The first full concert Led Zeppelin has played since they disbanded in 1980, following the death of John Bonham, was a tribute to the late Ahmet Ertegun, who signed the band to Atlantic Records in 1969. The 18,000 "chosen" (upwards of one million people registered in a lottery for a chance to buy the 18,000 tickets at $255 a piece) began lining up outside the arena on the Friday before.
Major Tom, headed by Lars Brogaard, which recently provided the sound system for the sold-out Prince concerts at the O2, deployed a powerful sound system comprised of 72 Milo high-power curvilinear loudspeakers, with a centre hang of six MICA high-power curvilinear loudspeakers, and ten flown 700-HP subwoofers per side. Ground-stacks included nine 700-HPs per side, and four MICAs per side for out-fill. In addition, one MICA per side along with eight UPA-1Ps were strung across the stage lip for front- fills. Three Galileo loudspeaker management systems handled 36 outputs, and a SIM 3 audio analyser was used by Meyer Sound's director of European technical support Luke Jenks to tune the system.
"It was an honour and privilege to participate in this iconic event," says Brogaard. "There was a lot of pressure, but it's always reassuring for us to know we're working with the best sound equipment in the business. The entire crew, from the engineers to the guys running the PA, did a tremendous job."
(Jim Evans)
