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'I booked Led Zep for £100 but turned down Elton John'
A MUSIC promoter has come forward with the proof that one of the world's biggest ever rock bands played a gig in Peterlee.
Brian Stoker and friend David Richards booked rock super group Led Zeppelin for just 100 to play at the Argus Butterfly pub in Peterlee on March 23, 1969.
The gig, which came just weeks after they had released their first self-titled album, saw the group play before hundreds of fans ahead of a gig before tens of thousands at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
The group then went on to become one of the most successful rock bands in the world and played a sell out gig earlier this year after reforming to perform at the O2 Arena in London.
Easington Colliery-born Brian, 65, who organised gigs under the Peterlee Jazz Club banner, has unearthed the original flyers for Led Zeppelin gig and a string of other shows that were held at the pub in the late 1960s.
He said: "We booked Led Zeppelin for 100 and they went down a storm. Everyone loved it and I remember me and Dave had a drink with the lads from the group.
"I was talking to guitarist Jimmy Page and asked if he enjoyed it and he said 'yes' and he would come back. I said what are you doing next month and he said they were playing the Hollywood Bowl, so that was the last we saw of them."
The pair secured the band through a contact at London promotion firm Ellis Wright, which went on to become the Chrysalis music company.
They attracted bands that had played the previous night at universities in Scotland and got them to stop off to play a Sunday night spot in Peterlee while travelling south.
Other groups that played at the venue included Free, Deep Purple, Family, 10 Years After, Taste, and Jethro Tull.
Dad of two Brian, who moved to Sheffield in 1974 to work for a brewery, said: "We had Free on about three or four times and the last time we had them Alright Now was number one the week after. We had booked them for 100 as well.
"They also told us they had this solo act and they wanted 100. I said you must be joking because we had Led Zeppelin for 100. I asked his name and he said Elton John and I said no chance am I paying that for a bloke on his own."
Brian and David later launched similar nights at the Swan pub in Billingham where acts including Joe Cocker and 10 Years After played gigs, but he said the venue did not have the same success as the Argus Butterfly.
Music promoter Mick Arnell is hoping to return the pub into a successful music venue and is appealing for local talent to come forward to perform.
People can contact him on (0191) 5868867.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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