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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

John Paul Jones returns to London stage for R.E.M. concert

Uncut reports today that John Paul Jones performed onstage at the Royal Albert Hall in London last night, along with Robyn Hitchcock.

The concert, billed as R.E.M. and Friends, saw the premier London performance of tracks from R.E.M.'s new album, Accelerate.

Onstage, R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck noted the presence of Jones, who provided string arrangements for several songs on the group's successful 1994 album, Automatic for the People.

Uncut reports that Buck said he had been debating with Jones backstage over what year Led Zeppelin performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Buck said 1969, whereas Jones said 1970. Buck claimed to have a bootleg of the show, so he said he was sure.

Actually, they're both right.

  • A June/July 1969 concert series at the Royal Albert Hall billed as the Pop Proms included a June 29 performance from Led Zeppelin.
  • But the group's more famous and widely bootlegged Royal Albert Hall performance took place on Jan. 9, 1970; much of that set was officially released on DVD in 2003, with edited versions of two live cuts from the show having been officially released back in 1982 on Coda.

Jones and Hitchcock are scheduled to perform together again at Bergenfest in Norway on April 30.

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About the author

Steve "The Lemon" Sauer is a writer and musician based in Boca Raton, Fla., who has dedicated a portion of his life researching the history of rock group Led Zeppelin and monitoring the ongoing careers of the band's surviving members. Although he was barely a year old when Led Zeppelin broke up and it took him until his teen years to appreciate the music, it didn't take long to make up for it.

Steve is currently a contributing writer and consultant for Get the Led Out, a weekly syndicated radio program hosted by Carol Miller and syndicated in 100 U.S. markets including New York and Los Angeles. He also provides content for a Web site associated with the radio show, www.LedZepOnline.com.

In 2007, Steve launched Lemon Squeezings: Led Zeppelin News to cover the lead-up to the band's reunion concert at the end of that year. Since then, he has closely examined every rumor of a followup tour since then, often dispelling or clarifying misinformation perpetrated by the mainstream media. Using his journalistic training, Steve has also uncovered some facts and accounts previously unreported elsewhere.

At age 18, he began publishing On This Day In Led Zeppelin History, a daily newsletter detailing the interactions of members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, and their manager, Peter Grant. The newsletter is located at www.OnThisDayInLedZeppelinHistory.com.

He enjoys uncovering stories and has employed various methods to communicate those stories to Led Zeppelin's vast fan base, utilizing terrestrial radio and the many facets of the Internet: from Usenet newsgroups to plain e-mail and now Facebook and Twitter. Steve also connects with live audiences when performing as a backup vocalist and keyboard player with various bands, including past onstage appearances with three cover or tribute acts performing the music of Led Zeppelin.

Do you have a news tip to share with Steve? Do you have something you would like him to write about? Would you like to book him for a speaking engagement? He can be contacted by e-mail at Steve at LedZeppelinNews.com.

Other Led Zeppelin information from Lemon Squeezings

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