Leeds – epicentre of early ‘70s rock

The pre-eminence of the capital of Yorkshire as the epicentre of early 1970s rock is underlined by a feature article in the new issue of Leeds, The University of Leeds Alumni Magazine.

Living The Legend, a seven page feature, tells the story of how a handful of students made the Uni the hottest gig on planet Earth from several years from 1970. They booked some of the biggest rockers of all, at the peak of their powers, including:

24 Jan 1970 – Led Zeppelin

14 Feb 1970 – The Who

16 May 1970 – Leonard Cohen

13 March 1971 – Rolling Stones

At least two of the gigs produced legendary recordings – The Who Live At Leeds, and Get Yer Leeds Lungs Out, the highly regarded Stones bootleg.

The student unions of many Anglo unis organised world-class rockpop gigs, but none equalled the line-ups offered to Leeds students in the early 1970s.



Gerry Smith