For one night only, at the near pinnacle of their fame and artistic output, Led Zeppelin were forced to change the name of their band for a concert. Ticketholders who thought they would be seeing "Led Zeppelin" were greeted upon arrival by "The Nobs".
The driving force behind the band deciding to change their name for their show in Copenhagen, Denmark was Eva von Zeppelin, who was descended from the great Ferdinand von Zeppelin, inventor of the famous airships that bore his name. 1970 wasn't the first time Led Zeppelin ran into problems with Frau von Zeppelin. The year before she had attempted to prevent the band from playing a televised show in Copenhagen, saying of the band "They sound like shrieking monkeys."
Despite her attempts, the show went on, and the band even invited her to join them for tea after the taping as Jimmy Page recounted to Melody Maker, "“We invited her backstage to meet us, to see how we were nice young lads. We calmed her down but on leaving the studio, she saw our LP cover of an airship in flames and she exploded! I had to run and hide. She just blew her top.” The depiction of the Hindeburg Zeppelin in flames on the cover of the band's first album caused Frau von Zeppelin to threaten the band with a lawsuit if they continued to use their name.
In 1970, Led Zeppelin booked a tour of the European continent, with stops in Germany, Finland, Sweden, The Netherlands, and you guessed it, Copenhagen, Denmark. The band was scheduled to play at the K.B. Hallen Center on February 28th. Immediately concerns were raised by Peter Grant, the band's manager of playing in Copenhagen, and a decision was made that in order to prevent a lawsuit, the band would perform under a pseudonym for the evening. Jimmy: "We shall call ourselves The Nobs when we go to Copenhagen, the whole thing is absurd.”
The band picked the name, "The Nobs" as a play on the last name of Claude Nobs, the promoter of the tour. The Nobs has additional meaning as slang term for the male reproductive organ, and for a person of high wealth and good social standing." It becomes ironic when one considers they changed the name of their band for the evening from one person's last name to another's.
Eva von Zeppelin never did sue the band, and the show went off without a hitch.
 |
| Ticket Stub For The Show on February 28th, 1970 |
Despite her attempts, the show went on, and the band even invited her to join them for tea after the taping as Jimmy Page recounted to Melody Maker, "“We invited her backstage to meet us, to see how we were nice young lads. We calmed her down but on leaving the studio, she saw our LP cover of an airship in flames and she exploded! I had to run and hide. She just blew her top.” The depiction of the Hindeburg Zeppelin in flames on the cover of the band's first album caused Frau von Zeppelin to threaten the band with a lawsuit if they continued to use their name.
 |
| Ferdinand von Zeppelin |
In 1970, Led Zeppelin booked a tour of the European continent, with stops in Germany, Finland, Sweden, The Netherlands, and you guessed it, Copenhagen, Denmark. The band was scheduled to play at the K.B. Hallen Center on February 28th. Immediately concerns were raised by Peter Grant, the band's manager of playing in Copenhagen, and a decision was made that in order to prevent a lawsuit, the band would perform under a pseudonym for the evening. Jimmy: "We shall call ourselves The Nobs when we go to Copenhagen, the whole thing is absurd.”
The band picked the name, "The Nobs" as a play on the last name of Claude Nobs, the promoter of the tour. The Nobs has additional meaning as slang term for the male reproductive organ, and for a person of high wealth and good social standing." It becomes ironic when one considers they changed the name of their band for the evening from one person's last name to another's.
Eva von Zeppelin never did sue the band, and the show went off without a hitch.
No comments:
Post a Comment