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LED ZEPPELIN
How the Charts Were Won: Led Zeppelin CD & DVD Sets Debut at #1; Page, Plant, Jones Attend DVD Premiere in NYC June 2003 (Newstream) -- Twenty-three years since playing their last concert, Led Zeppelin makes a dramatic return to the top of the charts this week with simultaneous #1 debuts on The Billboard 200 album chart - with "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" (3-CD set), and on the magazine's Top Music Videos chart - with "LED ZEPPELIN DVD" (2-DVD set). "LED ZEPPELIN DVD" achieved by far the highest-ever first-week and single-week sales for a music DVD, its 120,000 SoundScan figure doubling the previous sales record set by Paul McCartney's "Back In The U.S." "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" is Led Zeppelin's first #1 Billboard album since their final studio album of all-new material, 1979's "IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR." Both sets have been greeted with overwhelming critical acclaim and enormous media attention. Led Zeppelin's iconic status at rock radio was powerfully demonstrated once again upon the release of "HOW THE WEST WAS WON." Tracks from the album instantly took over 15 of the top 20 slots on the national classic rock format charts - reflecting heavy airplay on highly rated, major market stations. With anticipation building to a feverish pitch in anticipation of the release of these eagerly awaited, previously unreleased Led Zeppelin live recordings, Atlantic Records announced an advance quadruple platinum shipment of "LED ZEPPELIN DVD," and platinum shipment of "HOW THE WEST WAS WON." The DVD set is being marketed by Atlantic in collaboration with Warner Strategic Marketing. On the international front, the new Zeppelin releases are being greeted with equally spectacular success around the globe, with the DVD ranking #1 on the music video charts in Australia, Canada, France, Norway, Sweden, and the UK, and ranking in the top five in Austria, Holland, and Hong Kong. The CD debuted at #1 in Canada and #5 in the UK, with top ten premieres in Ireland, Italy, and Norway. Outside of the U.S., "LED ZEPPELIN DVD" is being marketed by Warner Vision International in collaboration with Warner Strategic Marketing International. "The response to these Led Zeppelin live recordings has been nothing short of phenomenal," said Atlantic Group Co-Chairman/CEO Val Azzoli. "It confirms what we have always known, that Zeppelin's music is truly timeless, with an extraordinary appeal that crosses generations. The popularity of this groundbreaking quartet remains undiminished with time, generating an unprecedented demand for these brilliant and historic releases." On Tuesday, May 27th - the street date for both the DVD and CD sets -Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones attended a special red carpet premiere of "LED ZEPPELIN DVD" at Loew's 34th Street Theatre in New York City, where they personally introduced the presentation to audiences which filled three separate theatres. The event, hosted by Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Premiere Radio Networks, and Atlantic Records, featured two hours of spectacular Led Zeppelin live concert footage - a specially edited version of the full five-and-a half hour DVD set, digitally restored and remixed in surround sound by Jimmy Page. That same evening, special premiere presentations of the DVD were also held at Loew's Theatres in seven other major markets. Both releases have been supported by a high visibility campaign on AOL Music, kicking off May 12th with an exclusive "First View" of "What Is And What Should Never Be" (Royal Albert Hall, 1970) from "LED ZEPPELIN DVD." AOL members streamed the clip 393,780 times in two days, placing the video among the top ten of AOL's all-time First View promotions to date. In addition, AOL hosted a "Broadband Rocks" concert compilation of six selected performances from the DVD the weekend before release, followed on May 26th by a pre-release Listening Party for Disc One of "HOW THE WEST WAS WON." These landmark Led Zeppelin recordings mark the first-ever official release of rare and extraordinary live performances spanning the band's entire career. Long-rumored and eagerly anticipated, the sets each contain entirely different material, with no overlap between the two releases. With over 200 million albums sold worldwide, Led Zeppelin is the biggest-selling rock group in history. "LED ZEPPELIN DVD" has been culled from just a handful of performances which were ever filmed during the band's extraordinary lifetime. Featured are performances from: London's Royal Albert Hall in January 1970, just one year after the release of their debut album; their triumphant five-night run at London's Earls Court in May 1975; and their record-breaking shows at England's Knebworth Festival in August 1979, just one year before the death of drummer John Bonham led to the band's dissolution. Also included are songs from New York's Madison Square Garden in July 1973 which were not included in "THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME" concert film, the only previously released live Zeppelin footage. Other highlights of the DVD include: extremely rare television appearances, among them a performance for Danish television in March 1969; promotional clips; TV interviews; behind-the scenes material; and even a bit of fan-shot "bootleg" footage. Visually and sonically stunning, "LED ZEPPELIN DVD" has been painstakingly restored, remixed, and remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS, and PCM Two-Channel Stereo - under the personal supervision of Jimmy Page and director Dick Carruthers. Recorded in California, "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" is a brilliant audio complement to the DVD. The material on the three CDs has been culled from two of the most legendary and incendiary live performances by Led Zeppelin, at the Los Angeles Forum and Long Beach Arena on June 25th and 27th, 1972. Melded together and sequenced to replicate a single concert from beginning to end, it captures the band at the height of their formidable powers. Among the highlights are a 25-plus minute version of "Dazed And Confused" and a 23-minute medley based around "Whole Lotta Love." Alongside such classics as "Stairway To Heaven" and "Rock And Roll," these shows find the band introducing songs from their forthcoming "HOUSES OF THE HOLY" album, which would not be released for another nine months. 2003 marks the 35th anniversary of the first fateful rehearsal which brought together the talents of guitarist Jimmy Page, vocalist Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham in the summer of 1968. In the decade between 1969 and 1979, the British quartet released eight studio albums and a live soundtrack (a posthumous set of previously unreleased studio material followed in '82). 23 years since their final concert performance (on July 7, 1980), they continue to be recognized as one of the most original, innovative, powerful, and influential groups in rock history. While their work in the studio was brilliant, Led Zeppelin's work onstage was transforming. In concert, the band displayed a power and charisma unparalleled in modern music. Never content to simply replay their recordings, Zeppelin used the stage as a creative platform in its own right - introducing material live before it was recorded, and always expanding, improvising, and pushing into uncharted territory. Their legendary, epic live sets - often lasting more than three hours - were shamanistic experiences which traversed exceptional musical territory, sonic journeys which were truly cathartic experiences for the band and audience alike. For additional information, please visit: |
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