Yes, I WAS THERE DECEMBER 10th 2007
- invited by the promotion company - along with Peter Moore, BOSS of RADIO CAROLINE who championed LED ZEPPELIN when they first started - to be at the O2 arena Media Centre.
Read PM's story of "Peter and Panda's most excellent Journey"! It is on the RADIO CAROLINE website www.radiocaroline.co.uk/
There you will find his revelations - with a huge dollop of poetic license - of the strange events leading up to both of us being escorted into the heart of the O2 arena to see the show! It really was a strange adventure and, even as I write this, I know that my life will never be the same again. It is not often that I am at a loss for words, but that night - WOW!!
FIRST THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION OPENED - THEN THE MOTHERSHIP ARRIVED
New Year's Eve 2006 I had the humbling experience of introducing the DOORS onstage at the ROUNDHOUSE LONDON (I know…. For legal reasons we had to call them RIDERS ON THE STORM… with IAN ASTBURY of the CULT sitting in for JIM MORRISON so splendidly). The show was magical and the DOORS music has always been to me the most powerful music of all times…. Alongside ONE OTHER BAND…. LED ZEPPELIN…
For me the music of Led Zeppelin has always been something special, resonating to the very essence of my existence. Originally I had resigned myself to the fact that, as I was in America at the time, I was not destined to be at the November 26th concert. That was OK - I would be in a sacred place and would feel the music flow around the world. Then the unthinkable happened… the date was changed and Panderella COULD GO TO THE BALL!
So, fasten your seatbelts Ladies and Gentlemen, or throw caution to the wind and ride bareback, and share with me the Magical, Mystical, Musical Meanderings of the LED, the LONGING and the LOVE.
Many journalists have written about this gig: the Hype, the Music, The Band, and overall even the jaded music journalists seem to have agreed that LED ZEPPELIN at the O2 Arena was an amazing success.
Yes, as PM says in his writing, some journalists experienced it only from the TV screens in the sterile environment of the media centre at the O2 arena, and I wonder if they could really feel the same things that we felt, having the pleasure of actually being right inside the Mothership, inside the Arena itself, feeling the music, Mind, Body and Soul?
See it all on 'The BIG Screen' for yourselves... Click on the thumbnails to get a better view! Photos by Pandora
Firstly let us remember that the evening was set up to honour AMHET ERTEGUN the founder of ATLANTIC RECORDS who "discovered" now legendary figures including RAY CHARLES and ARETHA FRANKLIN, and also signed the then-new LED ZEPPELIN to ATLANTIC RECORDS in the late 1960s. Decades later, and sadly a year after his death, AHMET's Charity has prompted a reunion by Zeppelin, an event considered so unlikely that one could say he’s continuing to make music history from beyond the grave - and Robert Plant did pay homage to him several times during the show. THANK YOU AHMET.
It was great to see other artists, including the guys from FOREIGNER and PAUL RODGERS doing their bit to make the evening a success. Was it strange for them - huge artists in their own right - to be the opening acts for LED ZEPPELIN? Maybe one day I'll ask them!! To me they are stars for being there and their music helped the energy in the arena to build. I know the show really did become the "ZEPPELIN REUNION", however, I must say that I was just a little sad at the end of the evening that the ZEPP boys did not ask the others to join them onstage for the final song - so they could ALL together give thanks to AHMET. But I won't dwell on that…
I'm also not going to dwell on ZEPPELIN's musical prowess and technicality - for Zeppelin onstage were never just about that. LED ZEPPELIN onstage (and off) is all about where the music takes you: the alchemical journey that you embark on as you board the Mothership and head off to the stars, as well as a deeper understanding of the very essence of existence.
What I can say is that Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones gave 110% of themselves - and Jason, John Bonham's son, was a thunderous star. Thank you guys for again making LED ZEPPELIN the greatest band on earth.
Read on and delve into my PONDERINGS and see whether the music of Led Zeppelin is so powerful that it can influence you through a PC, a record player, a TV Screen, a Phone camera screen, or even through the airways…
LED ZEPPELIN has landed and the MOTHERSHIP is getting ready to take us away. It's Monday Evening, 10th December 2007 - PLANET LONDON. I am at the O2 arena, which for thousands of devotees, has, for one evening become the microcosm of the Universe.
Here I stand, in total contact with the heavens and barely conscious of the people surrounding me, yet in complete harmony with them and the four ethereal beings on stage.
I am in ecstasy, in tune, exhilarated and at peace. I feel the music coursing through my veins - accelerating the cell renewal process as I am transported back in time and thrown into a vortex of sound, energy and frequencies: Yes, LED ZEPPELIN is back - the Mothership has landed - and is transporting and transmuting us in ways we may only be barely aware of.
I say four beings are on stage, or is it FIVE (?) as I feel the passion and power of the drumming of JOHN BONHAM reverberating, through his flesh and blood son Jason, around the arena and out to the universe and beyond.
From the first notes of GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES, a tingling starts in the base of my spine, growing through the evening to match the full blown passion of the music. The men on stage are once again in tune with each other, and the private smiles and eye contact between them are PRICELESS! To hear LED ZEPPELIN "live" is amazing, thunderous, stupendous…. And more! This is one time when I am truly at a loss for words as I float off into heavenly bliss! Although I have always felt that the music of ZEPPELIN is something special, "live" they are sending me to outer space and beyond. How apt to call their new compilation "MOTHERSHIP"!
NEW MOON - TINKERBELL & THE 100th MONKEY If that isn't enough, December 9th heralded a New Moon, and I am told that the Sun, the Moon, Jupiter, Mercury and Pluto are tightly packed in Sagittarius and that this rare stellium confers an exhilarating and expansive energy to all events and experiences at this time. You may think all this astromological stuff is just mumbo jumbo… but LED ZEPPELIN is certainly benefiting from this energy, and as always with this legendary band, rumours abound that the concert date was moved forward to this time in order to make use of these planetary forces including Mercury in an 'electric square' aspect with Uranus bringing huge potential voltage. YES - the energy was electric, and I feel it is continuing on a subtle and cellular level.
OF course there are other theories that the date was changed to increase the "Hype" and increase record sales of the compilations that "coincidentally" have been released before the gig. True or False? Does it really matter? I don’t think so. What I do know is that the energy of LED ZEPPELIN is growing with every set of new and young ears that are introduced to their music. Just like Tinkerbell, you have to believe in her so her light doesn’t go out and her strength can grow. It is also like the story of the 100th Monkey: suddenly when a certain number of monkeys on remote islands began washing their fruit before eating it, ALL the monkeys on other surrounding islands suddenly started washing their food!
So, TINKERBELL in the form of Robert, Jimmy, John Paul Jones, Jason and his father John, are full of new energy and light and I humbly can say that I WAS one of the blessed (monkeys?) allowed to experience the LED in all its vibrant glory. Not only does the song remain the same - it has aged well, matured and focussed, and like vintage champagne - has even got better!
For them to give so much of themselves in this one special night may have created a dilemma for any future gigs they MAY do. Could they sustain THAT energy night after night? Would they even want to? Maybe at some point they will unleash that energy in select places around the world… BUT a full tour? Hmmm… We'll just have to wait and see. Whatever happens, Pandora's RockBox - and RADIO CAROLINE will always be a place where LED ZEPPELIN will reign in all their glory.
PEACE, LOVE & LED ZEPPELIN AS I say in my radio shows: Through the power of thought and music we CAN make a difference. Through the medium of music - and especially through the frequencies and vibrations of music like LED ZEPPELIN and the DOORS, we can spread Peace, Love, Harmony, Happiness, Health, Wealth, Abundance and Joy around the world.
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