How the Charts Were Won: Led Zeppelin CD & DVD Sets Debut at No. 1; Page, Plant, Jones Attend DVD Premiere in NYC

Business Wire, June 5, 2003

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2003

Twenty-three years since playing their last concert, Led Zeppelin makes a dramatic return to the top of the charts this week with simultaneous #1 debuts on The Billboard 200 album chart - with "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" (3-CD set), and on the magazine's Top Music Videos chart - with "LED ZEPPELIN DVD" (2-DVD set).

"LED ZEPPELIN DVD" achieved by far the highest-ever first-week and single-week sales for a music DVD, its 120,000 SoundScan figure doubling the previous sales record set by Paul McCartney's "Back In The U.S." "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" is Led Zeppelin's first #1 Billboard album since their final studio album of all-new material, 1979's "IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR." Both sets have been greeted with overwhelming critical acclaim and enormous media attention.

Led Zeppelin's iconic status at rock radio was powerfully demonstrated once again upon the release of "HOW THE WEST WAS WON." Tracks from the album instantly took over 15 of the top 20 slots on the national classic rock format charts - reflecting heavy airplay on highly rated, major market stations.

With anticipation building to a feverish pitch in anticipation of the release of these eagerly awaited, previously unreleased Led Zeppelin live recordings, Atlantic Records announced an advance quadruple platinum shipment of "LED ZEPPELIN DVD," and platinum shipment of "HOW THE WEST WAS WON." The DVD set is being marketed by Atlantic in collaboration with Warner Strategic Marketing.

On the international front, the new Zeppelin releases are being greeted with equally spectacular success around the globe, with the DVD ranking #1 on the music video charts in Australia, Canada, France, Norway, Sweden, and the UK, and ranking in the top five in Austria, Holland, and Hong Kong. The CD debuted at #1 in Canada and #5 in the UK, with top ten premieres in Ireland, Italy, and Norway. Outside of the U.S., "LED ZEPPELIN DVD" is being marketed by Warner Vision International in collaboration with Warner Strategic Marketing International.

"The response to these Led Zeppelin live recordings has been nothing short of phenomenal," said Atlantic Group Co-Chairman/CEO Val Azzoli. "It confirms what we have always known, that Zeppelin's music is truly timeless, with an extraordinary appeal that crosses generations. The popularity of this groundbreaking quartet remains undiminished with time, generating an unprecedented demand for these brilliant and historic releases."

On Tuesday, May 27th - the street date for both the DVD and CD sets -Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones attended a special red carpet premiere of "LED ZEPPELIN DVD" at Loew's 34th Street Theatre in New York City, where they personally introduced the presentation to audiences which filled three separate theatres. The event, hosted by Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Premiere Radio Networks, and Atlantic Records, featured two hours of spectacular Led Zeppelin live concert footage - a specially edited version of the full five-and-a half hour DVD set, digitally restored and remixed in surround sound by Jimmy Page. That same evening, special premiere presentations of the DVD were also held at Loew's Theatres in seven other major markets.

Both releases have been supported by a high visibility campaign on AOL Music, kicking off May 12th with an exclusive "First View" of "What Is And What Should Never Be" (Royal Albert Hall, 1970) from "LED ZEPPELIN DVD." AOL members streamed the clip 393,780 times in two days, placing the video among the top ten of AOL's all-time First View promotions to date. In addition, AOL hosted a "Broadband Rocks" concert compilation of six selected performances from the DVD the weekend before release, followed on May 26th by a pre-release Listening Party for Disc One of "HOW THE WEST WAS WON."

These landmark Led Zeppelin recordings mark the first-ever official release of rare and extraordinary live performances spanning the band's entire career. Long-rumored and eagerly anticipated, the sets each contain entirely different material, with no overlap between the two releases. With over 200 million albums sold worldwide, Led Zeppelin is the biggest-selling rock group in history.

"LED ZEPPELIN DVD" has been culled from just a handful of performances which were ever filmed during the band's extraordinary lifetime. Featured are performances from: London's Royal Albert Hall in January 1970, just one year after the release of their debut album; their triumphant five-night run at London's Earls Court in May 1975; and their record-breaking shows at England's Knebworth Festival in August 1979, just one year before the death of drummer John Bonham led to the band's dissolution. Also included are songs from New York's Madison Square Garden in July 1973 which were not included in "THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME" concert film, the only previously released live Zeppelin footage. Other highlights of the DVD include: extremely rare television appearances, among them a performance for Danish television in March 1969; promotional clips; TV interviews; behind-the scenes material; and even a bit of fan-shot "bootleg" footage.