Quote
timbernardis
there is some variation in the fotos of the plane in this thread;
striped colours are different
tongue is different and in a different location
so, when was each foto taken?
did the Stones themselves have it repainted in between 72 and 73 or is this just a bad job of restoration?
someone please clarify all this. thanks
p
These are two differents planes ,the first one from my signature is a BOEING 720B Starship ,the last one is a Lockheed.
The Starship was a former United AirlinesUnited Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., trading as United Airlines , is a major carrier of the United States. It is a subsidiary of UAL Corporation with corporate offices in Chicago at 77 West Wacker Drive, and its operations base in nearby Elk Grove Village, Illinois....
Boeing 720BBoeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly spoken as "Seven Oh Seven"....
passenger jet, bought by Bobby ShermanBobby Sherman
Bobby Sherman is an United States singer and actor, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s.Sherman graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley....
and his manager, Ward SylvesterWard Sylvester
Ward Sylvester is an United States entertainment industry producer, manager, promoter, executive and consultant. He has served as President of Pacific Arts Inc., and Personality Productions; Vice President of Columbia Pictures Television and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer....
, and leased to touring musical artists in the mid-1970s.
The Starship, N7201U (S/N: 17907), was the first B720 built. It was delivered to United Airlines on October 1960 and then purchased in 1973 by Contemporary Entertainment.
Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
band Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal music bands....
used the plane for their 1973 and 1975 North American concert tours. During the 1972 tourLed Zeppelin North American Tour 1972
Led Zeppelin's 1972 North American Tour was the eighth concert tour of North America by the England rock music rock band. The tour was divided into two legs, with performances commencing on May 27 and concluding on June 28, 1972....
and in the early part of the 1973 tourLed Zeppelin North American Tour 1973
Led Zeppelin's 1973 North American Tour was the ninth concert tour of North America by the England rock music rock band. The tour was divided into two legs, with performances commencing on May 4 and concluding on July 29, 1973....
the band had hired a small private Falcon Jet to transport its members from city to city, but these aircraft are comparatively light and susceptible to air turbulence. After performing a show at Kezar StadiumKezar Stadium
Kezar Stadium is a stadium located in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California California. It is the former home of the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League, and of the San Francisco Dragons of the Major League Lacrosse....
in San Francisco in 1973 Led Zeppelin encountered bad turbulence on a flight back to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
. As a result, the band's manager Peter Grant resolved to hire The Starship for the remainder of the tour, at a cost of $30,000.
The plane was the same type as used by commercial airlines, but its owners allowed it to be specifically modified to suit the whim of their clients. Sherman and Sylvester invested $200,000 to reduce its seating capacity to forty and to install into the main cabin a bar, seats and tables, revolving arm chairs, a 30 foot long couch (running along the right hand side of the plane, opposite the bar), a television set and a video cassette player, complete with a well-stocked video library. An electronic organ was built into the bar, and at the rear of the craft were two back rooms, one with a low couch and pillows on the floor, and the other, a bedroom, complete with a white fur bedspread and shower room. The exterior of the plane was re-sprayed with Led Zeppelin emblazoned down the side of the fuselageFuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a hardpoint attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating Hull ....
and the band's famous Swan SongSwan Song Records
Swan Song Records was a record label launched by England rock group Led Zeppelin on May 10, 1974. It was managed by Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant and was a vehicle for the band to promote its own products as well as sign artists who found it difficult to win contracts with other major labels....
Apollo logo was painted on the tail.
Flying on The Starship, Led Zeppelin were no longer required to change hotels so often. They could base themselves in large cities such as ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
, New YorkNew York
The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, Dallas and Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
and travel to and from concerts within flying distance. After each show, the band members would be transported direct by limousine from the concert venue to the airport, as depicted in the Led Zeppelin concert filmConcert film
A concert movie, or concert film, is a type of documentary film movie, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by a musician ....
, The Song Remains the SameThe Song Remains the Same (film)
The Song Remains the Same is a concert film by the England Rock music Musical ensemble Led Zeppelin. The recording of the film took place during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City, during the band's Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1973....
. The Starship was again used throughout Led Zeppelin's 1975 US concert tourLed Zeppelin North American Tour 1975
Led Zeppelin's 1975 North American Tour was the tenth concert tour of North America by the England rock music rock band. The tour was divided into two legs, with performances commencing on January 18 and concluding on March 27, 1975....
