11th August 1979, Led Zeppelin played their last ever UK show when they appeared at Knebworth House, England. The set list included: 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 Mountainside, Kashmir, Trampled Under Foot, Sick Again, Achilles' Last Stand, In The Evening, Stairway To Heaven Rock And Roll, Whole Lotta Love and Communication Breakdown.
Their two momentous shows at Knebworth were poignant for a number of reasons. The most significant reason was that it marked the first time that the four cornerstones of rock had played in public together in almost two years as Robert Plant mourned the death of his son who died in 1977 while the band were touring the States.
Their return to the live arena would also be the first time that they had performed on home soil in four years, to say the show was highly anticipated would be an understatement of the highest order. This was the return of their ‘Rock Gods’ to their rightful throne.
These shows are also notable as they marked the advent of true stadium rock in the form we know it today. Arriving at a groundbreaking time for the band, Led Zep decided to opt against performing a longer residency in London at a venue like Earls Court. Instead, they chose to perform two much larger shows in Hertfordshire and host their own festival of sorts.
Lyrics
Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face
Stars fill my dream
I'm a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been
Sit with elders of the gentle race
This world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait
All will be revealed
Talk in song in tongues of lilting grace
Sounds caress my ear
There are not a word I heard could I relate
Story was quite clear
Oh
Oh
Oh yeah I been flyin'
Love oh ain't no denyin', no
Oh, ooh yea, I been flyin'
Mama, mama, ain't no denyin', no denyin'
All I see turns to brown
As the sun burns the ground
And my eyes fill with sand
As I scan this wasted land
Try to find, try to find what I feel
Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace
Like thoughts inside a dream
Heed the path that led me to that place, yellow desert stream
My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again
Sure as the dust that floats high in June, when movin' through Kashmir
Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails, across the sea of years
With no provision but an open face, along the straits of fear
Oh
Oh
When I'm on, when I'm on my way, yeah
When I see, when I see the way, you stay-yeah
Tryin' to find, tryin' to find where I been yeah, yeah
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, when I'm down
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, well I'm down
Ooh, let me take you there
Songwriters: John Bonham / Robert Anthony Plant / James Patrick (Jimmy) Page
Kashmir lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
