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The Knebworth Park Festivals.

Knebworth Park Concerts

August 4th & 11th 1979.

Band photos, recordings and setlists.

The long wait ... Knebworth 1979

Photo © Paul Woodroffe: visit his Flickr site to see more of his photos

 

Knebworth Park Concert

August 4th 1979.

Led Zeppelin, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes,The New Commander Cody Band, Fairport Convention ,Chas and Dave.

August 11th 1979.

Led Zeppelin, New Barbarians, Todd Rundgren's Utopia , Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes,The New Commander Cody Band,Chas and Dave.

 

  There are both audience and Soundboard versions of Zeppelin's set available for both shows. However, so far we haven't been able to find any evidence of any of the minor bands performances being recorded for posterity, apart from the New Barbarians and Utopia .

Led Zeppelin.

© Jacques Luce

4 Aug 1979


Setlist:
The Song Remains The Same - Celebration Day - Black Dog - Nobody's Fault But Mine - Over The Hills And Far Away - Misty Mountain Hop - Since I've Been Loving You - No Quarter -Ten Years Gone - Hot Dog - The Rain Song - White Summer/Black Mountain Side - Kashmir - Trampled Underfoot - Sick Again - Achilles Last Stand In The Evening - Stairway To Heaven - Rock And Roll - Whole Lotta Love - Heartbreaker.

Source: Excellent Soundboard

11 Aug 1979


Setlist:
The Song Remains The Same - Celebration Day - Black Dog - Nobody's Fault But Mine - Over The Hills And Far Away - Misty Mountain Hop - Since I've Been Loving You - No Quarter - Hot Dog - The Rain Song-White Summer -Black Mountain Side - Kashmir - Trampled Underfoot - Sick Again - Achilles Last Stand - In The Evening -Stairway To Heaven - Rock And Roll - Whole Lotta Love - Communication Breakdown

Source: Excellent Soundboard

 

NB: We do not have copies of either of these shows, nor do we know where you can get them .See reviews pages below for in depth reviews of boots with Zeppelin footage from Knebworth 79 .

Both shows appear to have been filmed .The sound from the soundboard is apparently better then that off the video feed.

Photos © Ove Stridh

These songs from Knebworth are also featured on the new Zeppelin DVD released in 2003 .

  • Rock and Roll
  • Nobody's Fault But Mine
  • Sick Again
  • Achilles Last Stand
  • In the Evening
  • Kashmir
  • Whole Lotta Love

Very average quality portions of one of the shows is reproduced an the Knebworth boxed set video.

Just a few examples of the many releases of Zeppelin Knebworth material

New Barbarians

    Video
    Pro Shot, Live at Knebworth Fair, U.K.
    Image Quality: VG
    Length: 70 min

    Theres also an audio boot called "The Last Time " presumably because this was the last Barbarians show ever ). Sound on this one is good.

  • Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller
  • F.U.C. Her
  • Breathe On Me
  • I Can Feel The Fire
  • Let's Go Steady
  • Worried Life Blues
  • Honky Tonk Women
  • Come To Realize
  • Am I Grooving you
  • Seven Days
  • Before They Make Me Run
  • Jumping Jack Flash

Phil Chen on bass and Sugar Blue on harmonica.

Todd Rundgren's Utopia

"I remember reading an interview with Chris Andersen when he was asked what the biggest show Utopia ever played was. He said Knebworth 79'. He said he was in the sound tower and Willie got everybody clapping during "Jealousy". Everybody's hands looked like a giant wave moving across the audience. I think he said there were 300,000 people there."

 

Todd onstage at Knebworth 8-11-79 © Jenny Macfie

   Recently audience recordings have surfaced of both sets by Utopia and we are in possession of a digital copy of the master from the second weekend, when cleaned up it is fairly good quality and shows Todd in fiery mood , making snide comments about the puny size of the "Sounds " staff collective members , bemoaning the " Death of Rock and Roll " and generally griping about the bad reviews the shows had been given the weekend before in the press.

   Freddie Bannister has kindly sent us a recording of the first show, which is generally of very good quality for an audience tape of the era and no doubt this will be offered as bonus discs with his boxed sets at some time in the future .

   Utopia 8-4-79

  • Trapped
  • Back On The Street
  • Abandon City
  • Love Of The Common Man
  • The Verb 'To Love'
  • Last of the New Age Riders
  • Shot In The Dark
  • The Seven Rays
  • Love Alone
  • ?
  • The Death Of Rock and Roll
  • Love In Action
  • ?
  • ?
  • Encores: Rock Love
  • Love Is The Answer.

    90 mins

 

Utopia 8-11-79

  • Last of the New Age Riders
  • Back On The Street
  • Abandon City
  • Love Of The Common Man
  • The Last Ride
  • Freedom Fighters
  • The Seven Rays
  • Love Alone
  • Gangrene
  • The Death Of Rock and Roll
  • Initiation
  • Anyway Anyhow Anywhere ( tribute to Keith Moon )
  • Couldn't I just Tell You
  • Just One Victory

    80 mins

Utopia onstage at Knebworth 1979 . Photo courtesy Kym

Chas and Dave © Henry Cobbold, Knebworth House

© Jacques Luce

 

Contents.

              If you can add in any way to this material ,please Contact us.

Offsite Links.

    The events in this tangled chain can be read in Freddy Bannister's book, " There Must Be A Better Way " , which chronicles his adventures in promoting the giant concerts at Knebworth from 1974-79. More info about these concerts can also be found at the Knebworth House site and at Rip Gooch's site, which contains substantial portions of text from the now defunct book Knebworth Rock Festivals, by Chryssie Lytton Cobbold , and finally , at Kevin Shewan's Knebworth 79 pages .

Can we get a witness ?

We have been endeavouring to collect as many recordings of the artists that featured at these concerts as possible, so we can effectively review the performances, provide set lists and band line-ups. Any info displayed on these pages or which is sent to us for review remains the copyright of the contributor and the Archive makes NO PROFIT from its use. The intention is to also display as many personal histories of the festival as possible for the benefit of readers of the site and we welcome all written contributions, no matter how long or short.

If you can contribute in any way, with tapes, reviews , photos or personal histories, please Contact us

Knebworth Concerts 1974-86

  

Knebworth links

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