set up to "provide students with annual scholarships to universities in the UK, USA and Turkey," according to an official press release. "In addition, a music scholarship open to all will beestablished at Ravensbourne College in the UK."
Tickets to the event, priced at 125 British pounds ($254), are available exclusively from a random drawing at http://www.ahmettribute.com/.
Aside from three one-off performances in 1985, 1988 and 1995, and two jams at family members' weddings, Led Zeppelin has not reunited for a tour.
While the Led Zeppelin members are rumored to have been rehearsing together over the past month, the concert in November would be their first public appearance together since May 22, 2006, when they were awarded the Polar Music Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm.
The most recent performance by all three former members coincided with their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, on Jan. 12, 1995. At the time, Page and Plant were toward the start of a mini-reunion of their own that, by the end of 1998, had resulted in two full-length albums as well as a home video and television special heralding their work together.
Led Zeppelin's much-anticipated performance is set to take place during a rare month of new releases from the band showcasing live and studio material recorded mostly during the band's 1970s heyday. A plethora of new releases are to hit stores on two consecutive Mondays, with the performance taking place on the Monday of the following week.
Rhino Records, in conjunction with Atlantic, will release a new greatest-hits collection called Mothership with a U.K. release date of Nov. 12, followed one week later with Atlantic's upgraded reissue of the soundtrack to Zep's 1976 film, The Song Remains the Same, as well as Warner's reissue of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray with additional footage.
Ertegün's surviving wife, Mica Ertegün, stated in a press release that her late husband "would be very proud that Led Zeppelin have chosen to reunite and headline a benefit concert in his name featuring so many of his friends. I would like to thank all of the artists for their generous contribution to help make Ahmet’s vision a reality."
Singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini will also appear at the concert on Nov. 26, and Wyman will perform with the Rhythm Kings.
