Some new bootleg footage of Led Zeppelin has been restored and shared on YouTube from the band’s 1970 performance at the L.A. Forum.
The footage below is prefaced with a voiceover from Eddie Vincent, who shot the video during the show that would later become the iconic On Blueberry Hill live bootleg album.
Vincent says, “I was a teenager back in 1970. Like a lot of other people in L.A., when I heard Led Zeppelin was going to play another show at the Forum in September, I knew I had to be there. This time, I decided to take the family movie camera with me. It was a little wind-up 8mm Kodak Brownie.”
Vincent continued, “When my friends and I got to the Forum, I tucked it under my jacket. There weren’t any problems at the door in those days. The seats were excellent: First row behind the stage. We were behind John Bonham’s gong, so you couldn’t really see him much, but the sound was great. During the acoustic set, John ducked behind the gong to smoke a cigarette and very gracefully acknowledged our slavish praise. he even posed twice for my still camera, and both times the flash failed to go off. ”
He concluded, “Those pictures came out worthless, unfortunately. But a few others, along with that 8mm film, survived.”
Led Zeppelin – Restored Bootleg Footage from September 4, 1970 at the L.A. Forum
The footage was restored by John Waters, who Classic Rock reports is a notable bootleg trader. The outlet noted, “Vincent didn’t do anything with the film, and so it gathered dust for the best part of half a century, until he came across some live footage on the internet of The Who shot at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim in 1970, and noticed its similarity to some Who footage of his own. He reached out to video bootleg trader John Waters, and asked if he could help transfer his own footage into digital files. Waters was blown away by the quality of Vincent’s film and asked if he had any more, and that’s when Vincent revealed he had the Led Zeppelin tape.”
Waters told Classic Rock, “My collectors heart was racing. A few days later, the reels arrive and the magic unfolds.”
Waters added, “To write ourselves into a little bit of Led Zeppelin history is an honor. The music needs to be out there. I know a lot of collectors and traders that don’t give their stuff away, and that’s a shame to me. Music’s to be shared, and today you need it to get away from the crazy world. And if this film brings a lot of people happiness, hey, we did a good job.”