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Led Zeppelin’s new photobook reveals unseen images of a 1969 swedish soundcheck and 1977 studio larks

March 14, 1969: Led Zeppelin find themselves in a curious limbo, anointed as saviours of rock in america where their debut LP is already climbing the charts, yet at home they’re still playing venues like The cherry Tree in Welwyn Garden city. In Sweden, they find themselves supporting country Joe & The Fish for two shows in one day – the first in Stockholm, the second an hour north in the famous university town of Uppsala – though the transfer of power couldn’t be clearer. “Led Zeppelin better than tired country Joe” declares the headline in the next day’s Svenska Dagbladet.

Taken during their soundcheck at Uppsala’s University hall, the main picture reveals a band still developing their soon-to-be-legendary stagecraft as they make the transition to larger arenas, watched from a doorway by imposing manager Peter Grant. With Jimmy Page’s gaze fixed upon the metronomic movements of John Bonham’s arms, it’s possible to imagine they are working up a song from Led

Zep II, the recording of which began a few weeks later.

The photograph features in Led Zeppelin By Led Zeppelin, a new careerspanning art book released to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary. Many of its images have never been published before, capturing intimate moments that reveal the band’s uncanny telepathy or ability to pull together through the dark moments. The inset photo was taken by Pennie Smith in London’s Manticore Studios in January 1977, as the band rehearsed for their first tour since robert Plant’s debilitating car accident. If there was any trepidation about returning after two years to play some of the biggest rock shows ever, it was forgotten in the moment when Bonham – for reasons unexplained – led the band on a march around the studio in the same teddy boy suit he wore to play snooker in The Song Remains The Same.