Knebworth Festival 1979
| Concert by Led Zeppelin | |
 |
|
| Associated album | In Through the Out Door |
|---|---|
| Start date | 4 August 1979 |
| End date | 11 August 1979 |
| Legs | 1 |
| No. of shows | 2 |
| Led Zeppelin concert chronology | |
The Knebworth Festival 1979 consisted of two concerts performed by the English rock band Led Zeppelin and other artists at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, England, in August 1979.
The grounds of Knebworth House near the village of Knebworth had been a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts since 1974. In 1979, veteran promoter Freddy Bannister booked Led Zeppelin to play that year's concerts, which took place on 4 August and 11 August.
Led Zeppelin had not performed live for two years since the death of Robert Plant's son during the band's 1977 North American tour, and they had not performed in the United Kingdom for four years. Their manager, Peter Grant, decided that the band should perform at Knebworth instead of embarking on a lengthy tour, as explained by Dave Lewis:
The whole [Led Zeppelin touring] operation had become too big. Page's experience from the 1971 club tour ruled out any small dates. They had played the biggest indoor arena in the UK (Earls Court 1975) four years earlier. As Peter Grant saw it, they had to come back in the grandest style possible. Knebworth was the answer and after negotiations with promoter Freddie Bannister the 4 August date was scheduled with a second date on hold. The demand for tickets for the first date was enormous, leading to the second date being added.
The band's fee for performing was reportedly the largest ever paid to one single act at that time.
In the lead-up to the concerts, Led Zeppelin undertook extensive rehearsals at Bray Film studios in London, and attended the venue at Knebworth in order to inspect the site, complete a publicity photograph shoot and perform a soundcheck. In addition, they performed two low-key warm-up shows in late July at the Falkoner Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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