, this time featuring a different red and blue paint scheme with white stars similar to the United States flag, and with a smaller "Led Zeppelin" logo on the fuselage. According to Peter Grant, at one point during this tour Led Zeppelin drummer John BonhamJohn Bonham
John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham was an English drummer and member of the band Led Zeppelin. He was renowned for his power, fast right foot, distinctive sound and "feel" for the groove ....
sat in the co-pilot's seat and flew the plane all the way from New York to Los Angeles.
Both the 1973 and re-painted 1975 versions of The Starship can be seen on home video footage included at the end of "Stairway to HeavenStairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock music band Led Zeppelin. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's fourth studio album, Led Zeppelin IV ....
" on disc 2 of the Led Zeppelin DVD.
English rock band Deep PurpleDeep Purple
Deep Purple are an English Rock music band formed in Hertford, Hertfordshire in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of Heavy metal music and modern hard rock, although some band members have tried not to categorize themselves as any one genre....
also hired the Starship for their 1974 U.S. Tour. They can be seen arriving in the jet with the band's name emblazoned on the jet in the DVD for the infamous California JamCalifornia Jam
California Jam was a rock music festival concert held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California on April 6, 1974 and produced by Sandy Feldman and Lenny Stogel....
rock festival, entitled Live in California 74Live in California 74
Live in California 74 is a live DVD from Deep Purple released in 2005. It was recorded and aired live by ABC-TV on 6 April 1974 at the Ontario Speedway near Los Angeles CA....
. In an interview with CircusCircus (magazine)
Circus was a monthly United States magazine devoted to rock music. It was published from 1966 to 2006. In its heyday the magazine had a full-time editorial staff that included some of the biggest names in rock journalism, including Paul Nelson , David Fricke, and Kurt Loder, and rivaled Rolling Stone in sales and surpassed Creem....
magazine in 1974, Deep Purple's Jon LordJon Lord
Jon Douglas Lord is an English composer, Hammond organ and piano player.Lord is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms....
explained: "It's a 707 put together by a firm in L.A. that SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an United States singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great success in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers"....
, Dylan and The BandThe Band
The Band was a rock music group active from 1967 to 1976 and again from 1983 to 1999. The original group consisted of four Canadians: Robbie Robertson ; Richard Manuel ; Garth Hudson ; and Rick Danko , and one American, Levon Helm ....
just used and Elton JohnElton John
Sir Elton Hercules John Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has been one of the dominant forces in rock and popular music, especially during the 1970s....
uses. It has a lounge, a bedroom, a shower, a fire place and a study. It's supposed to look as little as a plane as possible."
Also known to have hired the plane were The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock music band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards....
, The Allman Brothers and Alice CooperAlice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock music singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades. With a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, and boa constrictors, Cooper has drawn equally from horror movies, vaudeville, heavy metal music, and garage rock to create a theatrical brand of rock musi...
. Peter FramptonPeter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd , among others....
was the last to charter The Starship in 1976. As early as Alice Cooper's 1974 tour the aircraft was beginning to show signs of engine difficulties, and for Led Zeppelin's 1977 US TourLed Zeppelin North American Tour 1977
Led Zeppelin's 1977 North American Tour was the eleventh and final concert tour of North America by the England rock music rock band. The tour was divided into three legs, with performances commencing on April 1 and concluding on July 24, 1977....
, it was permanently grounded at Long Beach AirportLong Beach Municipal Airport
Long Beach Airport , also known as Daugherty Field, is located in Long Beach, California, and serves Los Angeles County, California and Orange County, California Counties....
. The band was forced to find a comparable alternative, and tour manager Richard ColeRichard Cole
Richard Cole was heavily involved in the rock music business from the mid-1960s to 2003, and is most famous for being the tour manager of England Rock music Musical ensemble Led Zeppelin from 1968 to 1980....
eventually chartered Caesar's ChariotCaesar's Chariot
Caesar's Chariot was a former United Airlines Boeing 707 passenger jet which was chartered by England rock music band Led Zeppelin for their Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1977....
, a 45-seat Boeing 707Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly spoken as "Seven Oh Seven"....
owned by the Caesars PalaceCaesars Palace
Caesars Palace, is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an Unincorporated area township in Clark County, Nevada, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area....
Hotel in Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, Nevada, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment....
.
The Starship went through many owners from 1977 through 1979 until it went into storage at Luton Airport in LondonLondon
London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
. It was then parted out in July 1982.
I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .