Earls Court 1975

Earls Court 1975 were five concerts performed by the English rock band Led Zeppelin at Earls Court Arena in London in May 1975.

Overview

The concerts were initially booked for three nights on 23, 24 and 25 May, but due to unprecedented public demand (tickets for the three shows sold out within just four hours), two further dates were added for 17 and 18 May, making total ticket sales 85,000. Noted critic and film director Tony Palmer stated at the time in The Observer that no group in history had ever attracted such an audience in Britain.

These concerts took place less than two months following the conclusion of Led Zeppelin's 1975 North American Tour. The whole of the band's 40-ton stage and light show was airlifted from America for the concerts. A huge Eidiphor screen which showed the action as it was being filmed was also erected above the stage, at a cost of £10,000. This is thought to be one of the first occasions when such a device was used for a rock show in England. It was said that an entire city could be lit by the energy spent in a single concert. Three days of rehearsals took place in order to fix every possible detail or PA problem. The sound at the concerts was managed by Showco.

Earls Court

Coordinates: 51°29′26″N 0°11′45″W / 51.490616°N 0.195848°W / 51.490616; -0.195848

Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in central London, bordering the sub-districts of South Kensington to the east, West Kensington to the west, Chelsea to the south and Kensington to the north. The Earls Court Exhibition Centre was one of the country's largest indoor arenas and a popular concert venue until its closure in 2014.

History

Early history

Earls Court was once a rural area, covered with green fields and market gardens. The Saxon Thegn Edwin held the lordship of the area prior to the Norman Conquest. For over 500 years the land, part of the ancient manor of Kensington, was under the lordship of the Vere family, the Earls of Oxford and descendants of Aubrey de Vere I, who held the manor of Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances, in Domesday Book in 1086. By circa 1095, his tenure had been converted, and he held Kensington directly of the crown. A church had been constructed there by 1104. The earls held their manorial court where Old Manor Yard is now, just by the London Underground station. Earls Court Farm is visible on Greenwood's map of London dated 1827.