The Nobs
The Nobs was a temporary name used by the rock band Led Zeppelin for their concert tour of Denmark and in particular their performance in Copenhagen, during the band's 1970 European concert tour.
Controversy over using the 'Zeppelin' name originated from Countess Eva von Zeppelin, a descendent of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, creator of the Zeppelin aircraft. Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page commented to the music newspaper Melody Maker that Frau Eva von Zeppelin initially took issue during an early Led Zeppelin broadcast concert performance in Copenhagen on March 17, 1969, when she tried (unsuccessfully) to stop a planned afternoon television recording by TV Byen, during their morning soundcheck and rehearsal.[1]
As a gesture of goodwill, the band invited her to meet with them afterwards for tea. The meeting was a cordial one, some of which was captured on a home movie camera by a member of the band's crew. However, upon leaving the studio, her anger reignited when she saw a tour poster featuring the cover of the group's début album, Led Zeppelin - the exploding Hindenburg (LZ-129) airship. Frau von Zeppelin felt the band's use of Zeppelin was dishonouring her family name. As a result, her hostility toward the rock group continued on their next tour of the country in early 1970 by threat of a lawsuit, unless they agreed to change their name while working there. While Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant was not normally passive when faced with a confrontation, it was decided to appease the aristocrat by temporarily changing the group's name.
One name speculated in the national music press was "Ned Zeppelin", which Jimmy Page found humorous. After some discussion, Grant and Page settled on the tongue-in-cheek name The Nobs, a playful pun on the name of their European promoter, Claude Nobs.[2] In a deliberate double meaning by the band, the term also applies to "a person of wealth and high social standing", which was also fitting in this circumstance.
The band were billed as such for their concert at the K.B. Hallen centre in Copenhagen on 28 February, 1970.[3]
The incident in Copenhagen was considered advantageous to Led Zeppelin early in their career, as the confrontation gained them free worldwide publicity. The band's choice of names was widely seen as an expression of the band's likability and wit. Countess von Zeppelin never followed through with any threats and did not bother the band again.
Notes
- ↑ Welch, Chris (2001). The Stories Behind Every Song: Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused, Revised Edition. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press Press, p. 43. ISBN 1-56025-188-3.
- ↑ Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (2005). Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, Revised Edition. London: Omnibus Press, p. 43. ISBN 1-84449-659-7.
- ↑ Led Zeppelin shows 1970 (February 1999). Retrieved on 2008-07-17.