The Last Time Led Zeppelin Played “All My Love” Was Far More Than a Concert
On July 7, 1980, Led Zeppelin walked onto the stage at Berlin’s Eissporthalle for what nobody in the building knew would become their final concert.
Among the songs that night was “All My Love,” one of the most unusual pieces in the band’s catalogue. Softer and more melodic than the heavy rock that had made Led Zeppelin famous, the song revealed a more personal side of Robert Plant and John Paul Jones. It had been recorded for the band’s 1979 album In Through the Out Door, and was written by Plant and Jones.
The emotional background was deeply personal. Plant had lost his five year old son Karac in 1977. “All My Love” became a tribute to the joy Karac had brought to the family, rather than simply a song about grief. Plant later explained that memories of his son continued to appear in his music because he missed him.
That makes the Berlin performance especially poignant when heard today.
There is also an important detail behind the song. Jimmy Page later acknowledged that he was not particularly enthusiastic about “All My Love.” He felt its softer character did not represent what Led Zeppelin was about, and he and John Bonham had already discussed making a harder rock album after In Through the Out Door.
Yet the song remained part of the band’s final European tour.
On that July night in Berlin, “All My Love” appeared in a set that also included “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” “Black Dog,” “In the Evening,” “Kashmir,” “Stairway to Heaven,” “Rock and Roll” and “Whole Lotta Love.” The official Led Zeppelin archive identifies the concert as the band’s final performance.
The tragedy came only weeks later.
On September 25, 1980, John Bonham died at the age of 32. Led Zeppelin announced their decision to disband in December of that year. The group had been preparing to continue, and Page and Bonham had discussed a harder direction for their next record. What that music might have sounded like will forever remain unanswered.
That is what gives this performance its extraordinary weight.
The audience in Berlin was not watching the end of Led Zeppelin. They were simply watching the band play another concert.
History would later tell them otherwise.
And in the middle of that final night, “All My Love” remains one of the most revealing moments of all. It was not the heaviest song Led Zeppelin ever played. It was something more intimate.
A song about love, memory and loss, performed by a band that still believed there was another chapter ahead.