In part two of our magazine extravaganza, we take a look at the weekly publications of Great Britain. Unlike most of the U.S. mags discussed last issue, these periodicals were-and still are-printed more in the format of newspapers than magazines, with banner headlines, front page articles and brief news items featured at the front of the book. Articles and features tended to be shorter than in American publications like Creem, though some were very in-depth and often based on interviews and thus full of good quotes. Photos were also less plentiful and in most cases in black & white, though a few mags like Record Mirror and Disc printed some excellent color images over the years, some in the form of center-spread posters.

Though Zeppelin and Jimmy Page in particular were very critical of the "old guard" British press like Melody Maker, the band actually had some of their strongest early supporters there. Caroline Boucher in Disc, Chris Welch, Chris Charlesworth and Roy Hollingworth in Melody Maker and Ritchie Yorke in New Musical Express all played a part in gaining attention for the band with their enthusiastic reviews and profiles. Yorke went on to write the first Zep biography, an informative and generally fair book published in 1976 that for some reason the Zeppelin organization didn't like-which effectively ended their relationship with Yorke.

Despite the early support, as Zeppelin got bigger and in some people's opinions "abandoned" England as a live act, the British press became increasingly indifferent and ultimately downright frosty towards the band. In a famous fit of pique, Zeppelin denied press access at Knebworth to any journalists from Sounds due to their critical treatment of the band. The ensuing review of the show by Geoff Barton was a biting epitaph for the 'aging dinosaurs,' which spent more time complaining about the band's treatment of them than discussing the music.

From a collecting standpoint, nice condition copies of the British magazines are harder to find than their U.S. counterparts, especially here in the U.S. Since they were printed on cheap newsprint, they are very subject to fading, drying out, and the other ravages of time. Their size also makes them vulnerable to damage and difficult to store-none of the British publications except Zig Zag were anything close to 'standard' A4 magazine size, and in fact Melody Maker was a whopping 12" by 18," almost as large as a daily newspaper.

In the interest of space a few of the less established publications such as Beat Instrumental and the underground Oz and International Times have not been listed, though in 1969 and 1970 all of these featured significant-and now impossible to find-articles on Zeppelin.

A good recent source for some of the best features from MM and NME is the book On Tour With Led Zeppelin, compiled by Zep biographer Howard Mylett and published by Mitchell Beazley/Reed International Books in 1993. The book also features many excellent photos, including some superior reproductions of the photos originally used to illustrate the articles by Barry Plummer, Pennie Smith and others.

Also invaluable to those collecting Zep magazine features are Steve Jones' A Guide To Led Zeppelin & The Press (self-published 1992) and Robert Godwin's Led Zeppelin. . . the Press Reports (Collectors Guide Publishing 1997). And coming in the near future is a new book by Mark Archer, formerly publisher of the excellent UK Zep fanzine Wearing & Tearing, which will catalog all the known printed material of significance on Zeppelin. Watch these pages for more information. . .

Melody Maker

Melody Maker is the grand old stalwart of the British music press; from an American standpoint it represents sort of a combination of the industry bible Billboard and the more fan-oriented Hit Parader or Rolling Stone. When Zeppelin surfaced in late '68 Melody Maker was unquestionably the 'old guard,' and their relative slowness to give the band coverage drew public criticism from Page and set the stage for Zeppelin's touchy relationship with the press.

• 10/12/68: Only Jimmy Left To Form New Yardbirds by Chris Welch. The MM's first mention of Zep, in the form of a half-page interview with Page, waxing enthusiastic about his new band to Chris Welch. Cover: unknown.

• 10/25/69: Led Zeppelin At Carnegie Hall by Chris Welch. A superb, vividly rendered description of Welch's trip to America with Zep for the opening of their fourth U.S. tour at Carnegie Hall in New York. Notable in part because this concert (of which no recording exists) was a milestone in the band's career and yet it is seldom discussed-and according to Welch, "Summertime Blues" was played as an encore! Cover: unknown.

• 3/13/71: Ireland Unites Under Zeppelin by Chris Welch. Terrific two-page report from the band's shows in Belfast and Dublin, well illustrated with photos from the performances. Page talks extensively about the new material being prepared (and previewed live) for the fourth album, and mentions that the possibility of releasing it as four separate EPs to keep costs down was being considered.

• 3/15/75: Zeppelin's May Daze! (no author listed), Advertisement. Official announcement of Zep's Earls Court dates, with a banner headline news item on the front page and a full page ad on page five as well. Cover: Plant pictured, "Zeppelin's May Daze!"

