Knebworth Festival 1979

Two August 1979 concerts at Knebworth Park, the band's first UK shows in four years.

The Knebworth Festival 1979 was a pair of concerts headlined by Led Zeppelin at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire, England, on 4 and 11 August 1979. Promoter Freddy Bannister booked the band after Jeff Lynne of the Electric Light Orchestra turned down the slot. Led Zeppelin had not played live for two years, since the death of Robert Plant's son during the 1977 American tour, and had not played in Britain for four; Peter Grant chose these shows instead of a long tour. Warm-up gigs were played in Copenhagen in late July.

Other acts on the bill included Todd Rundgren and Utopia, Southside Johnny, Fairport Convention and, at the second show only, The New Barbarians with Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards. The set premiered "Hot Dog" and "In the Evening" from In Through the Out Door, which was delayed until just after the concerts.

The crowds were among the largest the band ever played to, though the attendance figures later became the subject of a dispute between Grant and Bannister that ended with Bannister's promotion company going into liquidation. Reviews at the time were mixed, but the shows have since been praised; footage from them appears on the 2003 Led Zeppelin DVD.