Led Zeppelin | A signed copy of the debut album

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin. Atlantic Records, 1970

LP in the original sleeve (catalogue number SD 8216), signed on the sleeve by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones, runout number MX162944 on Side A and MX162945 on Side B; sleeve cleanly split at seams, front cover laminated, some very minor abrasions, light creasing and ringwear. [With:] A signed letter of authenticity from James Spence Authentication.

A signed copy of Led Zeppelin’s debut album. After the beak up of The Yardbirds on 7 July 1968, with the departure of Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, and subsequently Chris Dreja, Jimmy Page began to search for the musicians who could join him in a new vision he had for a band—“a new sort of collage of sound”—which he originally planned to dub The New Yardbirds. The first singer he sought out was Terry Reid, but he declined the opportunity due to recording contracts, and in turn recommended the then-unknown Robert Plant, who he had seen perform in Band of Joy. Page and Plant quickly realized they had great chemistry and began to work together on new material at Page's home in Pangbourne. Plant suggested his former bandmate John Bonham to fill the open role for a drummer, and soon the group that would become the biggest band of the 1970s was formed.

The quartet first rehearsed together on 19 August 1968 before embarking on a tour of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, from 7-24 September. At the time they were calling themselves "The New Yardbirds," though a number of shows still billed them simply as "The Yardbirds." While the tour was not financially successful, the whole band felt enlivened by the shows and left the audiences wanting more. Page later recalled that after the tour, they decided that this new musical energy required that they change their name: "We realised we were working under false pretences, the thing had gone quickly beyond where The Yardbirds had left off. We all agreed there was no point in retaining the New Yardbirds tag so when we got back from Scandinavia we decided to change the name ... It was a fresh beginning for us all" (Lewis and Pallett, p. 12).

Immediately upon returning to London, the band entered the studio to record their first album. Page fronted the costs, as they had yet to sign a record deal, and as such they tried to record and master the album as fast as possible—completing one of rock's most legendary and influential records in 36 hours (over several days). Shortly after leaving the studio, they received a cease and desist letter from Dreja over the usage of the Yardbirds name, which cemented their need for a new name. They ran with "Led Zeppelin"—dropping the "a" out of "lead" for fear it may be mispronounced—because, on one account, it struck Page as "the perfect combination of heavy and light, combustibility and grace." With a new name and an eponymous record in tow, their manager Peter Grant inked them a $143,000 advance from Atlantic Records—the biggest record deal for a rock band to that date.

Their debut features some of Led Zeppelin's greatest songs, including "Good Times Bad Times," "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You," "Dazed and Confused," and "Communication Breakdown." Though it initially received an unfavorable critical reception, it was a commercial success and word quickly spread that the band was a great live act—garnering more fans with each show. The album is now considered one of the greatest and most influential rock records of all time.

The present copy is the Australian issue of Led Zeppelin, which was released in 1970 following the original 1969 UK release.