• 5/24/75: Led Zeppelin Blitz London! Four page MM Special [including] Avenging Angels - Saturday by Chris Welch, Zep Pow! pictures by Robert Ellis, The Ultimate Trip - Sunday by Michael Oldfield. Melody Maker pulls out all the stops, starting with a superb front page shot of Page & Plant at Earls Court-unsullied by the customary banner headline-and continuing with the four-page special profusely illustrated with great photos from the shows. Both reviewers rave about the performances, with Welch describing every detail of the show and Oldfield focusing more on profiling and praising the individual members. There is also an unrelated piece on ticket price inflation which mentions the Earls Court shows and features a reproduction of ticket for the 25th. Cover: Full page shot of Page & Plant at Earls Court, "Front Page! Zep Triumphant!"

New Musical Express

NME is sort of the 'alternative' Melody Maker, once an upstart with attitude that was regarded as hipper than its old-school competitor. Like its counterpart Creem in America, NME latched on to the punk scene in a big way around 1976, and by Zeppelin's latter days was firmly entrenched in anti-dinosaur mode. Still, they covered Zeppelin faithfully and printed some of the better Page interviews done post-'75.

• 4/4/70: Ask-in with a Led Zeppelin a Week series: John Paul Jones by Ritchie Yorke. The first of four individual interviews with the band running for four consecutive weeks. Jones starts it out and talks extensively about Motown and other influences on his playing, with one photo. Excellent piece. Cover: unknown.

• 4/11/70: Ask-in with a Led Zeppelin a Week series: Robert Plant by Ritchie Yorke. In part two, Robert discusses Zeppelin's enormous success, and this is where he makes his famous quotes about Jim Morrison and the Doors, based on seeing them play on the bill with Zep at the Seattle Pop Festival. Cover: unknown.

• 4/18/70: Ask-in with a Led Zeppelin a Week series: John Bonham by Ritchie Yorke. Bonham is featured in part three of the series, talking about drumming and giving his individual impressions of his fellow musicians in Zeppelin. Decent but considerably shorter than the space given the other members. Cover: unknown.

• 4/25/70: Ask-in with a Led Zeppelin a Week series: Jimmy Page by Ritchie Yorke. It's Jimmy's turn in part four, and signs of the stress of success are starting to show-he bites back at the British press and public, comparing the U.K. music scene unfavorably to America. Cover: unknown.

• 12/7/74: Platters column: Quintessential doyens of the kamikaze dizzbuster game by Nick Kent, also Graffiti of the Physical by Nick Kent. Complimentary track-by-track preview of Physical Graffiti, based on a single hearing by Kent at Trident Sounds Studio, also a great Page interview, wherein he states, "1974 didn't really happen. 1975 will be a better year." Great Pennie Smith band shot. Also a brief news item confirming Zep's plan to play some U.K. dates in the spring of 1975. Cover: Paul Rodgers pictured, "Led Zeppelin Exclusive Jimmy Page interview, album preview.

• 8/4/79: Zep LP Surprise (no author listed), Smiling Men with Bad Reputations by Chris Salewicz, Dazed & Abused by Eric Kornfeldt, Advertisement. Tons of Zep in this issue, starting with a news item announcing the release of In Through The Out Door on August 20th. In the center-spread begins a 4-page piece by Salewicz based on his interview with Page, somewhat critical but full of quotes about the upcoming LP and Knebworth and illustrated with some nice Pennie Smith pics. The issue also contains a fairly negative review of the first Copenhagen warmup gig, and a full page ad for the second Knebworth date on August 11th. Cover: Jimmy Page pictured (Pennie Smith portrait), "Tory Rocker Speaks Out Against Redundancy Charges - The Jimmy Page Interview."

Record Mirror

Record Mirror was a Billboard magazine publication, and as such was more of a trade paper than the others, reporting as much on the business of music as on the musical side. One of its best features from a collector's standpoint are the deluxe color covers they ran on glossy paper, often with a full page image of the band. Though the articles were rarely in-depth, the layouts were impressive.

• 4/12/69: We Could Have Been A Bum Group (author unknown), Led Zeppelin Invades (author unknown). Brief Jimmy Page interview, and a review of the first album predicting good things to come from the "new and expectedly exciting group." Cover: unknown.

• 8/4/79: The Sun Shines Again by Robin Smith. Career profile of the band, with amusing caricatures of each band member. Cover: Robert Plant pictured in caricature, "Led Zep Special."

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