Led Zeppelin release trailer for ‘Celebration Day’ watch party 1769445322B6ManT6E
Led Zeppelin initially began as a continuation of a previous band: The Yardbirds. They were named The New Yardbirds before, eventually, the name was dropped and they became who we know and love today. However, it seems it took a while for the new change to sink in, and they had to take a drastic step out of the UK.
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Led Zeppelin began as The New Yardbirds, when the original group, The Yardbirds, broke up in 1968.
The group played their final performance in July 1968 in Luton, but as they were still committed to playing gigs in Scandinavia, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist Chris Dreja put together a new line-up to fulfil their obligations.
They enlisted the help of vocalist Robert Plant, John Bonham on drums and, after Chris left the project, John Paul Jones was brought in on bass.
This new line-up first played together as The New Yardbirds in August 1968, and according to the bass player, they "locked together as a team immediately".
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After completing their tour in Scandinavia, they started to record a new album. However they were hit with some major issues when Chris issued a cease and desist letter to stop the band using this name for any further work.
After deciding on the name Led Zeppelin, they landed a big record deal with Atlantic and were looking to make a splash.
However, things quickly seemed uncertain in the UK, and they did not make the impression they were hoping for.
Jimmy was reported as saying in biography 'Hammer of the Gods': “It was a joke. They just wouldn’t accept anything new.”
As a result, their manager, Peter Grant, who was named a ‘ruthless operator’ for his work, decided to set his sights on American fans.