{{< MultiGalleryComponent galleries="1977-led-zeppelin, 23-zeppelin-apr-1977" >}} The 1977 Led Zeppelin US tour started on April 1, 1977 in Dallas and completed the first two legs of the tour on June 27 in Los Angeles. The tour was cancelled four shows into the third leg on July 25, 1977 due to the tragic death of Robert Plant’s five-year-old son, Karac. Showco provided the sound and lighting, and this was the first Led Zeppelin tour to use the new Showco rigging equipment to hang both the lighting rig and the four-way sound system from the ceiling of the arenas. Ian Knight, the lighting designer for the 1975 tour, designed the production for the 1977 tour. Ian designed a lighting rig consisting of a square shaped truss structure with a cross-stage center truss that was assembled with Showco aluminum trusses. Steve Jander joined Showco and was in charge of our laser department. We expanded the laser effects first introduced on the 1975 Led Zeppelin tour to include a laser pyramid effect that enclosed Jimmy within a pyramid of laser light while he was using the bow in Dazed and Confused. We found an air-cooled argon gas laser (rather than water-cooled, the standard cooling method for gas lasers) that we mounted in the lighting truss. With scanning mirrors we scanned a square pattern on the floor around Jimmy which enveloped him with a four-sided green laser pyramid in the smoky atmosphere. We then used a red krypton laser to project a red line through the green pyramid up to the rear of the arena. {{< StoryImage id="showco-36-zeppelin-green-laser-pyramid" caption="Jimmy Page Laser Pyramid Effect first performed on 1977 tour and recreated in this photo in London in 2007 for Led Zeppelin Reunion Concert at the Oz." credit="Photo facebook.com Brian Brodbeck post January 23, 2025" size="large" >}} Lighting rig for 1977 Led Zeppelin tour. Four M4 cabinets are hung from the trusses pointing down onto the stage to be used as stage monitors. Rear M4 in the center of the rear truss is a drum monitor for John Bonham to enable him to hear his amplified drum kit. This was the first Showco lighting system provided for Led Zeppelin that was rigged from the ceiling of the arena with the new CM chain motors. Note the bridles (two steel cables coming from the ceiling connected together in V shapes a few feet above the chain motor) that allowed the rigging points to be precisely placed where needed to connect to the lighting trusses. The angle of each bridle cable was critical and could not exceed 45 degrees off vertical to prevent placing too much stress on the wire cable. Rigging enabled us to build a much larger, brighter lighting system with many more lights and looks than had previously been possible with ground support systems. Rigging also allowed a much cleaner look without ground support equipment cluttering the stage. {{< StoryImage id="showco-1975-led-zeppelin-008-zep-75" caption="" credit="Showco Recovered Archive" size="large" >}} {{< StoryImage id="showco-1977-led-zeppelin-006-zep-77" title="1977 Led Zeppelin lighting rig" caption="Showco Lighting rig for Led Zeppelin 1977 tour." credit="Showco Recovered Archive" size="large" >}} {{< StoryImage id="showco-23-zeppelin-apr-032-zep-77" caption="Rainbow and mirror ball lighting effect for Stairway to Heaven on Led Zeppelin 1977 US Tour." credit="Photo Jim Bornhorst" size="responsive" >}}

{{< StoryImage id="showco-23-zeppelin-apr-025-zep-77" caption="Jimmy Page and John Bonham Led Zeppelin 1977 US Tour." credit="Photo Jim Bornhorst" size="responsive" >}} {{< StoryImage id="showco-23-zeppelin-apr-027-zep-77" caption="Jimmy Page and Laser Lighting Effect Led Zeppelin 1977 US Tour." credit="Photo Jim Bornhorst" size="responsive" >}}

{{< StoryImage id="showco-23-zeppelin-apr-031-zep-77" caption="Robert Plant 1977 Led Zeppelin US Tour." credit="Photo Jim Bornhorst" size="responsive" >}} {{< StoryImage id="showco-23-zeppelin-apr-024-zep-77" caption="John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Robert Plant Led Zeppelin 1977 US Tour." credit="Photo Jim Bornhorst" size="responsive" >}}

{{< StoryImage id="showco-023-zep-77jpg" caption="John Bonham and Jimmy Page Led Zeppelin 1977 US Tour." credit="Photo Jim Bornhorst" size="responsive" >}} {{< StoryImage id="showco-23-zeppelin-apr-002-zep-77" caption="Robert Plant 1977 Led Zeppelin US Tour." credit="Photo Jim Bornhorst" size="responsive" >}} {{< StoryImage id="showco-23-zeppelin-apr-007-zep-77" caption="Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones in Showco T-Shirts 1977 US Tour." credit="Photo Jim Bornhorst" size="responsive" >}}

{{< ShowcaseGallery id="1977-led-zeppelin" title="1977 Led Zeppelin US Tour" year="1977" band="Led Zeppelin" >}}