A "Lost" 1980 Led Zeppelin Rehearsal Just Surfaced

A significant piece of Led Zeppelin’s final chapter has emerged with the release of a previously unheard soundboard recording. The discovery, featured on a new bootleg CD titled Soundboard Scraps, has sent shockwaves through the collector community by providing the first public glimpse into an expanded 85-minute rehearsal tape from 1980.

The centerpiece of the release is a nearly nine-minute version of the blues-rock masterpiece “Since I’ve Been Loving You.” Experts believe this was recorded on June 2, 1980, during the band’s rehearsals at the Victoria Theatre in London as they prepared for their “Tour Over Europe.” While a shorter 39-minute rehearsal tape has been bootlegged for years, this release confirms the existence of a much longer 85-minute recording that has privately circulated since 2019.

The bootleg comes from a new label, Tarantura Hawks, which carries the catalog code “TH-001.” Despite the similar name, it appears unrelated to the famous “Tarantura” label. In addition to the 1980 rehearsal, the disc acts as a “scraps” collection of high-quality rarities, including:

A 1980 soundboard recording of “Since I’ve Been Loving You.”
A performance of “Tangerine” from Tokyo, Japan (September 24, 1971).
A soundboard sample from Jacksonville, Florida (May 7, 1973), which recently surfaced online.

Archival data from the Led Zeppelin Underground website reveals the full extent of this “lost” 85-minute tape. The tracklist shows the band working through a massive set including two takes of “Achilles Last Stand,” a transition of “White Summer/Black Mountain Side” into “Kashmir,” and a final “Stairway to Heaven.”

The emergence of these tapes is particularly poignant as they capture the band’s last period of creative preparation before the tragic death of drummer John Bonham in September 1980. With this first snippet now public, fans are hopeful that the remaining hour of unheard soundboard audio will eventually find its way to the light.