The Man Who Led Zeppelin by Chris Welch

The Man Who Led Zeppelin Reviews

• 
  Tosh

  The two words together Peter and Grant brought fear to concert promoters in rock n' roll. Peter Grant was the manager of Led Zeppelin. His story is interesting because he came from the rough and tough 1950's British pop culture world. Grant was a wrestler who had an interest in showbiz. Rock n' Roll showbiz to be exact.
  
  He was Gene Vincent's road manager in the early 60's and that had to be an extremely difficult job. And Grant's support for his artists meant sometimes he had the side of toughness to do what's best for them - which includes throwing Gene Vincent on stage -drunk or in miserable pain (due to a severe damage to one of his legs in a motorcycle accident) and make sure he's on stage when the curtain comes up.
  
  Although Chris Welch's book is a good biography, it is not an excellent one. I think due that there is a big narrative here that is not being fully covered. The 1970's Led Zeppelin years was one of great decadence but with also a great side of ugly violence. Why Grant, who always had a violent streak decided to go over the line to real physical violence is unknown.
  
  What is more clear is Grant is one of the major figures where artists got their fair share of the loot that was produced in the recordings and concerts. He was the first one to demand that concert promoters instead of the usual 60/40 arrangement, he made sure his band gets 90 and the venue gets 10. At the time it was unheard of, but due to the power of the Zeppelin and Grant's border-line sense of violence, the concert promoters thought of the deal differently.
  
  Of course in all narrations, the story gets darker, and its interesting how the 1970's played into all of that. The Stones were going through the same thing as well at the time. But Welch's book really dosen't go into that. And my major complaint about the book is that it didn't pull us up as readers to see the bigger picture of what was happening that decade. Pop culture, by its nature, is alway a part of the bigger picture.
  
  But this is an interesting book on an interesting man in rather interesting (dark) times in Rock N' Roll.
• 
  Timothy Jones

  If you are a Led Zeppelin fan this is a must read that will explain why management should manage and creatives create ... something that Peter Grant understood and exploited for the advantage of his charges and of course himself. An honest look at the flawed character who drove the Zeppelin onto such magnificent heights. Well written and unflinching.
• 
  Deity World

  Really interesting book on the history of led Zeppelin and Peter Grant
• 
  Paul Lyons

  The good news is: this biography of legendary Led Zeppelin and Bad Company manager Peter Grant is not complete rubbish. The bad news? With "Peter Grant: The Man Who Led Zeppelin," journalist Chris Welch attempts to write a well-crafted, informative and thoughtful biography...and fails miserably. Sure, the book does indeed have some value, and there are some interesting tidbits here and there about Peter Grant's life before, during and after the active years of Led Zeppelin. However for the most part, "Peter Grant: The Man Who Led Zeppelin" is sloppily written and horrendously edited (or simply not edited at all).
  
  Did NO ONE proofread or fact-check Chris Welch's pages? There are so many careless errors in this biography that it was hard for me to believe that ANY of Welch's sentences are proclamations were accurate. C'mon people. It's not that hard. Just read the bloody pages! Look, as much as I appreciated any kind of book about Peter Grant, Chris Welch and the publisher seemed to be looking for a quick cash-grab riding on Peter Grant and Led Zeppelin's name. In addition to blatant misinformation (wrong dates, wrong years, wrong people saying the wrong things, even wrong deaths!) and borrowing heavily from more intelligently written books about the music business and Led Zeppelin, Chris Welch seemed to not give a flying f*ck about repeating himself over and over again throughout the book...spewing out fifth-hand facts on page 150 as if the reader had not previously read the same information on page 125.
  
  Look, I do not love giving any book one star out of five, let alone one about Peter Grant and Led Zeppelin. Yet Chris Welch, a "respected" Melody Maker journalist who experienced both Peter Grant and Led Zeppelin first-hand back in the day should have known better. C'mon mate, you know very well that if Peter Grant were alive today (and in prime health) he would have given you a proper bollocking for associating his good name with your sloppy, poorly put together excuse for a biography.
  
  
• 
  John Lyman

  Enigma is the word I’d use for PG. He has a deserved reputation for being rough and violent, but this book showed me he was also a sentimental and loved man. He went from rags to riches through luck and knowledge, and he worked oh so hard for those in his charge. Zeppelin has a very finite, unique, rock and roll history and having read this I feel well informed of many details of it.
• 
  Cindy Nix

  I thought this was an honest look at the man who wholeheartedly gave his life to "his" band. It solidified how gruff he was, yet showed a softer side to him. It also gave some insight into the people he worked for and the people he had to deal with.
• 
  Cindy J.

  I thought this was an honest look at the man who wholeheartedly gave his life to "his" band. It solidified how gruff he was, yet showed a softer side to him. It also gave some insight into the people he worked for and the people he had to deal with.
• 
  Gordon Scott

  Great insight into what made one of the most famous and Best Rock band managers of all time tick.
• 
  Michelle McCarthy

  A great read and insight into the every evolving music at a time when great change was occurring.
• 
  James Taylor

  Interesting account of the man who managed one of the most powerful rock bands of the 1970s
• 
  Óli Sóleyjarson

  Ágæt bók en endurtekningarsöm og fer stundum út um allar trissur.