Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, and the Man Who Made Them Very, Very Rich

Their First-Ever Show in the Teen Club

On September 7, 1968, Led Zeppelin played their first-ever live show in a converted gym in Denmark. But they weren’t yet known as the soon-to-be world-famous band. At that point, they were performing as the New Yardbirds, a relaunch of the British Invasion rock group that Jimmy Page played in which had just imploded months before.

John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin in concert

Photo by Andre Csillag / Shutterstock

The only known face in this new lineup was guitarist Jimmy Page, and he was funding the whole Scandinavian tour out of his own pocket. Still, it was enough to draw a young crowd to the gym-turned-venue, known as the Teen Club. The Teen Club’s monthly newsletter stated that the band’s “performance and their music were absolutely flawless.”