Earls Court 1975 were five concerts performed by the English rock band Led Zeppelin at Earls Court Arena in London in May 1975.

Overview The concerts were initially booked for three nights on 23,[1] 24[2] and 25 May,[3] but due to unprecedented public demand (tickets for the three shows sold out within just four hours),[4] two further dates were added for 17[5] and 18 May,[6] making total ticket sales 85,000.[4] Noted critic and film director Tony Palmer stated at the time in The Observer that no group in history had ever attracted such an audience in Britain.[7]

These concerts took place less than two months following the conclusion of Led Zeppelin's 1975 North American tour. The whole of the band's 40-ton stage and light show was airlifted from the United States for the concerts. A huge Eidophor screen which showed the action as it was being filmed was also erected above the stage, at a cost of £10,000.[7] This is thought to be one of the first occasions when such a device was used for a rock show in England.[4][8] It was said that an entire city could be lit by the energy spent in a single concert.[9] Three days of rehearsals took place in order to fix every possible detail or PA problem.[9] The sound at the concerts was managed by Showco.[7]

The Earls Court performances were promoted by Mel Bush. In an interview he gave several years after the event, Bush explained:

By that time [Led Zeppelin] were a huge attraction and I knew Peter (Grant) [Led Zeppelin's manager] wanted to present them in the biggest and best setting that particular year. I was the first concert promoter to use Earl's Court a couple of years before with David Bowie and Slade. So when Peter was considering venues to use he got in touch. Once it was all up and running we came to a good agreement about the ticket prices which Peter was always keen to keep at a reasonable level.[7]

The Earls Court concerts are considered by some critics to be the best ever performed by the band, and the shows received generally excellent reviews from the music press, including those published in Sounds, New Musical Express and Melody Maker.[7][8][9] Music journalist Chris Welch, who attended the performances, recalled years later:

The band played with tremendous fire, possessed by an almost demonic power, amidst clouds of smoke pierced by green laser beams. Jimmy Page flailed his violin bow against the guitar strings, producing eerie, echoing gothic howls. At the time, I wrote in a review that "Robert Plant maintains an essentially human, chatty approach to audiences, almost like a guide taking us through the story of the band, a jester at the wheel of some fearsome juggernaut, offering sly asides and poetic ruminations between moments of terrible power." ... The band enjoyed the Physical Graffiti material far more than the old war horses, and the best moments from the previous albums came in the shape of ballads and acoustic songs.[4]

According to Led Zeppelin archivist Dave Lewis:

When Led Zeppelin undertook the series of five shows at London's Earl's Court Arena on May of 1975 they were at the very peak of their creative powers. Spurred on by the critical and commercial success of their sixth album, the double set Physical Graffiti, each show they played took on event-like proportions. The 17,000 capacity Earl's Court afforded them the luxury to showcase in the best possible setting, the sheer enormity of their stage act. Over five nights of May '75 Zeppelin delivered perhaps the most impressive series of shows of their entire career ... Photographic images from the shows still light up the pages of countless Zep features and books, bootleg performances are eagerly snapped up, and the official video footage of the gigs projects the sheer magnitude and power of Led Zeppelin in full flight more than any other surviving film of the group.[7]

May 25 full: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uONOELwhTKc