by Hugh Jones

(Excerpted from Issue #30, which contains related articles on Zep's 1971 & 1972 Japanese tours, a discography including 'The History Of Japanese Bootlegs', a look at collectible Japanese magazines and more)

Led Zeppelin's popularity is most assuredly a worldwide phenomenon, still going strong in Europe, the U.K, and especially the U.S.A. Japan, however, has always had a special infatuation with the band-and even though there was a 22-year gap between Zeppelin's last visit in 1972 and Jimmy Page's return with David Coverdale in 1994, the affection seems to be mutual.

Japan's postwar fascination with western pop culture is well known, and despite the country's deep-seated traditions and conservative nature, young Japanese people in the '60s and '70s were just as free-spirited and rebellious as their contemporaries in free countries around the world-and rock and roll, of course, was a big part of this.

The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and later on, Queen, Cheap Trick and others were hugely popular in Japan, and when they took the trouble to travel there and perform these bands were afforded a hero's welcome and favored with non stop media attention and hysterically excited audiences. Needless to say, Led Zeppelin responded to this treatment with gusto, enjoying themselves to the fullest and performing some particularly unique concerts during both of their brief Japanese tours in 1971 and '72.

In '71 they treated their one-week visit as both a working vacation and a non-stop party, visiting red light districts, shopping, strolling through Hiroshima's Peace Park with cameras like so many tourists, and drinking and brawling their way from city to city (via train) in their own inimitable fashion. Perhaps thinking-somewhat accurately-that the glare of the western media was not on them for once, this atmosphere carried over to the stage, where in addition to delivering their trademark early '70s powerhouse shows, they goofed around and experimented with obscure songs, new material and medley choices unplayed before or since.

Circumstances conspired to keep Led Zeppelin from ever returning to the east after 1972 (a late '75 tour was discussed but abandoned following Robert's auto crash), but in 1994, looking to test the waters for his new collaboration with David Coverdale, Jimmy Page chose Japan as the location for a seven-date tour. Japanese fans were treated to a newly rejuvenated Page playing plenty of Zeppelin material and responded in kind, making the tour a success. It turned out to be a rare opportunity however, as no other live dates ever materialized and the ill-fated collaboration was ended shortly following the tour.

When Page and Plant reunited in 1994 and subsequently launched the "No Quarter" tour through 1995 and into '96, they too chose Japan for some very unique visits (described in more detail elsewhere in this issue) including an unheard-of acoustic duo performance of "Stairway To Heaven" on national TV. There's just something about Japan. . .

From a fan and collector's standpoint, the result of this 30-year love affair between band and country has been a wealth of wonderful images, recordings and memorabilia, which is the main focus of this special Proximity issue. If I had to narrow down my collection to a handful of favorite items, they'd all be Japanese-the gorgeous tour programs from '71 & '72, the Music Life special editions and books, the incredible 7-inch single picture sleeves, and of course the magnificent bootleg CDs produced by Tarantura, TDOLZ and others.

And there's no end in sight. Last year the Zep albums all came out in deluxe CD reissue editions, this year Page & Plant chose to release Walking Into Clarksdale with an extra track on the Japanese edition, and excellent books and magazine articles continue to be produced on both Zeppelin and Page and Plant's current activities. Here's to many more years of Japan's love affair with all things Zeppelin!

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