On December 10, 18,000 fans packed London’s O2 Arena to see Led Zeppelin’s first full concert since the legendary band disbanded in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham. The concert was a tribute to the late Ahmet Ertegun, who signed the band to Atlantic Records in 1969. Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Bonham’s son, Jason, played a two-hour, 16-song set through a massive Meyer Sound MILO system provided by UK-based sound rental company Major Tom Ltd. At front of house, Big Mick Hughes of Metallica fame mixed the band, while Roy Williams handled Plant’s vocal.
Major Tom Ltd., headed by Lars Brogaard, also provided the sound system for the sold-out Prince concerts at the O2. The company deployed a sound system comprised of 72 MILO high-power curvilinear loudspeakers with a center hang of six MICA high-power curvilinear loudspeakers and 10 flown 700-HP subwoofers per side. Ground stacks included nine 700-HPs per side, and four MICAs per side for outfill. In addition, one MICA per side along with eight UPA-1Ps were strung across the stage lip for frontfills. Three Galileo loudspeaker management systems handled 36 outputs, and Meyer Sound’s Director of European Technical Support, Luke Jenksa, used a SIM 3 audio analyzer to tune the system.
“It was an honor 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 P.A. did a tremendous job.”
During the concert, Led Zeppelin performed “Good Times Bad Times,” “Misty Mountain Hop,” “Stairway to Heaven,” “Dazed and Confused” and “Whole Lotta Love.”
For more information, visit www.meyersound.com.
